Marilee’s Rock Hound Report
‘On My Knees in Search of Treasure’
By Marilee Strech

 Have you seen the Cash and Treasures show on the Travel Channel, with host Kirsten Gum?  If so, you may have seen the episode about the Himalaya Tourmaline Mine in Mesa Grande, CA, which aired several times in Dec. 2007. On this show, Kirsten found a large gem-quality Tri-colored Tourmaline crystal in the tailings pile, valued at over $6000.00.  This show has brought an enormous response from the rock hounding community, with everyone anxious to find their own great treasure from this mine.

I have been privileged to experience the thrill of collecting on the tailings pile at the Himalaya Mine, world famous for pink and green tourmaline. The collecting experience, led by Simon King, is just exactly as pictured on the show. The view from the mine is truly beautiful with the mountain peaks of Julian to the south as a backdrop to the day.  You must first pick your digging spot from the 17 acres of tailings piles, being careful to watch out for the poison oak and the rattlesnakes!  Once you have picked your spot, the real work begins. You must dig and scrape enough dirt (on your knees!), from among the large rocks that cover most of the area to fill your collecting bucket.  Then it is over to the screening tables with their tubs of water, where you wash the dirt through a screen, hoping to see glints of pink or green left behind on the screen. I save all the chips and pieces of colored stones, plus any quartz crystals, purple mica, or nicely formed feldspar crystals that are present. Because of the dynamite used inside the mine to blast the pocket-rich pegmatite inside the mine, I mostly find chips and fragments of tourmaline, but occasionally a nice crystal section or pencil comes to light at the screening table.  This is, of course what we are all hoping for---that we will find that one great specimen that is just waiting to be found by a diligent rock hound!

This wonderful adventure, as pictured on the Cash and Treasures show on the Travel Channel, has been curtailed due to problems with the road access. However, you can screen the piles of tailings that are being brought from the Himalaya Mine to the nearby Lake Henshaw Campground.  There you can screen from 10 AM to 4 PM for $75.00 per person (without having to get on your knees), or you can purchase a bucket or bag of richer material to screen at home.

I sell specimens, tumbled and facetted tourmaline from the Himalaya Mine here at my store, Crossroads Treasures. The book titled "Mining Gems and Gold in the West" by Fred Rynerson, one of the early day miners at the Himalaya is also available here. My shop is located in nearby Santa Ysabel, just 12 miles from the Lake Henshaw Campground.

For the most current information on the collecting process, go to.HighDesertGemsandMinerals.com, the website for the Himalaya Mine.

To listen to an interview with Marilee Strech from an excerpt from out Champagne Sundays online radio show, please double click on the Play button below.

Marilee Strech has been an avid rock hound for over 10 years, traveling the southwest in search of unique rock and gemstone finds. She features all of her special finds including and rock, gem and mineral specimens and jewelry, in her shop called Crossroads Treasures, which is located in Santa Ysabel, which is just outside of Julian, in San Diego’s back country. For more about her rock hound adventures and her store – Click here.