[Rockhounds] Mitchell maps to hell

[Dan Hanks]

I too have some disappointments with the book, however...

On 7/7/07, jlkelly1066 <jlkelly1066 at iglide.net> wrote:
> (Case in point: In the latest edition of GTU Mitchell is
> still listing the opalized wood by Kimball Junction. "After
> you turn off of I-80 you turn off the first road on the way
> to Heber City search and dig in the area between the water
> plant and the road." Sound good, right? HOWEVER, if you
> follow his instructions the people at the Mercedes
> dealership and the people living in the veddy expensive
> homes will take great umbruge at you attempting to dig in
> front yards on the parking lot of the Mercedes plant that
> has been there for at least seven years!)

I have in my hands an "Expanded, Revised Edition," (2nd Edition)
published in 2006, and I can't find mention of Kimball Junction
anywhere in the book. There is an entry on Silver Creek Junction (same
place?) with a specific mention to watch out for the status of
collecting on private property, but not the text you quote above.
Perhaps you have a later reprint of the first edition?

>
> He is still listing four sites found in the Escalante
> National Monument. Huh, Jimmy boy, if ya don't know,
> collecting Moqui Marbles will get you a hefty $5,000 fine,
> confiscation of vehicle and maybe some time in the slammer
> where you will have all sort of time to think about your
> lousy book.

In this second edition he specifically mentions in the Introduction
that the creation of the monument required removing a number of sites
listed in the previous edition. I can't find any entries in this
edition that refer to sites within the monument.

His book has been helpful to me mainly for putting in one place a
large list of collecting sites that I would otherwise be unaware of. I
agree that often his maps are vague, and will get you to the general
vicinity, but I'd recommend anyone following his guide to do a bit
more homework online and with other collectors before setting out to
be able to find the best spots. By consulting several sources of
information you'll end up with a much better picture of where you're
going.

As someone else mentioned, 10 years between editions is quite some
time, but I still think there is some value in the book.

FWIW,

-- Dan