[Rockhounds] Turquoise Mine Tour In Tonopah, NV

[J Davis]

I am interested ...on the road though.....have been through Tonopah several
times

Joe and Phyllis Davis 

-----Original Message-----
From: rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com
[mailto:rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com] On Behalf Of don norris
Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2009 11:47 AM
To: Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors
Subject: [Rockhounds] Turquoise Mine Tour In Tonopah, NV

Tonopah Turquoise Class
I hope this will not be considered spam. If so I will withdraw from the 
list, even though I have enjoyed it for many, many years. I have filled one 
class with Silversmiths and wire wrappers from my lists and thought I should

at least let my fellow Rock Hounds know that I have added a second trip in 
hopes of filling it too.

This will be memory of a life time, a keepsake of a life time, and a chance 
to find, cut and polish enough turquoise to pay for the whole experience! 
This class will be limited to 10 people maximum for the Turquoise Cutting 
Class and the Silversmithing Class. I just filled up a class scheduled for 
September 17 to 20th with 11 people. I talked with the mine owners and they 
agreed to another tour and classes for October 1 through the 4th. I have two

signed up for  it so that leaves 8 spaces. I would really like to fill these

so that the two that I could not take for the first trip in September won't 
miss out.

I am excited to announce the Tonopah Turquoise Class. The cost of the class 
will include all of the following:

All motel accommodations for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and 
Sunday nights.

All food (breakfast, lunches and dinners) for Wednesday evening, Thursday, 
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning.

All transportation from Las Vegas to Tonopah, from the motel to the mine and

back, from the motel to the class room each day. The trip back to the Las 
Vegas Airport or your motel on Monday.

Turquoise Mine Tour and Collecting on Thursday.

You will receive a surprise gift at the mine!

Turquoise Cutting and Polishing Class on Friday.

Silversmithing Class on Saturday and Sunday.

History of Turquoise mining in the USA, including information on the Tonopah

mines, the Kingman mines, Cripple Creek Mine, Morenci Mine, and the Bisbee 
mine. This will be a lecture/dinner on Wednesday night.

Sunday night farewell party and steak dinner complete with prizes and 
awards.

A keepsake DVD of all the activities, dinners and parties.


Agenda
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
You will be picked up from the Las Vegas airport or your motel/casino if you

come early and we will gather at a room at a casino to relax and have a 
buffet before depart for Tonopah. We will travel by van, rv or private bus 
to Tonopah, Nevada, famous for its turquoise mines. Food and refreshments 
will be served on the way. The trip will take 3 to 4 hours, so we would like

to leave by 6 pm,  and we will have some fun on the way. We will talk about 
the turquoise hunt on Thursday.

Thursday, October 1st, 2009
We will take about a half hour trip to the turquoise mine and spend the day 
learning how the turquoise is mined, and everyone can keep all the turquoise

that they dig and find. The mine owners will use dynamite to expose the 
turquoise vein and we will be able to dig and collect all the turquoise that

we find. I visited this mine in 2008 for a day and it was one of the best 
days of my life. All I wanted to do is to find one good piece to cut and 
polish for a pendant for my wife. After sorting through the turquoise that I

found I know that I have over $2,000.00 worth of turquoise. This was even 
after giving back all the turquoise the miners through in my bucket to make 
sure that I found enough!

Bring old clothes for today! You will get dirty, dusty and wore out! 
However, you will not have to do much work, and there will be little 
physical work that normal people can not do. You will only be using a small 
pick hammer and pry bar. You will be able to work at your own pace.

Breakfast of your choice at McDonalds. I normally do not eat a McDonalds, 
but their breakfast, especially the big breakfast is as good as any 
restaurants. After all, to me, eggs are eggs, and their pancakes and sausage

are good.

Cold cut sandwich and salad bar with chips and soft drinks will be served at

the mine for lunch. Even though while I was at the mine, the miners all 
shared their baloney sandwiches and chips with me, and it was one of the 
best meals that I ever had.

We will have a pizza party tonight, because we will all want to take a 
shower first!
I will help everyone clean and sort their turquoise tonight so we know which

ones we want to cut on Friday.

Friday, October 2nd, 2009
You will learn to cut and polish your turquoise with an emphasis on free 
form cabochons. We will have enough time to finish 20 to 40 stones per 
student depending up on their size, hard you wish to work and how much 
turquoise you pick up. I found enough to cut about 40 stones. You will learn

how to use a diamond trim saw, grinder, and polishing unit for Turquoise.

Breakfast of your choice at McDonalds.

Lunch will be something light and quick, so that we can do as much cutting 
as possible. I am thinking about a taco bar and salad.

Saturday, October 3, 2009
We will pick a stone from your treasures and design a project, ring or 
pendant, around it. If you have had my Beginning Silversmithing Class you 
will be able to work on two or three projects for this class depending upon 
their size. If you have not had my class you may want to limit yourself to 
one or maybe two small pieces.
Lunch will

Sunday, October 4, 2009
We will finish your project or projects, pack up for the morning ride back 
to Las Vegas. Lunch will most likely be sandwiches again due to time.

Dinner will be a steak bar-b-queue with some fun and prizes thrown in. May 
even trophies for the best stone, best piece made, and some other crazy 
categories.

Monday, October 5, 2009
We will get up and leave around 10 am and get back to Las Vegas no later 
than 2 pm. We will make a memorable DVD while on our trip back to Las Vegas.

I will take this home and make copies of the DVD and mail it to everyone.

Cost
$1,200.00 per student for all classes, the turquoise mine tour and hunt, all

transportation, parties and food. You will not need to bring anything and or

have any other expenses except your expenses getting to and from Las Vegas.

Spouse or Partner Options

If a family member, or partner wants to share a motel room their cost is 
only $800.00 for the classes, mine tour, and transportation. If you want to 
meet in Tonopah, we can discuss a further discount.

How to sign up and reserve your space.

I am only taking up to 10 people and have only 8 spaces left. Spaces for the

class on the first come, first served basis. The first people to pay the 
deposit will secure their space. There will be no refund, unless I can fill 
your space before the deadline for the class. Other wise you will have to 
find a replacement for your space or spaces. Of course if I have to cancel 
the trip, you will receive a full refund.

I am collecting a 50% deposit of $600.00 per person, or $1000.00 per couple.
Deadline for me to make a decision about this second trip is August 17.


Deposits may be paid using any of the following methods.

Pay Pal just use the "Send Money" button and send money to dnorris at frii.com.

You can pay by Visa, Master Card or Discover by

            Calling me at 303-517-1068

            Emailing it to me in several different emails: ½ the number and 
your name on the first, ½ number on the second, and the expiration date and 
the last three numbers of the security code on the back of the card on the 
third email. It is very safe.

            Faxing it to 1-970-577-1838 which is in my home and very secure.

You can mail a check to Don Norris, PO Box 2433, Estes Park, CO 80517

I am really looking forward to this once in a life time experience! I hope 
you can make it!
Don Norris
Learnsilver.com
dnorris at frii.com

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