Grant County Rolling Stones Gem & Mineral Society

06/04/2026

🪨🔍 Announcing: A Practical Geology Series! 🌎⛏️

Join us for an exciting introduction to the fascinating world beneath our feet, taught by our very own Mary Margaret Soule! 🎉

📅 Dates: Mondays at 6:00 PM
• June 15
• June 22
• June 29
• July 6

📍 Location:
Rolling Stone Clubhouse
2045 Memory Lane, Silver City

🪨 What You'll Learn:
✔️ What rocks are
✔️ How rocks are formed
✔️ What processes change them over time
✔️ How to better recognize and understand the rocks you encounter every day

This series presents practical geology in a clear, approachable format that's perfect for beginners and anyone curious about the natural world. 🌄✨

📧 Interested in attending?
Comment below or email Brigitte at [email protected].

Bring your curiosity and discover the stories hidden in the rocks around us! 🏔️🔎

We hope to see you there! 😊

06/03/2026

Upcoming events for June:

👥General Meeting / potluck
Thursday, June 11, 5:30 pm, 2045 Memory Lane. Bring plates, utensils and a dish to share.

🗣️Guest Speaker for June
Are you ready to explore the surprising world of rattlesnake families? Learn about babysitting, drinking, and how these remarkable reptiles care for and protect their young with Melissa Amarello, co-founder and executive director of Advocates for Snake Preservation. She’ll draw on more than two decades of studying and living with reptiles to show what snakes are really like through stories and videos. Melissa’s previous presentation is a member favorite!

🛻Field Trip
Saturday, June 27: A visit to the Zuhl Museum, Las Cruces. The museum houses world class fossils, mineral specimens, and
petrified wood. It is located on the NMSU Campus at 775 College Dr. near the northwest campus entrance. We will meet there at 10:30am and our tour should last 1-2 hours.

💎Lapidary Workshop
Wednesday mornings 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and
Wednesday evenings 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

05/27/2026

The Lapidary Lab REOPENS today!
Wednesday, May 27 Open Hours: 9:00-noon and 6:00-9:00 PM

Bring your rocks, your ideas, and your excitement — and get ready to turn rough stones into beautiful treasures with the help of our dedicated lapidary lab managers.

See you in the shop! Let’s make something amazing.

Send a message to learn more

05/05/2026

Dear Rolling Stones,
below is a notice from our Board President

It pains me to send this after highlighting how awesome our Lapidary Shop is in the May Beacon, but we are temporarily closing the Shop until further notice. The Board of Directors is addressing a problem we are having with insurance at our May 11th meeting, so my hope is that we will be back open within a couple of weeks.

I apologize to members who were excited to come work on their rocks but for the good of the Club we need to shut our shop doors until we get this dealt with.

Sincerely,
Alex P Brown

President of the Board

05/04/2026

Upcoming events for the month of May:

📆General Meeting / Potluck
Thursday, May 14, 5:30 pm
2045 Memory Lane
Bring plates, utensils and a dish to share.

🗣️“There’s Gold in Them Thar Hills”
Our guest presenter at May’s General Meeting on Thursday, May 14, is our very own David Rinsch. For those who yearn to strike it rich or simply spend some meditative moments by a mountain stream, David will be demonstrating tried and true gold panning techniques, after which his wisdom and experience with such matters will surely have us all wanting to head for the hills, gold pans in hand!

❌Field Trip—There is no field trip this May.

🛣️Trash Clean-Up
Meet for trash clean-up on Saturday, May 23rd at 9 am. Twice each year the Club fulfills our community service responsibilities by cleaning up our Adopt a Highway stretch of Highway 90, south of Silver City. Our one mile of roadway starts at Milepost 40 in front of HEI Enterprises and ends at Milepost 41 past the Calvary Christian Academy. There is adequate space for off-road parking.
The Club provides bags and reflective vests.

💎Lapidary Workshop
Wednesday mornings 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and Wednesday evenings 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

04/23/2026

Please share this with all your friends. Never enter an old mine shaft!

The Las Cruces Fire Department’s technical rescue team was dispatched alongside state police Monday morning to assist in rescuing a person who had fallen into an abandoned mine shaft in the Organ Mountains. The call came in at about 10:30 a.m.

The individual fell from a rope and was trapped more than 60 feet below the surface without a way out. Authorities said the person was able to reach an area within the shaft where a cell signal was available and called 911.

Rescuers located the shaft and set up a rope system to bring the individual to safety. The person suffered rope burn injuries to the arms and hands but had no other reported injuries.

No firefighters were reported injured from this rescue.

04/16/2026

Grant County Rolling Stones Field Trip Information

📆Date: Saturday, April 18, 2026 Destination: Turkey Creek Road, Gila, NM

📍Meeting Time/ Place: 8:00 am; Murray Ryan Visitor Center, 201 N Hudson St, Silver City

⏱️Trip Departure: 8:30 am

☎️Trip Leader/Cell Phone Number: Corky Stewart (575) 361-1270

💎Rocks/Minerals/Fossils to be collected: Fluorite

🛻Road Conditions: Dirt road, rough, high clearance recommended

🚶‍♀️‍➡️Hiking: Several options to choose from: No hiking. Collect at parking site, Easy walking from car, Moderate hike, short walk on rough trail

⛏️Tools Recommended: Rock hammer, three-pound sledgehammer, safety glasses,
chisels, buckets/bags

This is a favorite site to collect green and purple fluorite (massive and crystals), along with green and white banded fluorite. BUT the road is rough and narrow, and there are high drop-offs in some parts.
Most passenger cars should have no problem, but those with very low clearance should not be driven here. Very nice specimens can be collected along the road, and there is a lot to be collected
within a short hike

04/07/2026

Upcoming events for April:

👥General Meeting / Potluck
Thursday, April 9, 5:30 pm, 2045 Memory Lane. Bring plates, utensils and a dish to share. Anita Williams will be the guest speaker for the evening.

🪛Work Session — Show Table Maintenance
Saturday April 11, 8:30 am. Club House parking lot. 2045 Memory Lane. We will be working on fixing tables for the rock show. Please bring electric drills (battery
operated preferred) and screwdriver bits.

🛻Field Trip
Saturday, April 18, 2026, to Turkey Creek Road, Gila, NM
Details to be posted soon.

💠Lapidary Workshop
Wednesday mornings, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm and
Wednesday evenings, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

04/02/2026

The Grant County Rolling Stones Gem & Mineral Society invites you to our 41st annual Gem & Mineral Show in beautiful Silver City, New Mexico, Labor Day Weekend 2026. Grant County Veterans Memorial Conference Center 3031 HWY 180. Friday 10-5, Saturday 10-5 & Sunday 10-4.

This free family-friendly event brings together crystals, fossils, meteorites, local turquoise, and mineral treasures from around the world. Make us part of your holiday travel plans. This is a rain-or-shine event for the whole family, with activities including a spinning wheel, a kids’ zone, demonstrations, a silent auction table, and educational speakers.

Silver City, New Mexico, is a popular destination at the base of the Gila Wilderness. Make hotel reservations early.

Contact:[email protected]

03/24/2026

🪨 Rockhound Adventures: Lordsburg Edition!
The Grant County Rolling Stones headed south of Lordsburg this weekend, and let’s just say we didn’t come home with empty buckets! 💎

Our latest field trip was a massive success as we explored the rugged desert landscape to see what treasures were hiding just beneath the surface. From sparkling crystals to unique volcanic patterns, the desert definitely delivered.

⛏️ Today’s Top Finds:
Banded Rhyolite: Stunning patterns with beautiful quartz-filled cavities.

Quartz & Chalcedony: Plenty of bright, glassy specimens to add to the collection.

Perlite: A cool look into the area's volcanic history. 🌋

Fluorite: A few lucky members even managed to snag some elusive pieces of fluorite!

A huge thanks to everyone who came out, shared their expertise, and braved the dust with us. There’s nothing quite like the "clink" of a rock hammer and the excitement of a new discovery!