Tag Archives: fossil

Tucson Gem Shows-Mineral & Fossil Co-op

The best window dressing of all time. Worlds largest Megaladon Mouth

Looking out the window. I wonder if that woman knows she’s about to be chomped? 7 to 8 foot mouth I’d guess. Perhaps 80 feet long.

The Mineral & Fossil Co-op is included in the Tucson Show Guide, but is a permanent business located at 1635 N. Oracle (Main Avenue turns into Oracle). We always enjoy visiting there for the high end fossils, and products.

This year as I walked in and the first thing that caught my eye was what is claimed to be the largest Megalodon jaw in the world. The Carcharocles megalodon from the Cenozoic era (15.9 to 2.6 million years ago) was the largest predator that ever existed. 182 fine meg teeth make up the jaw. The largest tooth is 7 5/8″ in length along the diagonal and is among the largest meg tooth ever found. Vito Bertucci “The Megalodon Man” took 16 years to collect teeth the correct size to make this jaw.  He made several other jaws that are on display in other museums and aquariums.  He died in 2004 while diving for sharks teeth in South Carolina.

Ammonites Galore

Ammonites

Spheres of all types

If you have a little more room.

Ammonite’s abound at the Co-op at many dealers there. Any size and type are available. Large Crinoid Plate similar to the one I showed you the other day is for sale and I took a close up to show detail.

Crinoids

Many of the fossil’s and minerals at the Co-op were at other shows being sold, but many were remaining to look at.

Ron Coleman crystal

Wooly Mammoths, and Mastadons tusks, oh my!

Russian Giant Elk

Stegasaurus

Frigate Bird

Coleman Quartz had many wonderful crystal clusters, and my favorite dealer at the Co-op GeoDecor always has great fossils on their walls and on the floor; a couple of note were a 50 million year old Frigate Bird, A Russian Giant Elk, a Stegosaurus, and a Triceratops.

Some beautiful Colorful Ammonites were being sold at the Sahara Sea Gallery, Rosman had an assortent of gorgeous Spheres, and Russell-Zuhl had Petrified Wood tables and the like.

A Perfect Petoskey Stone Fossil

The entire specimen about 3″X6″

Notice the Detail?

Do you really know what a Hexagonaria Coral looked like when it was alive during the Devonian Age? Neither do I. You can get an idea by looking online at artist’s rendering based on what corals look like today.

The Petoskey Stones we find in our area of NW Lower Michigan are lovely; whites, grays of various shades, and sometimes a little pink, yellow, or blue mixed in. These are calcified fossils and polish to an attractive shine that enhances the coloration and pattern.

Underside

Many years ago I purchased a collection of rocks and minerals that contained one very remarkable Hexagonaria. I just put it aside and forgot I had it for about 20 years. My wife Bonnie sometimes dares to comes down to the shop and TRIES to as she says “neaten up”. She rediscovered this fossil with others back in the recesses of my storage area.

Hexagon shaped chambers with polyps’ peaking out

Close-up of Polyps. Notice the chamber wall striations.

I was amazed at the detail of the fossil. I simply cleaned the dust and cobwebs off with some Dawn soap and a toothbrush. I ground off the rough bottom so it sets straight. Imagine my surprise when my hard diamond wheels were sparking and I found that the fossil was not the normal Calcite, but very hard Quartz. Because this Petoskey was a Silica replacement fossil it remained undamaged and perfectly petrified for these millions of years. I have to suspect that this fossil was early Devonian. I have no idea where this specimen was found, but I was happy it was re-found in my barn and I could show it to you.

First off, my fossil has a yellow tinge. All the individual Polyps show high resolution and even perfect mouths. The living part of the Hexagonaria was called a polyp, and the dark spot we see in the center of the Hexagon shaped chamber was the polyp’s mouth. The animal had tenticles like most modern corals, that grabbed plankton as it drifted by then fed this food into its’ mouth.

See the tentacles?

The resolution is so good in this fossil that you can actually see some tenticles and perfect striations on the walls of the individual chambers.

I am knowledgeable about Petoskey Stones, but I am by far not a leading expert. I base my text on what I know from collecting devonian Fossils for 40 years.

Pyritized Ammonite Jewelry

Treasures from the Tucson Gem Shows

Finding pyritize ammonites around the Tucson gem shows is not that difficult, but it is hard to find large, whole undamaged Pyritized Ammonites.

 

Ammonites are extinct mullusks related to modern day Squids, Octipus, and Cuttlefish. They had compartmentalized bodies. This feature makes them very interesting when the inside is exposed to show these compartments.

The rear

Wonderful, large, Ammonites sporting multi-colored Opalized surfaces fetch many thousands of dollars at the Tucson Shows. These large showy Mullusks are mines in Alberta, Canada. Smaller inexpensive Ammonites are available by the millions from Moroccan dealers. We see Ammonites with a coating of Pyrite and we see fully Pyritized Ammonites like the one I found.

Giant Opalized Gem Ammonite from Alberta

These fully Pyritize Ammonites are from a location about 30 miles from Moscow. Similar ones come from other worldwide locales. I find wrapping these lots of fun but you have to be very careful with your tools as the interior structure is somewhat fragile.

We have had variations of ammonite used in our jewelry. I have made a dual piece with tiger eye, and ammonite encased in mammoth ivory, as well as the expected shiny-bright ammonite. You can see the current selection at our Fossil Jewelry page.

Tucson Gem Shows-JOGS and 22nd Street Show

S0315078A few of the Tucson shows are open earlier than the weekend, so here we go. JOGS and 22nd Street Show are two of the early open shows and they both have free parking. As the days progress the other shows will open.

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JOGS used to be a wholesale show, but is now wholesale and retail, with various IDs issued. The JOGS has around 800 vendors, with some not rock-related. We saw garments and gift store items from India, wood carvings, purses. Primarily we saw rocks, geodes, beads, silver, and finished jewelry. We always shop for druzies here. After having fun sorting through these druzy piles, the rest of the time is hunt and seek things we didn’t know we needed. You never know who you might see. While selecting opal doublets, we ran into a gentleman from back home also carefully picking through the opal doublets. Often we see opal triplets, but seldom doublets, which have a thicker opal layer than the triplets. It was nice to go through the unsorted boxes of opals. So many opals!

After sorting opals I looked up and saw a man I recognized, but couldn’t place him. I finally remembered I had seen him on TV selling jewelry. We have a friend who often talks about the information she learned from Jay King. I often watch the Jewelry channels which are famous for women gushing over the jewelry. Jay knows the history of the rock as well as the manufacture of jewelry. Our friend Beth often comments on what she learned from Jay, so I collected an autograph from him for our friend. He commented on the triple Dinosaur Bone pendant I was wearing. He mentioned that he has sold Dinosaur Bone on a limited basis before. You never know who you might see at the gem shows, so keep your eyes open.

JOGS does not allow picture taking, but some of the dealers were agreeable, so you can see a few things we enjoyed. My policy is to always ask if I can take a picture. Beautiful carved jade sea turtles were the first things that caught my eye. Later I was impressed by gem grade rhodochrosite, some including galena. They had great slabs, carvings and fascinating stalactite rough. They had some rough stalactite pieces with beautiful eyes. I was inspired by a couple small slab pieces and purchased them. Much of their rhodochrosite was solid crystal, dark pink and interesting quality.

This show is a good source for turquoise, including buckets from various closed mines. Treated and untreated turquoise, finished jewelry, cabs, and lots of rough are available. Bonnie was wearing the untreated Sleeping Beauty piece I recently made, and we didn’t see any that color verifying that it is a rare beauty! Even the dealers were amazed at this old stock piece.

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A big dog bone

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Natural Topaz rough

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Boxed of Moroccan Ammonites

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Friend Jacquie and Bonnie looking for a knight in shining armor at 22nd stree.

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Lots of petrified wood

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A Really unusual fossil

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What you’d see if you were about to be attacked by a Romanian cave bear.

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This booth had everything from mastadon tusks to a megaladon mouth.

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Bonnie in a sea of fossils and geodes.

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Beautiful iridescent Canadian ammonites

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Beautiful butterfly displays in abundance at this booth.

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After lunch we moved on to the 22nd Street Show. The tent has grown again, and is packed full of vendors, has new lighting, and a wide variety of stuff. Major Fossil dealers are selling large dinosaurs, lots of Moroccan sellers, high quality Australian rock, crystals, cabochons, hand made jewelry, knives. I also saw the miners from the Prospectors TV show, and spoke with Geoff Notkin from the Meteorite Men. If you are bringing kids, this show has a wide variety and prices covering the gamut.

I was lucky to find something today that has been on my wish list for a few years. This hint is some bait so you’ll come back for tomorrow’s blog where I will show you what I bought!

Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Shows-Beads and G&LW

55 sunny

 

Gary at Caberlight sells his innovative LED lights.

Gary at Caberlight sells his innovative LED lights.

A pleasant day but a bit cold (icy cold for the locals, T-shirt for me). We started at The Best Bead Show (that’s the name of it). I needed a couple new LED lights and Bonnie was in need of some supplies for kumihimo, a braiding material she has been playing around with. We were surprised to see that there were no outside tents like there was when we were here 2 years ago. We thought they might have expanded their space inside, but no, it turns out it was half the size of when we were there last.

Bonnie wanted to go there because this show has lots of seed beads, including new shapes that they keep coming out with. Who knew that those little things come in rectangles or triangles with two holes, or superduos or miniduos or rizos, or just plain o’s. Anyway, I was happy to find coffee and a bench, and she was happy to buy “stuff”.

The piles of beads abound.

The piles of beads abound.

After the Bead Show we hopped the Gem Show Shuttle over to the Wholesale Show at G&LW’s (Gem & Lapidary Wholesalers) giant tent, that I showed you on a previous blog. Really you are not suppose to photo anything, but I had a friend that took a couple; That’s my story anyway.

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I was sitting in a “Guy Chair” waiting for Bonnie to get through this line.

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These were really “Bling”. I did not enhance this photo.

The G&LW show has much buy/sell merchandise from China, India, Taiwan, Pakistan, Austrailia, and many other places with vendors being of many nationalities. I have trouble understanding many of them, and they sometimes have trouble understanding me, but they all understand CASH! Most dealers at this show take credit cards and/or checks. We stocked up on ribbon and leather necklaces and some other premade items. There are few rough rocks at this show other than faceting rough, so I can move pretty fast for a guy with a bad leg. Tables stacked with beads, with the Bead Ladies attacking them with a furor reminiscent of piranha attacking. It seems the more Bead Ladies at the booth, the more it attracts other Bead Ladies. The show was busy even though it was midweek. I took a picture of a line Bonnie stood in. What was nice was a handy corral of resting chairs in the next aisle, and I was not the only guy there!

Shiny beads seem to be the product of the day, both faceted, manufactured simulates, and true gemstones. Even I was able to recognize that there were many more shapes and designs than in previous years. Dealers were in full competition to attract CASH!

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Skulls with their heads blown off like that add on TV.

One funny thing I saw were carved skulls but these were different in the top was blown off like the ad you see on TV where the top of people’s heads get blown off. I found some very nice Botswana cabochons and that was about all I bought.

Here are a few things from the shows the last few days. It pays to have a loupe and a light, as there are many surprises in some show treasures. Quartz with inclusions come from Mina Gerais, Brazil (AKA Lodelite), and often contain hidden treasures, if you can find them and you have the CASH!

 

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Lodelite (notice the Quartz Crystal in the Quartz) Very awesome?

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Red Rutile in Quartz

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Notice the crystal in the grass?.

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Inclusions in this are probably Manganese.

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Nice Ametrine

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Star Rutile is very coveted.

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Lodelite with Manganese inclusions

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Sphalerite with Galena.

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Nice colors for Botswana Agate.

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Colorful Botswana Agate

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I know a guy who has these hidden in his room. I cannot tell you where!

 

The Tucson Shows are Open

The bead ladies busy at the JOGS Show.

The bead ladies busy at the JOGS Show.

January 28th, 2016 low 70’s and sunny.

Piles of gemstones

Piles of gemstones

The 2016 Tucson Rock, Mineral and Fossil Shows have started. We found ourselves today at the JOGS Show and the 22nd Street Show.tubatjogs

JOGS is a fairly large show selling both Wholesale and Retail. To purchase Wholesale requires business credentials. The JOGS show has large selections in many categories, beads, gemstones, cabochons, finished jewelry, stone carvings, and display items, and other miscellaneous items. Photography is prohibited, but I did snap a couple shots, with hopes that the photography police would not arrest me. Bonnie and a friend went in search of beads, and found lots. This is the show where I buy the treated druzy quartz that are so popular. Outside the JOGS building we saw a large Madagascar petrified wood log carved into a bathtub shape. Or it could be a boat, or a beer cooler. It was big, and would hold a lot of beer; that’s all we know. There must have been some use for it; that’s a lot of work for a Superbowl kegger. When we go back to the JOGS Show, I’ll ask.

Fossils Galore.

Fossils Galore.

Sweet Home Rhodocrosite.

Sweet Home Rhodocrosite.

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Dwayne Hall

After lunch we went to the 22nd Street Show. We have enjoyed this show ever since they opened a few years back. We always ask if we can take pictures. A highlights of the show are the big dinosaur fossils, the chance to visit with the vendors, as well as seeing some of the stars from the Weather Channel Show the Prospectors.

Amanda makes me look bad, but that's all right.

Amanda makes me look bad, but that’s all right.

She looks best in her booth at the show selling tha good Colorado treasure.

She looks best in her booth at the show selling those beautiful Colorado treasure.

Amanda Anderson is our favorite, (and the best looking Prospector). She had some wonderful finds from her adventures including some great smokey quartz which you can see in the picture. We are so happy she did not get buried in that hole this year. You had to have seen that particular show on the Weather Channel.

Dwayne really looks like a Prospector, and we chatted about a crystal rhodochrosite specimen from the Sweet Home Mine. A beautiful gemmy piece, it was in the $6000 range. To be honest, that’s a bargain price. I’d buy it in a heartbeat if I collected specimens.

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Canadian Pliosaur

RUN, FORREST, RUN!

RUN, FORREST, RUN!

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Abertasaurus Sarcophagus

Triebold Paleontology had a few dinosaur specimens, a small Tyranosaurus, and a hungry water creature posed ready to eat a turtle. Many other fossils were on display, small as well as large–fossil fish, cephalopods, trilobites, megaladon teeth.

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Enchodus petrosus

A little polished Rose Quartz

A little polished Rose Quartz

Iguana

Iguana

We enjoyed talking with Robert Stratton who had Damascus steel knives with gemstone handles and knife sheaves made from elephant skin, ostrich legs, caiman skin, and many other creatures. The dinosaur bone and mastadon teeth stones in his handles caught my eye and we enjoyed hearing his story of how he got started.amethystgeodes

I didn’t buy much, but Bonnie got some geodes, fossils, and crystals for upcoming projects.

Tucson Gem, Mineral, & Fossil Shows-2014-I Found a New Rock!

Orpiment

Orpiment

A stroll around the Fossil Show at the Hotel Tucson City Center was very interesting. The crowds were light and I had time to chat with Vendors. I saw a couple rocks I was not familiar with and found a hidden Mammoth.

A Catseye Jade, Moonstone, and Topaz Pendant.  This shows the amazing flash of this Russian Jade.

An example of Catseye Jade, mixed with Moonstone, and Topaz Pendant. This shows the amazing flash of this Russian Jade. (Sold, but I just bought more material!)

My one last item on my list was Catseye Jade. I saw some Catseye Jade at the Pueblo show at what I thought was too much. Today I found this unusual Nephrite at one of the Russian Vendors for 1/5th the cost. This jade has a catseye effect when cut properly and moved back and forth. The jade is mined in Siberia.

The same Russian I bought the Jade from also had a tray of the prettiest worthless (my opinion) mineral I know of. Orpiment is an Arsenic Sulfide Material; doesn’t that sound tasty? It is worthless as a lapidary material. It is soft plus very poisonous. It is pretty, shiny, and golden, probably from Sulfur (making it even tastier). I can see leaving this candy looking mineral around the house-NOT! It degrades in natural light, producing a white powdery surface.

They hid this giant in plain view

They hid this giant in plain view

I wandered into the show in a permanent building next to the Hotel Tucson CC. I looked out a side door, and surprise; A hidden Mastodon, proving large items can be hidden in plain view.

I found more Staurolites that I liked, and collected a few.

A Mineralogical Wonder-DeGrussa

A Mineralogical Wonder-DeGrussa

I spoke to the owner of Aradon Pty Ltd. I saw some new material similar to Sonoran Sunset, but slightly different. It is a Malachite/Cuprite/Chrysocolla mixture with Drusy Quartz over Chrysocolla pockets. The Mineralogical interest is extensive. Not all the Copper has been altered to Cuprite. I may go back and acquire a piece. Although it resembles Sonoran Sunset, the Cuprite was brighter red, the light blue and dark blue/green Chrysocolla proved this is different. Neat stuff! It comes from an open pit copper mine in western Australia. The name that they call this rock is “DeGrussa”. I was told there is about a 5 year supply. I expect this may be the new hot material next year in Tucson.

Wood Furniture

Wood Furniture

The back yard of the Hotel Tucson City Center.

The back yard of the Hotel Tucson City Center.

Your Whimsy of the day.  Little shell Bobbleheads.  Cute!

Your Whimsy of the day. Little shell Bobbleheads. Cute!

Enjoy the pictures. We never know what tomorrow will bring.

Tucson Gem, Mineral, & Fossil Shows 2014-Why It Pays To Be an Old Rockhound.

At the entrance to the Holidome tents.  No photos allowed inside.

At the entrance to the Holidome tents. No photos allowed inside.

A high grade Turquoise boulder at a Holiday Inn Room.

A high grade Turquoise boulder at a Holiday Inn Room.

Where should we go today? This is our coversation over coffee each morning. Today the Holidome show opened. This is a typical hotel show in some ways, but the addition of two big tents add the trade show feel as well. Last year the aisles were so narrow we had trouble with getting by other buyers and especially the “bead ladies” with their large wheeled suitcases in tow. (sometimes the Bead Ladies are really Bead Men, but the oversize luggage is the key identifier.) This year there is an additional connected tent, allowing wider aisles. One lady today insisted the shuttle drop her off on the sidewalk because her suitcase was 150# and the small wheels were useless on the peastone surface.

We first sought to replenish our jewelry chain supply and were able to find some high quality chains of assorted styles and sizes. This is a long and complicated procedure, getting some of this length and that, then moving to another thickness or pattern, then changing metals–silver, rose gold, yellow gold. After you select them, then comes the weighing and the wrapping and the paying. Chains are not so fun to deal with, Bonnie tells me. I really try to stay away.

We scooted through a lot of aisles, skipping past so much finished jewelry and slowing down to look over really nice cabochons or unusual displays.

Good Boulder Opal reasonable.

Good Boulder Opal reasonable.

Walking the aisles we only bought a couple boulder opals. After a few days of busy purchasing it was good to lighten up. The favorite sculpture of the day (again, sorry no pics!) was three parrots carved from Blue Peruvian Opal and perched on top of a large quartz specimen. Memorable.

Randon rocks from the tailgate.

Randon rocks from the tailgate.

We found some vendors tailgating and we stopped to look. I found an interesting tub of rocks. While I was searching through a tub for treasures, Bonnie mosied (as she says) chatting up people. She likes to scout around and see if I have missed anything good. After I made the deal on my bag of rock, Bonnie said I should look at what one elderly gentleman had.

Old Luna from 50 years ago.

Old Luna from 50 years ago.

My jaw dropped when I saw he had old stock Luna Agate. I recognized this stuff from years ago. This material was acquired from an estate of an old rockhound (old meaning 103 when he died–maybe rockhunting is a healthy hobby!) who collected in Mexico over 60 years ago. The vendor said people had been walking right by, without even looking at his rare and extinct material. He knew what he had, and I knew what he had, so I did not object to the price. I would have bought it all had my pockets been deep enough. I give Bonnie credit for finding this little pile of treasure. We sure had fun pawing through his pile and trying to figure out which agate pieces would be the best.

A great slab at the Fossil Show

A great slab at the Fossil Show

dactyloceras plate

dactyloceras plate

We went to the Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show at the Ramada Inn. Not much was happening there. Some vendors had left or were packing even though this show is open until the 15th. The most interesting, high on the awesome scale were fish plates. Leaning against the second floor balcony from the ground up they were a large eye-catching display waiting for a great location, not in your average house. Bob Finney of Fossil Lake Fish Company gave me a card with the story. Another impressive but smaller plate was next to it with a fern and fossil fish swimming in the fossiliferous sediments. I’ve never seen a larger fossil plate. If you have a fat wallet ($150,000) and an oversize wall you could use this striking fossil centerpiece.

A real Giant of a fish plate with a giant price.

A real Giant of a fish plate with a giant price.

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These specimens came from southwestern Wyoming and formed 50 millions years ago. The Fossil Lake was around 930 miles, so many geologic features and fossils are being unearthed there. Lots of fossils from around the world are shown at this show.

I see a lot of younger attendees at these shows, rapidly scurrying here and there, as well as the more seasoned veterans, a bit slower, but a bit wiser as to choices they make and knowledge they bring to their choices. It is sort of like the tortoise and the hare race, the early bird might get the worm, but sometimes slow and steady wins the race. That was the case with me today. This is not the first time this has happened. My advice to younger rock hounds is to slow down, look around, and chat with the older folks who have been doing this awhile!

Look what I found in a box at Gary Wilson's booth.  Yes a Keweenaw Point Datolite no one else identified.

Look what I found in a box at Gary Wilson's booth. Yes a Keweenaw Point Datolite no one else identified.

Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Shows 2014-Hot buys and Hot Miners

A nice group of Raptors. Triebold Paleontology always Impresses.

A nice group of Raptors. Triebold Paleontology always Impresses.

Another Triebold Specimen:

Another Triebold Specimen: This one a Thescelosaurus Neglectus (65 million years ago)

We were really excited today to get on with our buying and exploring at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows. There are some 41 official shows and several bandit shows scattered all over Tucson. They open and close at various times. You need a show guide (a large catalog) that lists the locations of shows, dealers, and dates for shows. Some shows require dealer ID, while others are Wholesale/Retail.

Buckets of Turquoise at J.O.G.S.

Buckets of Turquoise at J.O.G.S.

Turquoise Bead picking.

Turquoise Bead picking.

The J.O.G.S. Show opened at the Tucson Expo Center and we were near the front of the line. We were not really looking for anything in particular, so we Freestyled, looking for things we did not know we needed. Bonnie looked at, and purchased some beads. We look for quality and bargains, but were conservative in our purchases. The crowds were not large, but people were spending some money. I would call the J.O.G.S. show “busy”.

I saw buckets of Turquoise in the usual spot, some nice cabochons and much gem material. Perhaps pictures were frowned upon, but I ask several dealers, and they said I could take a picture. One dealer that we deal with every year again had great stuff. I purchased a Moss Agate cabochon and a wonderful slab of Maw Sit Sit.

Maw Sit Sit from Burma (Now Myanmar)

Maw Sit Sit from Burma (Now Myanmar)

Maw Sit Sit is a cousin of Jade, but not really Jade. It is considered a rock and not a mineral. You can look it up on line. A very interesting stone indeed. Good stuff is also quite valuable. I looked over on the counter and saw three pieces of Elbite Tourmaline. Are you kidding three pieces of fairly good Tourmaline for a give-away price? This must be a mistake. It was not. The largest piece was 2 1/2″ X 1 1/4″. The buy of the day.

Blakes Guard...Don't mess with the silver dude!

Blake Brothers' Guard...Don't mess with the silver dude!

I saw a very intimidating guard at the Blake Brother’s booth.

Bumblebee is not jasper.  It is a sulfur rich volcanic Tuft from Indonesia.

A scary skull available for purchase. Bumblebee is not jasper. It is a sulfur rich volcanic Tuft from Indonesia. It can be made into some very colorful Bumblebee jewelry.

We proceeded on to the 22nd Street Show. Last year we were promised an additional tent and a paved lot, but that did not happen. Half the show was fossils and dinosaurs, and the other half random gems, jewelry, cabs, and carvings. If your kids are into dinosaurs, do take them here!

Amanda Adkins has to be the "hottest" Miner around.

Amanda Adkins has to be the "hottest" Miner around.

The entire cast of the Weather Channel Show “The Prospectors” was there. I asked Amanda Adkins for a picture. She graciously agreed. She is very tough on the show, but very nice in person. It doesn’t hurt the eyes to see her either. I enjoy the show and everyone was taking turns in the booth and selling their wares from Colorado.

A great Moss Agate I could not resist.

A great Dendritic Agate I could not resist.

Tourmaline for four bucks.  Nice buy Don.

Tourmaline bargain. Nice buy Don.

Smilodon Skull and petrified wood.

Smilodon Skull and Petrified Wood.

Check in tomorrow for more adventures from the Tucson rock shows.

Dinosaurs and an Official State Invertebrate Fossil

Miniature Museum

Miniature Museum

Cincinnati Museum Center.

Cincinnati Museum Center.

“Way better than the average museum!” This is how I describe the Cincinnati Museum Center which is located in the old Union Railroad Terminal. After the decline of railroad travel, the building was used for other random uses and in 1978 an attempt was made to convert the terminal into a shopping mall known as the Land of Oz. (Wikipedia) The mall opened in August of 1980 after two years of construction and then the recession hit and the mall took a hit. In 1982 the Cincinnati Museum of Health, Science and Industry opened in the terminal. The Oz project closed in 1984. The terminal was virtually empty for the next decade. In May of 1986 a bond levy was passed to save the terminal and transform it into the Museum Center. Former Cincinnati mayor Jerry Springer was one of the major proponents of saving the building and converting it to a museum. Amtrak still runs out of the terminal three times weekly. The conversion cost in excess of $40 million, funds provided by federal and state governments, local millage and donations.

Six organizations now have their homes here: The Cincinnati History Museum, the Museum of Natural History & Science, Robert D Lindner Family Omnimax Theater (a five story domed movie house), the Cincinnati Historical Society Library, Duke Energy Children’s Museum, and the Cincinnati Railroad Club. We were most interest in the science part which was featuring dinosaurs, while the Omnimax Theater showed a movie, Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants of Gondwana (Patagonia).t-rex1

The dinosaur exhibit featured fossils, skeletons, and 20 full scale casts of assorted dinosaurs. The Omnimax movie was projected on a five story dome which allowed for a full surround picture and digital sound. Watching this movie that appeared to be three dimensional, but you didn’t need 3-D glasses is so realistic that it freaks some people out. Dinosaurs are layered over natural habitat for a completely realistic experience. The movie featured the discovery of the first super-big giganotosaurus which is possible the largest land predator that every lived. It measured 45 feet in length and weighed six tons, slightly surpassing the T-Rex in size. We followed Fr Rodolofo Coria a renowned Argentinian paleontologist who has discovered several new dinosaurs in Patagonia. This was one of the most amazing movies we’ve ever seen, with supersized dinosaurs walking right over your head.

Dinosaur Bone.

Dinosaur Bone.

A closeup or some Dinosaur Bone reveals they are made up of a multitude of individual agates.

A closeup or some Dinosaur Bone reveals they are made up of a multitude of individual agates.

The museum featured a series of diaramas starting at the beginning of geologic time. Wonderful displays of rocks, minerals and fossils–I wished I owned the beautiful red and black Kentucky agate that I saw. I specialize in great agate jewelry.

Also featured was the official invertebrate fossil of Ohio, the trilobite (isotelus). This was a 12-13″ specimen, not your friendly little pendant sized ones I make into jewelry! Now as far as I know, Ohio is the only state with an Official Invertebrate Fossil(Ordovician), which leaves open the opportunity to name any number of other types of fossils as official. Naming other Official Fossils would be a good activity when state legislatures have nothing else important to do in the future. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of this official fossil, but picture one the size of your biggest dinner plate! Pennsylvania also sports the phacops rana (Devonian) that is also a trilobite as their official state fossil. Does this make it more or less important than an official invertebrate fossil? This will give you something to ponder today: which is more important Official State Fossil or Official State Invertebrate Fossil?! I just hope Ohio is not still upset over trading Michigan a small strip of land for the entire Upper Peninsula.

Mastodon teeth look fairly ugly from the outside, but reveal magnificent patterns on the inside.  The issue with them is most often they are too soft for lapidary work.

Mastodon teeth look fairly ugly from the outside, but can reveal magnificent patterns on the inside. The issue with them is most often they are too soft for lapidary work.

There were a number of mastadon fossils on display from Ohio, including several sets of teeth, which of course reminded me of the jewelry I made from them! Seriously, they were black and kind of boring looking color-wise. Notice that the pendant I made from a mastadon tooth had interesting mineral replacement giving it earthy blues and browns.

The main museum entrance.  You enter a fantastic domed huge open space that sued to be the main train terminal.

The main museum entrance. You enter a fantastic domed huge open space that used to be the main train terminal.

Murals, that at first seem painted, turned out to be made up of small colored tiles.

Murals, that at first seem painted, turned out to be made up of small colored tiles.

Across the huge lobby from the entrance to the Science museum is the History Museum. As we entered the museum we were met with a friendly volunteer that pointed out their scale model of Cincinnati as it may have looked beginning in the 1930’s. The detail and accuracy of this model is jaw-dropping especially as Cincinnati goes from daylight to darkness, and the lights come on. Miniature people, streetcars, trains, automobiles and animated action are all part of the scene. The history of Cincinnati is throughly detailed, including a neat 2/3 scale steamboat and small historic town on the lower level.

The old entrance to the trains is now the entrance to the 5 story OMNIMAX theater.

The old entrance to the trains is now the entrance to the 5 story OMNIMAX theater.

If you are ever in Cincinnati, do take a day to visit the Museum Center.