30th
June
2007
On Friday we drove to Golden, CO to visit The Collector’s Edge. This was our first time at the headquarters, so we were looking forward to seeing some world-class specimens. It turned out that other people had the same idea; when we arrived Marty Zinn (Martin Zinn Exposition) was in the main show room purusing the many treasure loaded draws, and Wendell Wilson (The Mineralogical Record) was visiting with Bryan Lees (President).
Wendell Wilson, Bryan Lees, Justin, & Thomas Gressman
Now I can’t tell you exactly what we were doing there, but I’ll give you a hint; you will want to pay close attention to The-Vug in the up coming weeks, because we have some special features that everyone will be sure to love. In the mean time here are a few candid shots from the fun day we spent there.
When you first enter.
Eileen Hansen
Tom and Justin
Jon Voelter and the cleaning lab.
Rob Lorda
On of my favorite pieces.
posted in Filming, Family & Friends |
29th
June
2007
One of the best parts of our travels, is getting to meet up with our mineral collecting friends in different parts of the country. So heading off to Colorado, we were excited to collect Topaz, with Stephen Renner & Tara Chew (Northwestern Mining Company) on their claim outside Florissant, CO. After spending a day collecting Stauralites in Taos, New Mexico, we arrived at their house very late at night. So after catching up, to the wee hours of the morning, we got some sleep to as to be rested for our day on the mountain.
Bottom of the Mountain.
The clouds rolled in as soon as we parked, making for a rainy walk to the top.
Justin was filming Tara, combing the tailings pile,
and the next thing you know, she pulled out a sweet Topaz
Shortly there after she pulled out another. So Justin put down his camera and did some diging himself. In no time he found one too!
Stephen was moving material from a new spot that he had only recently starting digging.
After a fun day, we headed to St. George for dinner. Stephen brought along some of his choice specimens to keep us entertained while we waited for our food to come.
To read more about Stephen and Tara’s Topaz Claim, and see pictures of the “Beast of Burden” cluster that is now in the collection of The Collector’s Edge, check out Scott Kleine’s (Great Basin Minerals) Article mirrored on The-Vug.com
posted in Collecting Locations, Filming, Family & Friends |
27th
June
2007
Utah was lots of fun, but after 2 weeks there, it was time to head back to civilization. So it was back to Lake Havasu for some much needed rest and of course the ever present need to catch up on work. As some of you may already know, Justin’s brother Chris lives in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Like any good Havasu citizen, Chris has a speed boat. He actually has had this boat for quite a few years, but we had never had the chance to go out on the lake in it. So this time around Chris took us out for a spin.
Chris (left hand side), Chris’s buddy Scott (right hand side)
Lake Havasu City is a popular resort town in northern Arizona. It was established in 1964 by Robert P. McCulloch (of the Chainsaw Dynasty) around an early 20th century mining town. McCulloch bought and transported the original London Bridge to Havasu, and had it completely reassembled, in a gamble to draw tourists to the area. Everyone thought he was crazy, but the allure of a hot weather and cool water paid off, and in 1978 the town was incorporated.
Floating Hot Dog Stand
Back in one of the coves the authorities have put cages in the water to protect the baby fish from predators.
Part of the lake is actually in California. Here is the California aqueduct.
Chris took us back to one of his favorite swimming areas.
After a couple hours out on the water, it was time to head back to the docking area.
The next day I helped Justin film some of the cutting scenes for San Benito and Inyo County videos.
After cutting some PLASMA AGATE slabs, Justin finished dividing up the specimens for the for the video sponsorship packages.
Just look at this great selection of specimens that we collected! I know that not everyone can make it out to do collecting this summer, but you CAN pretend you did. We still have several video sponsorship packages available. You get 8-10 specimens that are actually featured in one of videos, a mention in the credits, and a voucher for a copy of the video once it is released later this year. They make great gifts, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping to support The-Vug!
For more information on Video Sponsorship Packages, check out our How You Can Help section.
posted in Filming, Family & Friends |