The Good News is…. Here’s the schedule through January 2019!
This year, I have 4 ranches available for rockhunting. I’ll be leading a set of 4-day weekends of rockhunting, with one of the four days on each ranch. I will change the order of the ranches for each weekend, so that if you can only come on one day of the week, you can still get to each ranch. Here is the schedule for November, 2018 through January, 2019:
| Date | Time | Trip Location | Leader |
| Thursday, 11/8 | 9:00 a.m. | Ritchie Ranch | $10 entrance fee plus $1/lb |
| Friday, 11/9 | 8:00 a.m. | East Needle Peak | $40 per person |
| Saturday 11/10 | 8:00 a.m. | South Larremore Ranch | $50 per person |
| Sunday 11/11 | 8:00 a.m. | Stillwell Ranch | 50 cents per lb. of rock you take |
| Thursday 11/22 | 8:00 a.m. | Stillwell Ranch | 50 cents per lb. of rock you take |
| Friday 11/23 | 9:00 a.m. | Ritchie Ranch | $10 entrance fee plus $1/lb |
| Saturday, 11/24 | 8:00 a.m. | East Needle Peak | $40 per person |
| Sunday, 11/25 | 8:00 a.m. | South Larremore Ranch | $50 per person |
| Thursday, 12/13 | 8:00 a.m. | South Larremore Ranch | $50 per person |
| Friday, 12/14 | 8:00 a.m. | East Needle Peak | $40 per person |
| Saturday, 12/15 | 9:00 a.m. | Ritchie Ranch | $10 entrance fee plus $1/lb |
| Sunday, 12/16 | 8:00 a.m. | East Needle Peak | $40 per person |
| Thursday, 12/20 | 8:00 a.m. | East Needle Peak | $40 per person |
| Friday, 12/21 | 8:00 a.m. | South Larremore Ranch | $50 per person |
| Saturday, 12/22 | 8:00 a.m. | Stillwell Ranch | 50 cents per lb. of rock you take |
| Sunday, 12/23 | 9:00 a.m. | Ritchie Ranch | $10 entrance fee plus $1/lb |
| Thursday, 12/27 | 9:00 a.m. | Ritchie Ranch | $10 entrance fee plus $1/lb |
| Friday, 12/28 | 8:00 a.m. | East Needle Peak | $40 per person |
| Saturday, 12.29 | 8:00 a.m. | South Larremore Ranch | $50 per person |
| Sunday, 12/30 | 8:00 a.m. | Stillwell Ranch | 50 cents per lb. of rock you take |
| Thursday, 1/24/19 | 8:00 a.m. | Stillwell Ranch | 50 cents per lb. of rock you take |
| Friday, 1/25/19 | 9:00 a.m. | Ritchie Ranch | $10 entrance fee plus $1/lb |
| Saturday, 1/26/19 | 8:00 a.m. | East Needle Peak | $40 per person |
| Sunday, 1/27/19 | 8:00 a.m. | South Larremore Ranch | $50 per person |
As usual, all trips start in front of the Antelope Lodge, 2310 W. Highway 90, Alpine. To reserve your place on a trip, email me at agatehunter@sbcglobal.net. Payment for the trip is not due until the morning of the trip. All the ranches accept cash or check, and the Stillwell also accepts credit cards. At least one person in your group needs to be a member of the Rollin’ Rock Club to go on the trips. Cost is $10 per year for a single membership and $16 for a dual membership, purchasable at the time of the trip.
If no one is signed up for a trip 48 hours before it starts it will be cancelled. Once cancelled, it can’t be “un-cancelled”. So be sure to sign up!
Since the Antelope Lodge has changed ownership, the prices have gone up somewhat, and the amenities are different. But the reservation website name is the same, www.antelopelodge.com.
As for the bad news, I’m sorry to report that another of the classic rockhunting locations, the Walker Ranch, is permanently closed to rockhunters. It has been sold to the Wood family, who purchased the Woodward Ranch several years ago. They had bad experiences with rockhunters after purchasing the Woodward Ranch, and they do not care to open it up to us. Even the name “Walker Ranch” has disappeared: it’s now part of the Wood ranch.
The winds of change are also blowing through my life since we sold the Antelope Lodge last December. For a number of reasons, this will probably be the last year that I lead field trips for the full Fall-Winter-Spring season. So if you’ve been waiting for a compelling reason to come out here, that’s it. I don’t know what the schedule will look like for 2019 -2020, but my guess is that it will be compressed into a fairly hectic month or two. I’ll post the new developments in my life that have led to this decision on my webiite or tell y’all when you’re out here rockhunting.
I hope to see y’all this winter!
Regards,
Teri
Hi Heather! There’s no fee on top of the entry fee to the ranches where we hunt. My deal with the ranchers is they get the money and I get to go rockhunting for free! However, if you feel you’ve had a good time, I will accept a tip, but there’s no requirement for it. The trips would be great for your son, I think. Most of the time the rocks are found on the surface, so you’re walking rather than digging most of the time. When we first get on a ranch, I’ll take you to the parking area and show you samples of the rocks you can find there. I’ll explain what they are, and what you can do with them once you get them home. Then I send you out to bring me back three pieces of agate. When you’ve brought me the agate I’ll know you can recognize it, so you can go out and wander around on your own. We’ll arrange to meet back together near lunchtime, and you can show me what you’re finding and ask questions. Then we go out and do it again for the afternoon. We usually hunt til 5 p.m. or so, which gives us time to get back to the paved roads before dark.
In all cases, you can choose to leave earlier in the day if your son gets tired and wants to quit. You’ll just need to leave me a note telling me that you’ve left so I don’t worry about you and start searching for you.
You’ll want to have good clothing for the desert (hat, long sleeved shirt and long pants), and good shoes or hiking boots. You’ll need lots of food and water. You’ll want to have something to put your finds in — I like canvas bags with long straps that go over your shoulder, and I have some of those to loan out to you. I can also loan you my favorite tool: a one-piece stainless steel table knife. The only time you’ll need a tool is when you find the top of a rock that’s partly buried and want to dig it out.
All four ranches offer the possibility of finding Native American artifacts, and because this is private land, you can keep them if you find them. It’s also possible to find some fossils at East Needle Peak, the South Larremore Ranch, and the Stillwell Ranch.
I hope to see you at Thanksgiving!