Watch out for dinosaurs while prospecting.....

hvacker · Sep 27, 2013

Jim in Idaho said:
hvacker....one thing I forgot to mention...some of the anthills are as much as 50 years old. I caution everybody I meet that there's no advantage to digging them up. The gems are good as indicators, but are too small to have any real value, and if there are gems in the area, there will be some right at the surface of the anthill.
All the best,
Jim

Thanks Jim. No digging for me, I have severe reactions to bites. Los Lunas is only about 15 miles from me. There is a really good rock hounding area there. Very remote.

hvacker · Sep 27, 2013

Found this toad down near the boot heel over Labor Day

Jim in Idaho · Sep 27, 2013

ahh yes...great markings & collar on that one. The ones up north are a bit more subdued. Nice find!
Jim

old digger · Sep 27, 2013

Enjoying your post! :icon_thumleft:

I have read about looking for diamonds in ant hills down in Wy.

But, I also enjoy coming across those ''Horny Toads'' while out hiking up here in Montana. Here's one that I got a photo of.

Jim in Idaho · Sep 28, 2013

old digger said:
Enjoying your post! I have read about looking for diamonds in ant hills down in Wy.

But, I also enjoy coming across those ''Horny Toads'' while out hiking up here in Montana. Here's one that I got a photo of.

View attachment 871653

Good pic, Digger! Where, in Montana was that one seen? I won't be able to answer...leaving for Wy. in a few minutes.
Jim

elgatodelnoche · Sep 28, 2013

I sure did enjoy all the beautiful photos in this thread. I would love to run across some of those Arizona Horned Toads to take some pictures of. I really love to do macro photographs of insects and small critters.

I remember back in the early sixties ( the decade, not my age ) dad was stationed at Nellis AFB and we lived in Vegas in a brand new neighborhood. There was nothing but desert between us and Red Rocks. I would often see lizards that were between two and three foot long when I was playing in the desert, but I have never figured out what they were.

old digger · Sep 29, 2013

Jim in Idaho said:
Good pic, Digger! Where, in Montana was that one seen? I won't be able to answer...leaving for Wy. in a few minutes.
Jim

I find them in south-central Montana, not too far north of the Wyoming border. There is always the temptation of bringing one home and putting it in a terrainium, but they are much better of where they are at. Good Luck in your search for that Kimberlite!

Jason in Enid · Sep 29, 2013

I miss horny-toads here in OK. We used to catch them behind my grade school as a kid.

Jim in Idaho · Oct 3, 2013

old digger said:
I find them in south-central Montana, not too far north of the Wyoming border. There is always the temptation of bringing one home and putting it in a terrainium, but they are much better of where they are at. Good Luck in your search for that Kimberlite!

I took my daughter out to the desert when she was about 13. We caught two and brought them home for a month. She had to catch ants to feed them. As summer waned we took them back out and let them go. They must go into some sort of hibernation over the winter....no way to feed them during the winter, as the ants disappear. They're an interesting little critter, and obviously they can live in some harsh climates.
I got snowed out this morning. Won't be back over there again until next spring. No kimberlite, but did get 62 garnets, and 14 chrom diopside from one 6'x6'x10" deep dig in a drywash. All those gems came from 8 gallons of classified and washed grave, run through my mineral jig.

Jim