Every Miles A Memory
Expedition Leader
Great set-up! Looks like it was a great trip!!
Exploring the Utah, Nevada, and Idaho deserts
- Thread starter notajeep
- Start date
KaiserM715
Adventurer
Dan, I am very sorry to hear of the loss of your daughter.
Would you mind sharing some more details of your setup?
I think this is my favorite shot. It is cool seeing all of the slabs sticking up straight out of the ground.
Would you mind sharing some more details of your setup?
Mining history in UT and NV
Dan,
Taking your family on an annual trip is a marvelous tribute to your daughter.
You found your way into some nice looking mines east of Montello, NV. The bright green mineral is malachite, a copper carbonate mineral. Malachite often forms from the weathering of other copper minerals, primarily chalcopyrite, or copper sulfide. You probably also saw some bright blue azurite, another copper carbonate. The yellows, oranges, and rusty browns around the entrances to the mines are various metallic oxides, also products of weathering of primary metallic minerals, mostly other sulfides and oxides themselves. As exposed to the rain, snow, sun, and wind, they break down into colorful weathering products. Their colors contrast so dramatically with the country rock that prospectors were able to find some mineral deposits fairly easily "back in the day".
You'd probably be interested in using a paper map book such as a Benchmark Atlas for NV, UT, and ID. They're not cheap, at $20-25 per state, but you'll likely find there are few, if any, unnamed mountain ranges, canyons, or drainages. I enjoy the convenience of GPS, but for a long off-road trip like you took your family on, there is no complete substitute for a good map book to provide "big picture" route planning and place-name references. It would not surprise me to learn the name of the mine or mines you found are shown right on the Benchmark page for that part of NV or UT. Learning of the name(s) of the mine(s), you can research the history of the mining area online upon your return to civilization. It's a fun and educational way to travel with your family, not that you didn't do that to a great extent already.
Your pictures are excellent and the rig looks sweet. Thanks for taking the time and effort to post your report. I look forward to reading more trip reports about your family's travels.
Foy
Dan,
Taking your family on an annual trip is a marvelous tribute to your daughter.
You found your way into some nice looking mines east of Montello, NV. The bright green mineral is malachite, a copper carbonate mineral. Malachite often forms from the weathering of other copper minerals, primarily chalcopyrite, or copper sulfide. You probably also saw some bright blue azurite, another copper carbonate. The yellows, oranges, and rusty browns around the entrances to the mines are various metallic oxides, also products of weathering of primary metallic minerals, mostly other sulfides and oxides themselves. As exposed to the rain, snow, sun, and wind, they break down into colorful weathering products. Their colors contrast so dramatically with the country rock that prospectors were able to find some mineral deposits fairly easily "back in the day".
You'd probably be interested in using a paper map book such as a Benchmark Atlas for NV, UT, and ID. They're not cheap, at $20-25 per state, but you'll likely find there are few, if any, unnamed mountain ranges, canyons, or drainages. I enjoy the convenience of GPS, but for a long off-road trip like you took your family on, there is no complete substitute for a good map book to provide "big picture" route planning and place-name references. It would not surprise me to learn the name of the mine or mines you found are shown right on the Benchmark page for that part of NV or UT. Learning of the name(s) of the mine(s), you can research the history of the mining area online upon your return to civilization. It's a fun and educational way to travel with your family, not that you didn't do that to a great extent already.
Your pictures are excellent and the rig looks sweet. Thanks for taking the time and effort to post your report. I look forward to reading more trip reports about your family's travels.
Foy
Loco-Nomad
Adventurer
Sweet pics, the scenery is absolutley stunning! I've always wondered how the kids do in a tent setup like that. Looks great.