Great Basin Gem and Mineral Club
8/24/2023
New Meeting Place and Day!
The Great Basin Gem and Mineral Club is changing our General Meeting location
and day. The new meeting location will be at the Carson City Elks Lodge located
at 515 North Nevada Street in Carson City. Our new meeting day will be the last
Thursday of the month. Our first meeting at the new location will be Thursday,
August 31 at 7:00 pm. There will not be a meeting on Monday, August 28 at the
Casino Fandango. Please pass along this information to any club members who
may not read their emails. I look forward to seeing you all at the meeting on
Thursday, August 31.
Thank you,
Alex Mross
President
Great Basin Gem and Mineral Club
The President’s Message from our Matrix Newsletter
April, 2022
Greetings Rockhounds!
The normal unsettled weather of spring has finally arrived in April. Warm, sunny days have been interspersed with cool and wet weather making for challenging conditions for rock hounding.
Our first field trip in April to the Dead Camel mountains was cancelled due to an unfortunate vehicle accident. We have rescheduled this trip for May 28. That means we have 3 trips planned before the end of May. On April 23, we will be visiting the Trinity mountains near Lovelock and a trip is planned to the Empire area to collect colorful and interesting rhyolite on May 21.
Brian Doyle has volunteered to be our field trip coordinator. Brian will be handling the field trip sign ups and checking to make sure everyone has their wavers signed and on file. Brian will also be sending the field trip emails to the membership. Thank you, Brian!
Finally, if you haven’t yet renewed your membership, please do so at the April meeting. Anyone who has not renewed will be dropped from the roster and will no longer receive the monthly newsletter.
Happy Hounding!
Alex Mross
March, 2022
Greetings rockhounds!
Spring is finally here! Our mild winter this year allowed for some good rockhounding days, spring and fall are usually prime time! We have 2 field trips planned for April. On Saturday, April 2, we will be visiting the Dead Camel Mountains in search of colorful jasper. Later in the month, on Saturday, April 23, our field trip will be near Lovelock in the Trinity Mountains. If you are interested in attending either or both field trips, more information and sign ups will be available at our general meeting on March 28.
I would like to thank former members, Don and Susan Larson, for their very generous donation of a large portion of their rock collection to the club. The collection includes a lot of very nice material and will provide for some great raffle prizes!
The March general meeting will feature a presentation by Lindsay Christensen. Lindsay will be sharing the details of his recent trip the sapphire mines in Montana. You won’t want to miss this exciting and informative presentation!
Finally, I would like to make a plea for volunteers to serve the club. We are looking to fill an at-large board member position and a field trip coordinator. The field trip coordinator will be responsible for the field trip sign ups and member contacts but will not need to lead the field trips. If you are interested in either position, please contact me directly.
Happy hounding!
Alex
February, 2022
Greetings fellow rockhounds!
I am very excited to be starting my tenure this month as the new GBGMC president! I would like to thank our past president Tim Davey for his years of service, dedication and leadership to our club. Tim will be remaining on our Board of Directors as Past President and he has already been a great source of knowledge and encouragement as I take over the reins.
March will be our first field trip of the year. We will be visiting 3 new sites for the club near Fernley. Collecting will be for jasper and agate. We have a very full schedule of field trips planned for the year and I think you will enjoy the variety and quality of the rocks we will be collecting. Field trip details will be discussed at the February meeting and will also be sent out to the membership in an email.
We will have a “Show and Tell” portion at our February 28 meeting. Please bring your favorite rock or mineral you have collected. A table will be set to display the specimens. Each person who brings a rock will have about 30 seconds to tell us what it is and give a general location of where it was collected. It should be very fun and interesting!
Our February 28 meeting will be the last chance to renew your membership before it lapses. Please bring your completed membership application/renewal and field trip waiver along with your dues to the meeting. There will also be forms available to complete at the meeting. I am happy to announce that Jerry Wiewandt has volunteered to be a board member and take over our membership position. We will have a vote at the beginning of the meeting to make his position official.
The club still has one open board member position. If you are interested in volunteering your time and helping to make GBGMC the most fun club around, please contact me directly.
And finally, I think 2022 will be a great year to be a member of the GBGMC. Please tell your friends and acquaintances about our club and encourage them to join in on the fun!
Happy Hounding!
Alex
Mission: As a non-profit organization, Great Basin Gem and Mineral Club intends to educate and stimulate interest in the earth sciences, geology, mineralogy, paleontology, archaeology and the lapidary arts.
Purpose: The club was organized exclusively for charitable, scientific, educational and recreational purposes; to increase knowledge about minerals and other geologic materials; to encourage mineral study; to promote collecting and fashioning as a hobby– this includes all phases of rock collecting, stone cutting, lapidary, jewelry arts, demonstration and showcasing such materials as may be used for educational, social, cultural or scientific enlightenment. Our intent is to promote camaraderie and understanding among members and other interested parties.
Fun: Our members appreciate informative speakers, our “Rock Raffle”, attendance raffle and friendship with others who are like-minded at our monthly meetings. Members also enjoy field trips to various collecting sites, as well as seasonal socials that promote camaraderie among members and other interested parties.
Monthly Meetings: The General Meetings are held on the last Monday of the month at 7:00 P.M. at Casino Fandango, 3800 S Carson St, Carson City, NV 89701.
Information: for additional information, email club president Alex Mross at axmross@gmail.com.
