We left George and Vals and drove North across the McClure Pass. I had to stop once and let the tranny cool as I used lower gear to slow my descent. Connecting with I-70 we headed east for Denver. The drive was about as bad as I ever want, (heavy rains, heavy traffic, and super long climbs and downhills), and it will be a cold day in hell before I cross the Vail Pass again.
Arriving in Golden we parked and planned our next days excursion and we were both so excited that we had a hard time sleeping. The next morning we arrived at the Denver Gem and Mineral show and got in line with the other early birds,( The early bird gets the best rock don't ya know!).
Renita went left and I right so we could cover more ground before the other buyers snapped up all the best and cheapest specimens. I found Gursney agate and Morrisionite and Renita found some beautiful lapis. We stayed the whole day and left drained and broke but with beautiful rock for our lapidary wheels.
Another day and this time two different shows at the Denver Coliseum. There we saw the best lapis, turquoise, and sugaite that money could buy, but the price oh the price! At a dollar fifty a gram we didn't buy any and thats ok, maybe next year. We did find some Wyoming Jade, from the Rhodes collection. Its old jade from Green Mountain and Crooks Gap and we had to have some of this vanishing collection.
We bought some tuxedo stone, which we didn't know was actually sugar and acid treated Brazilian agate. Its made by soaking the plain white agate in honey for several weeks and then boiling it in sulfuric acid. We were so disappointed to be taken with treated stone, stone we try to avoid but at least we learned. We also leaned how to detect dyed lapis and so we decided not to buy any unless the dealers allow us to test it,(take a cotton ball and wet it with acetone and then rub it on the stone. If it turns purple its dyed stone).
The high light of the shows was when we met the paleontologist who made a guest appearance on Jurassic Park, Dr Robert Bakker( He was eaten by one of the beasts). More famous for his theory of warm blooded dinosaurs and the book
Raptor Red, he shook my hand and attempted to identify the tooth I wear as a pendant,(He told me how to clean it and said he thought it might be a creodont canine ocyeana, kind of an Eocene Hyeana).
We ended up getting what we came for which was not just more rock but more importantly contacts and new insights into our passion for stone. Its funny really how lucky we are to travel and meet so many people with like interests. Again we have been truly blessed. Clear skies.
I don't think there is anything more exciting than meeting a bunch of like minded people in a setting of all your favorite things, in your case rocks and in our case pastels. We are always so jazzed to be at our convention, and we are thrilled that you get to have that feeling too. Sharon and Allan
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