Looking around the Show

I had time to look around the show today.

I was walking along when a man who saw me holding my camera said, "There's a great photo opportunity in here!" So I paid the one dollar entry fee and entered the strange little shrouded booth. Sure enough, some very strange sights.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

After I'd recovered from that I continued around the show.

When I looked over at this pile of rock (below) I got a feeling of 'deja vu'.

This is because it is English Flint and I remember seeing pieces of this on the ground as a child. And here it is being sold in America for about a dollar a pound for flintknapping.

The ship in the background is a jade carving. Each of the carved balls in the foreground are actually three carved balls, one inside the other. The spheres are of rock. The pink 'twigs' are coral.

This is lapis from Pakistan. An incredible rich blue and quite expensive (to me, anyway!)

Here are some rock carvings of Mookaite, Printstone etc.

There are always mountains of beads at these shows. At the Tucson shows there will be giant marquees full of beads. The pink/salmon coloured beads are coral.
This is quartz crystal.

These are slabs and polished blocks of petrified wood.

This booth is all amethyst.

This booth is all turquoise - one of my favourites.

Will find some more photo opportunities soon.

People

One of the most enjoyable parts of working here is meeting the people who come by. Sometimes it is families, mum, dad and kids, enjoying browsing the booths, with probably not much idea of what they are looking at but enjoying the spectacular variety of rock, crystal, fossils, carvings, etc. And they occasionally buy, if something catches their eye.

Then there are the buyers who have retail businesses and looking at wares through their customers' eyes. What will sell? What sold well last year?

But my favourite is the wizened old guy. And there are lots of these. They are retired, often have untrimmed beards, jeans held up with braces, many of them limp due to past injuries or ailments, they always wear a hat, their faces and hands are weathered by the sun and wind and they've seen life. Now they have time for their passion - rocks. Some look for rough rock to cut, polish and maybe make into cabochons which can become a piece of jewellery.

Others look for rock they can 'knap'. Flintknapping is very popular here and we sell rock that 'knaps' well. Flintknapping is the art of making flaked stone tools; arrowheads, knives, spear points, Danish daggers, etc. Not only was it demonstrated by Native Americans in ancient times but by all civilizations as a way of life at one point or another until metal was invented. There are some lovely photos here.

It's wonderful when we have a customer return with an article they have made from one of our rocks, as this gentlemen did.


We are yet to meet the man who created these. Very much looking forward to that!

Rough Rock

Look at these mountains of beautiful rock for sale.

This is Blue Lepidolite.

This is Dragonstone.

This is Mookaite.

This is Noreena Jasper.

Yep, and that's me taking the photo!

Setting Up

The shipment that Glenn sends to America consists of rough rock (as it comes, straight out of the ground) and polished slabs and faces that he has cut and polished himself from what he digs. All this rock is packed into drums and shipped to America in time for the shows.

Unpacking the drums is like discovering treasure. It has been some weeks, maybe months since we saw all this rock and arranging the variety of shapes and colours on the tables is delightful. Glenn's been doing this for years so it's probably not quite so exciting for him as it is for me. However, rocks are his passion and he will never cease to enjoy presenting what he digs out of the ground to browsers and customers.

Interesting Town

Quartzsite is a bit of a sleepy desert town but sure comes alive in the winter. The Rock Gem and Mineral Shows that are held here attract thousands of people and the population of Quartzsite increases from two thousand to many thousands. In fact, it has been said that a million people pass through Quartzsite during January each year.
Thousands of snowbirds come to spend time here; to enjoy the shows and the climate.

As you will read from the above link about Quartzsite it all started with rock, gems and minerals being bought and sold at one show. These days there are a number of shows and a variety of vendors selling anything from rocks and gems etc to antiques, T-shirts, Native Indian memorabilia, beads, crystals, petrified wood, rock carvings, tools, wrought iron products, and many items that have nothing to do with rocks and gems at all. But it all makes for wonderful browsing. And the people-watching is interesting too.

The Post Office
Residents of Quartzsite do not have street mail boxes. They all collect their mail from the post office and there is only one. When there are thousands of people in town this becomes a problem!
For some reason the powers that be do not feel it necessary to increase the number of staff at the post office for this busy time. If I'd known this I would have come prepared. It was about 11am and I decided to take a walk in the fresh air across the freeway bridge to the post office to buy some stamps. When I got there the queue was so long it came out the door and into the mail box lobby - about twenty people. I turned straight around and thinking maybe early next morning would be a better time.
Next morning I got there at five minutes to eight.. along with thirty other people who thought being early would be a good idea too. There was much laughter and joking from the patient queue members who had no choice but to see the funny side of it all.
This time the queue came out the door, snaked around the mail box lobby, right down to the back then up to the main front door then out the door into the cold morning air! I saw a friend of ours in the queue, about half way along. He'd been there for a while and was holding a cup of coffee (with lid) that he'd brought with him. He lives in Quartzsite and has to tolerate this each year. He needed to collect a parcel and the general mail window was closed (for some reason) so had no choice but to wait with everyone else. He said to me that he was considering learning a language while he waited.
As these delightful people waited and waited and the queue grew longer and longer so the comical quips came thick and fast; "shall we send out for lunch?" "This package is going to Brazil, maybe I'll start walking, it may be quicker." and so on.
Meanwhile, the post office staff remained deadly serious and appeared to work at what seemed to be a 'work-to-rule' speed but it was probably my imagination.
One customer did 'lose his rag' as it were and let rip at the staff. Surprisingly most of the people waiting defended them, as I did. It wasn't their fault their superiors left them to cope. The silly man must have thought he was speaking for the majority, but no.
This year we are prepared and hopefully will not have to use the post office.

Quartzsite

We meet our friends and we all pile in the minivan with luggage and set off for Quartzsite.

This isn't the rush hour. The traffic is like this constantly. Even through the night it is heavy.

Makes me laugh when I think of traffic reports for Perth. If it takes us an extra ten minutes to get home we complain! Oh, well maybe not everyone.

I've heard some people say how ugly wind farms can be but I think they are quite beautiful.

We stopped to get some groceries at Blythe and saw this car in the car park.

Pretty neat, huh?

(Click on this picture and check out the reggo plate.)

Los Angeles

We arrived yesterday; or was it tomorrow? All I know is we left Wednesday, were in the air for days - oh, alright, a day - and landed the same day as we left. I phoned one of my sons to say we'd arrived safely and he said, "Oh, that was quick!" Sydney is 19 hours ahead of US! Almost tomorrow! All very confusing.

Also very confusing for the circadian clock. Sleeping at 8pm, awake again at 11pm, hungry at 2am, sleeping again at 3am, awake again at 9am. But at least the nausea as passed.

December

Winter (June to Sept) - go up northern Western Australia and dig the rock; get it trucked back home.




Oct-Nov:

Sort out the rock and fill orders.

Cut and polish rocks. Pack finished product plus rough rock into drums. Ship to America in time for the show.
Break it to Woody that he can't come to America.

End of December we're off to Arizona where Glenn sells the rock at the biggest rock, gem and mineral show in the world: Quartzsite and Tucson.



Mid February we return - relax. The seven weeks in America is absolutely non-stop so we deserve a rest when we get back. Especially Glenn as he has all the worry and stress of logistics; before, during and after the shows.
Soon it's winter and we start all over again.


So, the shipment that left in November has arrived in America and being trucked to Quartzsite for the first show (hopefully). When we arrive we hope all the gear from last year has also been trucked to Quartzsite to coincide with our arrival.
Organising trucking and customs clearance etc is not easy from the other side of the world. They are nineteen hours behind us. Email is a wonderful thing!

Washing rocks

When rock hunters are prospecting for interesting and/or colourful rock and they want to know how the rock will cut and polish, they lick it. It's the most convenient way to wet the surface and so get an idea of its qualities. I love to watch my partner do this. It's as if he has an affinity with the earth itself. But then, rocks are his passion and always have been. He was picking up rocks from the age of three.

He cuts the rocks in rock saws then polishes them on vibrolaps (large circular flat plates that vibrate). This process reveals the beauty contained inside the rocks.

The polishing powder needs to be washed off each polished face and slab and this is a job I can do for him. I stand in the sunshine holding each piece under the powerful jet of a pressure cleaner and watch the specimens come to life.

Then all the rocks are packed into drums and sent to America in time for the biggest rock, gem and mineral show in the world.

Sorry, Woody, you can't come!

Dig Dig Dig

During the winter we dig the rocks and in the summer take them to America to sell at the shows. It takes us a day or two to drive to the mines. Up here the temperatures during the day are around 20 to 30 degrees celcius. Warm days and cool nights. Perfect!




Partner is up ahead in truck loaded with backhoe while I follow in the Land Cruiser pulling the trailer.



As you can see, scenery on the way can be a bit 'samey' but it has its moments. I listen to the radio, cassette tapes and do the odd crossword (for hours and hours and hours!).










Beautiful skies here. Clear air. And only the sound of the birds and insects.

The only water is from windmills which pump water up into tanks and there is a pool for the cattle and sheep.

To think, I used to go to an airconditioned office every day and do 'office things'. Now this is my work place. Which would you choose? I'd choose the fresh air every time.

This is crazy lace agate.

You can see more rocks here.

Some would say the dust and flies could be slightly off-putting. I take them on as a challenge.

After a few days I was on first-name terms with some of the flies. They joined me inside my fly net. Others were just plain ignorant little buggers.

Western Australia has a huge amount of wildflowers during winter/spring. There was colour everywhere.

The dust didn't seem to bother our dog who enjoyed forraging for mice! I know it looks like chocolate but, really, it isn't.

Rock dug, sorted, packed into bags.

Truck ordered, loaded, and away it goes.

Job done!

Beautiful Rocks!

It will never cease to amaze me how different people get attracted to different rocks. And the attraction is sometimes insatiable.

There we are in Quartzsite or Tucson, with trestle tables absolutely choc-a-block full of rocks for sale. They are polished faces and slabs and range from stunning reds, mauves, pinks and purples to greens, blues and yellows. Beautiful, exquisite rocks.

I have seen people try to walk past but look twice and find they have to take a closer look. Then they have to touch. One lady picked up a piece of Mookaite and marvelled at the colours and the 'picture' she could see. She continued to walk around the whole booth looking at all the rocks but found herself drawn back to the same piece. As she looked closer at the boxful of unpolished slabs she found the 'sister' piece to the one that caught her eye. She held them up and exclaimed to her friend, "Look! That's Arizona!" It took her just a few minutes to realise that she could not possibly leave our booth without these pieces of rock.

And often people have no idea why they 'must have' that piece of rock. And to be honest, at times neither do we because sometimes they choose a rock that we think is rubbish.

There is a huge amount written on the metaphysical properties of rock and when I see people drawn to various types and colours I feel there really must be something in it.

If you would like to see more Australian rock look here.

Monday

I picked some roses this morning.

They look, feel and smell beautiful.


I also washed some rocks ready for sale.










The rocks look and feel beautiful too.


Almost good enough to eat!


It's enough to make a person turn religious!!