Field Trip Castle Butte Mojave Dec. 6 & 7, 

Searchers Field Trip December 6-7, 2025

Location: Castle Butte

Leader: Bob Rubino and Bill Hogarth

Join us on Sat-Sun, December 6th and 7th, 2025 as we explore the Castle Butte area near Boron.

We will be exploring the Castle Butte area with petrified palm, agate, jasper and perhaps some bloodstone. The Sierra Paloma Travertine mine will be on the itinerary this time. We might also add the Borax Mine Museum(Tues-Sat, 9-5). While any vehicle can reach the camping area, the rockhounding will require high clearance vehicles, 4x4 recommended. For any who don’t camp, this is a great day trip or lodging is available in Boron or Barstow.

Saturday and Sunday, meet at 8:30 a.m. on Clay Mine Road, where the road makes a 90 degree turn (https://maps.app.goo.gl/EhNBCuYthhLzvc7d6). Our campsite is marked with a star on the map, just before Aerial Acres. All vehicles can reach our meeting spot. This is a dry camping site without any amenities. Please bring all food and water that you may need and dress in layers appropriate for the weather.

On Sunday, meet at 8:30 a.m. at our campsite on Clay Mine Road. We will be exploring nearby jasper-agate sites.

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Kids. We would like to encourage kids to participate in these field trips. If you plan to bring your kids (or grand-kids), please let us know so we can tailor part of the trip for them.

Recommended equipment: Rock pick, gloves and spray bottle.

Directions: Proceed to the 15 freeway north. Pass the Cajon pass. Take exit 141 to Highway 395 north. Proceed to Kramer Junction. Take Highway 58 west towards Mojave.  Take exit 188, Clay Mine Road, turn right. Proceed about 5 miles and look for the Searchers signs. We will be camping off of Clay Mine Road, before Aerial Acres, where the road makes a 90 degree turn. Our campsite is marked with a star on the map. Allow 2-1/2 hours from Anaheim; it is about 130 miles.

If you plan to attend, please contact: Bob Rubino, brubino54@gmail.com, 714-504-4518 or Bill Hogarth,whogarth@gmail.com, 909-264-1122. Text or call

There will be a potluck on Saturday night, campfire will be allowed if the winds are low.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last two field trips of the 2024-25 Season:​​​

Any questions, do not hesitate to text, then call or less reliable e-mail.
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Searchers field Trip: May 17,18 2025 is at Kokoweef Caverns, Crystal Caverns and Dinosaur Tracks and Zinc mine.

Searchers will again visit the Kokoweef Caverns and surrounding area for Cave Onyx.
Bailey road exit/Zinc mine road 4 miles down to our camp site, Searcher signs will be out' The elevation 
there is 4500', so it's a little cooler than the lower desert.
Come join us and dig in the mine dumps for cutable specimens for your lapidary fun !!
There is a story of 'a lost river of gold' below the area, which is intriguing and if Bob puts his miner cap 
on, we might have to send out a search party to find him. You know how that gold fever is :))
Presently, Steve and his associates are now down 22stories, actively searching for an opening to the underground 
river which is carrying gold rich ore (hopefully), https://KOKOWEEF.com. Of course we will be actively digging 
through the material removed called “Cave Onyx":, etc., etc
207 MILES ONE WAY: NEARBY IS Valley Wells Smelter, Perimeter of Copper World, 
once an active Copper mining area, which has had many lives of Copper mining in￾habitants. A very colorful History of American mining as it were in that day of hard 
mining activity from 1860 till late 1960, quite a history !!
Hope to see you all there!! Rick Webber….text first…714.585.54606.

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INTERESTED IN ROCKHOUNDING?
LAVIC SIDING FIELD TRIP MAY 17, 2025
Join the Searchers in a DAY TRIP to one of the premier collecting sites in California, LAVIC SIDING. It’s great for those 
who are new to the club and/or field trips, but also just a fun day in the desert. Mostly driving on hard-packed dirt
roads, cars with higher clearance will be fine.
Trip leaves at 9:00AM from the Lavic Highway Overpass and Route 66.
This is a DAY TRIP, so no camping is required. The nearest facilities are at Ludlow, about 8 miles east of the meeting 
spot. You need to bring all your food and water with you. It’s still springtime but prepare for heat. Bring lunch, at 
least a gallon of water per person for the day, including the wee folks (it’s better to have too much than too little). 
Also bring hats, sunscreen, cover-ups, heavy walking shoes, buckets or daypacks to hold your rocks, etc. Read more 
about rockhounding at https://www.searchersrocks.org/field-trips.
DIRECTIONS: The meeting point is about 150 miles from the Anaheim Community Center. Head NORTH on I15 to￾wards Barstow, turning EAST on I40 towards Needles for about 35 miles to the Hector Rd exit. Use the frontage Rd., 
National Trails Hwy (Route 66) south of the freeway and travel another 19.1 miles East to Lavic Rd., a dirt road on the 
right before Route 66 travels under I40. There will be Searcher Signs. For those who are GPS-enabled we will be at
or near 34.735131, -116.304629. 
Please RSVP to Bill Hogarth at 909-264-1122. Hope to see you there!