[Rockhounds] Gemfield, NV and Nuclear Waste routes

[Grant Johnston]

On 7/1/07, Bobslgn at aol.com <Bobslgn at aol.com> wrote:
>
>
> Yes,  Gemfield, NV is about nine miles from the town of Goldfield,  NV

One cold January day about 10 years ago I stopped there to pick up
some rock. The ground was frozen and when I started up a steep incline
in my electric wheelchair it tipped back into a 'wheelie' position.
Since the ground was frozen solid I decided to keep going. I was only
about 10 feet from the top and the wheelie-bars prevented me from
going over backward.

Then I went out of the shade and into a sunny spot. The frozen ground
turned into mud. My wheelie-bars sunk into the mud and I went over
backward.

My dog is trained to go back to the motor home when I say "Load up."
That time she just walked around me, smelling the coyote dung beside
the road. The hair on her shoulders was standing up but she wouldn't
leave, no matter what command I used.

After about 15 minutes my wife came looking for us. The back of my
head was about 6 inches lower than the drive wheels on the chair.
There was no way she could get me  upright.

Back then we had an old analogue cell phone with 3 watts of power. I
had also added a Cell phone antenna to my RV. She went back to the RV,
hooked up the phone, and dialed 911. A distant voice answered in
Henderson, NV. The signal was very weak but eventually they understood
each other. The Ezmeralda County Sheriffs were needed at the
Gemfields.

About 15 minutes later two deputies arrived. They got me back on my
wheels and issued a strong warning about the perils of driving around
the desert in an electric wheelchair.While they were watching I got
back in my RV and drove away.

However, a couple weeks later I went back and tried that hill again. I
made it but there wasn't anything worth collecting there.

All the good chalcedony was at another place on the hill. And that
green stuff the call "Gemfield Jade" was on the other fork in the
road. Has anybody ever identified the 'jade?'  I don't know what it is
but I know it's not jade.

Grant