Had an open Sunday so I decided to venture up to Devil’s Head Colorado to prospect in a new area that has much less digging than the typical Virgin’s Bath area. From my neighborhood, I could tell there was snow up on Devil’s Head and the Rampart Range but I decided to give it a try anyway. Worst case, I figured, I could hit an old site or even prospect some of the old mines that are on the map that I haven’t searched before.
Upon driving up the snow was covering the ground in the trees but the flatter, more open areas appeared to be snow free. I decided there was enough snow-free area to make it worth a prospecting hike. I headed a couple miles off of the road and started to see some good signs; but alas there was digging in the area where all looked good. All the digging was very old; but still it seems that there is no virgin ground around! I ended up finding a nice white quartz point in that area but decided to continue further off the beaten path.
A little after noon I found a snow-free spot that had some quartz shards that weren’t very crystallized but pretty clear; and some pegmatite so I started to dig. I ended up pulling an okay crystal of good size out (about 2.5″) and then a great looking microcline crystal; so I figured there could be some finds. I pulled out the camera and shot some video of the crystals I dug out. Check it out!
The sun started to get low on the horizon and behind the clouds and with the wind the nearly 40 degrees started to fall quickly; and the clouds were encroaching while flurries started. Given the car was about 2 miles uphill (much of it very steep) I decided to bury the hole and head out. Nearly an hour later I was heading out in a cloud/fog looming over Devil’s Head. All in all, a wonderful Sunday adventure, perhaps the last one of the season for this locale!
Bigger crystals than usual, the largest is about five inches!
Thanks to James for identifying the microcline (smaller of the two below) crystal as a Carlsbad Twin due to the 180 degree reversed twin!
You really did have a great day collecting and the video was great! I’m not sure but I think you may have a twinned microcline crystal in the first specimen you displayed from your tray. I have had bad timing this year collecting wise with work duties and all.
Hi James. Thanks for the information; I have that microcline crystal soaking now; is that a Carslbad Law twinning can you tell? I can shoot a still picture if that would be helpful. The quartz is not that great of quality, but it was certainly fun to dig these larger (for me anyway) crystals instead of sub-inch ones like normal. I hope to go up one more time to Devil’s Head before they close the gates this year; we’ll see if I can find anything on that last day of the year?
I zoomed into your video and froze the screen. It does look like a rotation twin sharing one axis. Carlsbad twins are rotation twins that have been displaced 180 degrees and this one looks like it fits the description! It should look great once you get it cleaned up. I’m heading over to Devils Head today since I found out I won’t be working OT today as expected. Too bad about the large quartz that was already split when you found it. You should certainly dig again around the area you found it as the large sizes of the crystals is a very good sign. Maybe you will finally get that slippery topaz rascal next time!
Awesome, thanks for the news on the Carlsbad twins! I am heading to Devil’s Head tomorrow to do some prospecting; hopefully you found some cool crystals today! How has prospecting your claim been this year?
I have gone only once to my claim this year due to various problems. Just the usual small crystals and some fair colors on my one visit. I didn’t have much luck at Devils Head as I was trying some different locations this time. Plenty of faces and massive quartz but didn’t want to do the hard rock work this time! Some very small quartz crystals on matrix that I didn’t bother to take home. I will probably do a different area next time where I found some good large microcline crystals that I gave away to a new digger. The weather was great yesterday so you should have a great time weather wise today. I may try to schedule Monday the 18th off for some claim work as I can’t count on having a Saturday off for the time being. I may do a quick visit to the claim this upcoming Monday morning because of the nice weather.
James. Hope you have a good trip to your claim…I went up on the 10th and did well…mostly nice microcode but a few smoky quartz as well. Cleaning now but will post some pictures soon! Still stalking that elusive Devils Head topaz! Happy hunting!