CMS March 21st 2020 Field Trip to Baker Lake / Swift Creek (agate, jasper, jade)

Past Field Trips

On March 21st, 2020, we will be going to the Baker Lake area for agate, jasper, and jade.
Meet 9:45 AM at Sedro Woolley Forest Service Office.
Directions: From I-5, go past Mt. Vernon and take exit 232 Cook Rd to Sedro Woolley.  Go through about 3 roundabouts.  Forest Service Office is on left side before the Arco Station (810 WA-20, Sedro Woolley).
The group will leave promptly at 10 am.

From Renton it is approximately a 1.5 hour drive (80 miles) to the meeting place.  Then another 35 miles to the collection site..

Swift Creek flows into the Baker Lake reservoir and you will need waders (or hip boots) to cross the stream and get to the gravel beds. Usually in March there are still snow banks along the roadway and on the river bank.  So access requires climbing over snow berm and walking through some deep snow and down snow covered embankment.  Tools – shovel (optional), bucket, and garden pick. Collecting is in the stream bed as well as the gravel beds further downstream, so a pair of PVC gloves would be handy (the water can be pretty cold). The water is 1-2 feet deep in places.   Roads are good, with some hard pack snow and ice in places this time of year.

Roger Danneman ( roger.danneman@gmail.com ; 425-228-8781 or 425-757-3506 cell).

Updated: April 7, 2020 — 9:19 pm

Presidents Message

  • From the Top of the Rock Pile 2024 is in our rearview mirror. It was a very successful year for our club. We moved our Cascade Gem Show to June at Kent Commons. It has been an excellent decision for our club. We had the largest attendance since resuming our shows in 2018, with approximately 3,200 visitors! The proceeds from our two club auctions in 2024 brought in around $1,800. These funds help to cover our club’s largest expense, the liability insurance policy. I expect the premium for 2025 will be near $3,000. Our booth at the Puyallup Gem Faire …

Meeting Announcements

  • February 13th – Jim Cerenzie – Finding New (Old) Rockhounding Sites Our club member, Jim Cerenzie, is going to speak on how he finds long forgotten sites to hunt for rocks and crystals. He has a YouTube channel called the “Vug Meister” where he and his son go rockhounding to these places. If you watch YouTube please support him by subscribing to his channel. Show ‘n Tell: Your favorite rockhounding find. It can be a find from a field trip, your yard, the beach, or a riverbed.

  • March 13th – Field Trip Preview by Roger Danneman Where will we go this year? Join our wagonmaster Roger Danneman as he gives us a preview of all of the places the Club will explore this year on field trips – and what kinds of materials you might find there. Show ‘n Tell: Something you’ve found on a prior field trip (with a club or on your own!).

  • April 10th – Rock BINGO Kent schools on spring break. So all you members, junior members and their friends, your grandkids, guests it is time for our Rock Bingo night.  Everyone is guaranteed to be a winner. Rock Bingo is free tonight – bring 3 wrapped presents (see below). Maximum 3 game cards per player. Each player is to bring 3 wrapped presents. Rocks, minerals, fossils, cabachons, slabs, jewelry, or anything that you think would be a nice gift.  Guests do not need to bring any wrapped items.

  • May 8th – Glaciers by Paul Ahnberg What are the benefits of glaciers? Glaciers, slow-moving rivers of ice, have sculpted mountains and carved valleys throughout Earth’s history. They continue to flow and shape the landscape in many places today. But glaciers affect much more than the landscape. Show ‘n Tell: A white or clear mineral or crystal.

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