Indian Wells Gem & Mineral Society

 If you have submissions for the newsletter, please get them to Aaron by the end of the first week of the month. Send them to bestwishes.aaron@gmail.com.  For other information contact our Club President,
 John De Rosa, 760-375-7905 and at jfrocks@dslextreme.com


Karl can lead a Sheep Springs field trip to Sheep Springs FEB 28th.  Members can contact me if they are interested at zellnerkm@msn.com. Without verifying the current state of the road it will be 4-Wheel drive trip and require a steep hike of about ½ mile.  Since this is a long known site good material will need to be dug from below the surface.  Participants will need to bring plenty of water.



  The 58th Annual Gem & Mineral Show was a great success!  We enjoyed 13 vendors, and had 950 visitors!  So many people worked very hard to make this Show the success it was - we know who you are and Thank You!

A group of rockhounds has formed in the Kern River Valley. For info on them go to KernValley.

The Gem and Mineral Club's claim at Rainbow Ledge yields a local
jasper/agate, which takes a great polish, can be cut by hand or
tumbled. The jasper comes in a variety of colors, as the name of its
location implies.
"It was a great field trip, perfect weather and one of the top ten for
Southern California.  It was nice to see a number of kids having a
great time along side the usual veteran collectors.  The trip leader
was congenial and knowledgeable." 
Terry Vasseur
South Bay Lapidary society 

The Society, one of the oldest clubs in the valley, began on Sept.
19, 1945, in the town of Dunmovin', just north of Little Lake. In
1946, the Navy assigned a permanent building to the club, which
became known as the NOTS Rockhounds. Many of the early shows were
held at the former Community Center at China Lake.

The club now meets the fourth Monday of the month (except July,
August and December) at 527 W. Upjohn Ave. Visitors are welcome. The
group offers Pebblepups for the kids, videos, speakers, and field
trips. A complete lapidary shop for members offers a chance to polish your skills. New members are instructed in stone cutting, etc., by the "sponsor" on duty in the shop.

The spectacular results of the member's efforts are on display in
cases at the show — featuring highly polished stone spheres in a
rainbow of colors, jewelry of all types and almost anything that can be cut out of stone.

Some rockhounds focus their efforts on mineral collecting,
specializing in crystal formations in their natural state, not
something created by the member.

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