September 2010 Newsletter

Fall Show Season
We begin our Fall Show season in September with our annual appearance at the
Denver Area Gem and Mineral Society Show at the Denver Merchandise Mart from
September 17th through the 19th. This is our tenth consecutive year of participating in
this show that has now become our major appearance in Colorado each year.

This is one of the major gem and mineral shows to occur in the United States being
second only to the annual shows in Tucson.

One of the things that makes this show so special is the presence of major exhibits
from various museums and collectors from around the world. The exhibition hall will
contain dozens of exhibits from Museums such as the Smithsonian in Washington DC,
the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, The Scottish National Museum, the Houston
Museum of Natural History as well as prominent collectors such as Keith Proctor.

Also on exhibit will be displays from various gem and mineral clubs and individuals
who present their recent finds and discoveries for all to see. In addition there are cases
that feature recent finds such as the prospector’s trophy case.

Add to all of this virtually hundreds of dealers from around the world selling
minerals, gems, fossils, supplies, and jewelry and you have an incredible gathering of
enthusiasts from around the world.

If you are in the Denver area for this show stop by and see us on the main floor. We
are usually located in either booth M 27 or M 28 towards the rear of the exhibition hall.

Our next show of the Fall season is the AGATE (Albuquerque Gem Artisans Trade
Exposition) to be held at the Flower Building on the New Mexico State Fairgrounds on
October 2nd and 3rd. This is our return to the Albuquerque area after several years
absence. We are looking forward to our participation in this show and renewing our
connections with many of the people we have not seen since our last appearance there.

Our next show is the DAMD Show to be held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in
November. The dates for the show are November 5th through the 7th. This is a smaller
show with a more intimate setting. The location is excellent and the exhibition hall at the
Jefferson County Fairgrounds is excellent.

Our final show for the Fall season is the Dallas Gem and Mineral Show to be held at
the Resistol Area Exhibition Hall in Mesquite, Texas on November 20th and 21st. This
show has proven to be one of our better shows with a strong customer turnout each of the years we have participated in it.

As we face the coming season we realize that many of us are experiencing the effects
of a difficult economy. We appreciate all of our customers who come out to one of these
shows to see us and are most grateful for their purchases no matter how large or small.
We hope to see the necessary changes in the coming months that will restore stability in the economy and give people a positive sense as to where things are headed in the future.


Gem Fest 2010
This year was our 8th Gem Fest. Sometimes it is difficult for us to believe that we have
been holding these event since 2003.

This year’s event was attended by 23 gemaholics from around the country. Most of
those attending were repeaters. We had one new couple attend from Albuquerque and by the sounds of things they will be present at future Gem Fests.

This year the First Street Cafe in Salida was host to our parcel opening on Thursday
and slide show on Sunday. The owners were most generous in allowing us to hold our
event in their meeting room and we hope they enjoyed having us as much as we did being there.

The Friday attendance at the Contin’ Tail Gem and Mineral flea market went well
with members of our group fanning out to find bargains among the various dealers.

Saturday’s visit to Peridot Mesa and our claim produced a record amount of rough
peridot found by our guests. This year the largest piece of peridot found was by Mary
from Kansas who for the second time in eight years found the largest piece of rough.
This year her find weighed 4.40 carats, the next closest piece of rough weighed 3.30
carats. It was a beautiful day at the claim and many wished they could have spent much
more time searching for a record size piece of rough.

Sunday’s slide presentation was a preview of the program we will be showing the
Littleton Gem and Mineral Society on September 10th. Entitled “Collecting and Cutting
American Gems” it contained scenes from many of the locations we have visited over the
years and many of the gems that we found and had cut either by John or other cutters.

Our Gem Fest field trips this year included a trip to the Topaz Mt claim where most
of those participating experienced success finding both gem grade topaz and quartz.
Monday we returned to the Crystal Peak area and one of the amazonite claims held by Joe Dorris. Everyone seemed to find smoky quartz and amazonite during their visit.

We’ll know by January the dates for Gem Fest 2011 and hopefully will see more of
you at next year’s event.

Program Presentation September 10th
As mentioned earlier we will be presenting a program to the Littleton Gem and
Mineral Society on Friday, September 10th. The details are listed below.

Littleton Gem and Mineral Society
Columbine Hills Church
9700 Old Coal Mine Ave
Littleton, Colorado
September 10th, 7:30 PM
Presentation by John A. Rhoads on
Collecting and Cutting American Gems
Friends and Customers invited!

This should be a wonderful way to start off the Denver Gem and Mineral Show
week. The presentation is about an hour and a half and will include many of the gems we
have collected and John has cut over the years.

It should be a great evening with a full house in attendance so arrive early. We hope
to see many of our Colorado friends and customers at this event.

No M.O.B.'s!




By popular demand we are keeping our story and pictures about Antarctica online.

Antarctica
We had informed our customers of our once in a lifetime trip to Antarctica and they
were most supportive of it as well as the time we were away. We want to thank all of you
who either placed orders early in February/March early or were patient enough to wait for
our return before we could fill your requests. We are very thankful for the many orders
we did receive during this time knowing first hand the economic difficulties we all
currently face.

Now you ask, how was our trip to Antarctica? To say it was the trip of a lifetime is an
understatement. To see the continent at the bottom of the world is an opportunity that
few people get to experience. Even more rewarding were the seven times we left our ship
and landed at six different locations. Many larger ships that visit the continent cannot
take all of their passengers ashore and have to resort to a lottery system to take a few
lucky ones to set foot on the land that makes up this remote continent.

Ushuaia, Argentina from the air and above the city.

We left Colorado on February 24th and flew to Ushuaia, Argentina located at the
southern tip of South America where we were to board our ship, the Professor
Molchanov, a research ship for the trip south. Ushuaia is a beautiful city of
approximately 40,000 people. The weather cooperated with us and we enjoyed two
beautiful days of sunshine and warm temperatures during which we were able to explore
the area around this southern most city in the world.

Our Ship (not the big one)..................................... Drake Passage, mild weather!

We boarded our ship on the afternoon of February 27th and headed to sea shortly
before 7 PM. We crusied the Beagle Channel for several hours in calm waters during
which most of us found restful sleep. Late that night we were awakened by the motion of
the ship as it started across the Drake Passage and moderately rough seas. Sea sick
medication was a must as the motion of the ship would have weakened the best sea legs
possessed by the most experienced sea traveler.

Sunday, March 1st, land was spotted in the early afternoon at a great distance due to
the lack of pollution and calm clear skies. We retired that night still a great distance from
land.

Sunrise......................................................................Icebergs, Weddell Sea

The following morning we found ourselves in the middle of sea ice in the Weddell
Sea. We experienced a beautiful sunrise on the snow covered mountains that make up the
northern most part of the continent. We cruised until late in the afternoon when we set
foot for the first time on Paulet Island.

Paulet Island from a distance..............................Beach with Fur Seals, Paulet Island

Fur Seal on explorer grave, Paulet Island..........Beach on Paulet Island with icebergs

Our landing was greeted by a large number of fur seals who were basking on the
beach. A few penguins remained from breeding earlier in the season but they were hardly
the crowds we would see later. Also on Paulett Island were the remains of the hut build
but the Larsen expedition in the early 1900’s where they wintered after their ship became
stranded and eventually was destroyed.

We left Paulett Island and cruised to a quiet location where the ice bergs would not be
a threat at night.

Ship from Dundee Island......................................Argentinian Research Station, Dundee Island

The next day we set foot on Dundee Island where the Argentinian research base,
Base Petrel, currenlty unoccupied, is located. We hiked a great distance on this island as
well, again seeing large numbers of fur seals, a few Elephant Seals and Weddell Seals,
and a small number of penquins. This island is the location of one of the few landing strips to be found in Antarctica.

Brown Bluff, Antarctica..Beautiful Day!

Later that afternoon we made another landing at Brown Bluff which is part of the
continent of Antarctica. This marked the completion of our quest to set foot on all seven
continents of Earth, a main reason for us embarking on this trip in the first place. Here
we experienced relatively warm temperatures, 45 F and calm seas along with clear skies.
We were content to spend the day basking in the sun while surrounded by the largest
penquin colony we had encountered so far.

That evening we were treated to a barbeque on the ship’s deck, a tradition that we
found many of the Antarctica tours practiced. This was the only party we ever attended
where an open beer actually became colder as we held.

Many of the passengers danced after the feast. As dusk fell our party was interrupted
by a pod of Orcas that decided to pay us a visit. The entire day was probably the most
memorable of the entire trip.

Deception Island Whaling Station Ruins...........Entrance to Deception Island Caldera

Our next stop the next day was Deception Island, a collasped caldera that was flooded
allowing for our ship to sail into its massive harbor. We went ashore and visited the ruins
of a whaling station that had operated there from 1905 until 1931. Many of the buildings,
equipment, and remains could still be seen.

Bailey Head, Which one is John?.......................Can you say "Penguins"? Bailey Head

We reboarded the ship for lunch and then returned ashore for a hike to Bailey Head
and the largest penquin colony we would see during our trip. The two and a half hour
hike brought us to a colony of Chin Strap Penquins that we estimated to number in the
hundreds of thousands. We roamed among the large group of penquins here observing
their behavior and marveling in their lack of fear and endurance as they would leave their
nest every few days, make their way to the ocean to feed, and then find their way back to
feed their young.

The return hike to the ship was much easier and we left this fabulous location for our
last day visiting Antarctica.

John and Donna in rain gear sitting on a whale bone, Half Moon Island

Our first stop on our final day was Half Moon Island, location of another Argentinian
research station, also abandoned at the time of our visit. Here we observed additional
penquins and seals. The beaches here contained many whale bones and skeletons.
Across the bay was a very active glacier which treated us to several calvings during our
visit.

Moss covered Barrientos Island

Our last stop was Barrientos Island, a bright green island due to large fields of moss
that grew here. We hiked across the island where we found groups of both Gentoo and
Chin Strap Penquins as well as Fur Seals and a few Elephant Seals. The beaches here
also contained many bones of whales. It was on this island that we experienced our first
bad weather in the form of rain. The sea became quite rough and we departed well before
schedule.

Beagle Channel approaching Ushuaia

That night as we headed into the Drake Passage for our trip back to Ushuaia we again
experience rough seas. Many of the passengers, yours truly included , did not make
dinner that evening as we were late in preparing for the trip with our sea sick medications.
After that first day the seas calmed and we made record time back to Argentina and the
entrance to the Beagle Channel. We spent a marvelous afternoon on March 7th, anchored
in the Beagle Channel while awaiting for the pilot to arrive to take us into Ushuaia.
Temperatures were in the upper 50’s with a very slight breeze and bright sun.

Did we see any gems in Antarctica? No and even if we did international treaty would
have kept us from collecting any.

We highly recommend this trip to all our customers.