Gem O Rama Digging Pink Halite Salt Crystals In The Mojave Desert

Gem-O-Rama is coming up in October and I'm already getting excited to go again. It's one of the best times out in the desert you've never heard of. A weekend of gems & minerals and digging through mud & brine on the Searle's Lake bed.
(Pink Halite)
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A little background on Gem-O-Rama. It's put on each year around the second weekend in October by the Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society. They've been putting on the gem show for 75 years. Located in Trona, California it draws people in from all over the world. I've met Germans, Kiwi's, Japanese, Chinese & more. It's unique amongst gem and mineral shows because it offers the visitors a chance to take field trips out onto the salt encrusted lake bed which is a sink for the surrounding mountains. No waters gets out except through evaporation or percolation into the ground.

There are 3 field trips across two days, Saturday and Sunday. They cost $15, $15 & $20 and I recommend doing all 3. The first of the three is called the Mud Dig and held in the morning on Saturday. Aptly named cause you dig through thick, black mud to find barrel hanksite crystals, some which can be as big as footballs or come in plates the size of your favorite Costco Pizza.

The second field trip occurs on Saturday afternoon and is the famous "Blow Hole" event. The crystals are first blasted loose by charges set 30-60 feet below the surface and then pumped up by large drilling rigs. They offer a demonstration for the kids about half way through the event. The crystals are blown out all over for a few minutes and then everyone rushes in to get them. Crystals collected at this even are, halite, hanksite, thenardite, trona, borax and the very rare sulphohalite.

The third trip happens on Sunday and is for the highly sough after pink halite, aka himalaya salt. This is no ordinary salt though. The crystals grow in large clusters and sell for up to hundreds of dollars. The crystals hide in the pools of brine water and come in pink, white, blue & cranberry colors. This trip alone usually pays for our whole weekend. It's hard work though and requires pick axes & 1" steel breaker bars to get the specimens. In addition, the brine is thick and burns any open cuts. It will also turn your clothing stiff enough to stand on it's own.
(Courtesy of SLG&MS)

It's dirty fun and for the whole family! See ya out there!
For more information see the Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society website:
http://www1.iwvisp.com/tronagemclub/GEM-O-RAMA.htm