(NOTE: "Conejo" pronounced 'kon-a-ho (n) is the Spanish word for "rabbit", hence the logo design at left, and was the name given by the early Spanish explorers in the early 1700's when they came through the valley and noticed the thousands of jack rabbits that lived here, thus designating this area the "Conejo Valley")

Serving Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Moorpark, Simi Valley and neighboring communities in and near the Conejo Valley area of Ventura County in Southern California

Choose a Page on this List - Club Membership - Annual Show - Pebble Pups - Links to other Clubs - Meetings & Programs - Show Pictures - Field Trips - Lapidary Shop - Code of Ethics

The Conejo Gem and Mineral Club (CGMC) is a non-profit organization run by volunteers.  The Club promotes and extends the knowledge of minerals, geology, fossils, lapidary arts and associated fields. Click here for a map to our Club Meetings & Lapidary Shop The CGMC was founded in 1971, and is a member of both the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies.

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Happenings:

Here are some current & upcoming things involving our club. If you read this or have something to say let me know. My e-mail is below. If you e-mail me things I can probably copy paste and add to the "Happenings" Don't expect photos yet, unless I post a link.

June 2009:

Meeting-11th Thursday. 7:30pm Hillcrest Art Center, 403 Hillcrest Drive. Thousand Oaks Click here for a map to our Club Meetings & Lapidary Shop

The Prez Sez: Dick Weber
It was sure great to participate in our annual show after missing the last two because of our trips to Australia. I want to personally thank everyone who participated and especially Rob Sankovich for the job he did as Show Chairman. Not only did he work tirelessly for the past several months to organize and set up the show but he also took on the responsibility of arranging for some of the special displays and gathered the materials for the gem jars and silent auction. Rob was also the one who cut, polished and set up those cute dinosaur mementos that each of the exhibitors received. We all know the long days Rob put in at the show, first to get there on Friday for setup and the last one to leave on Sunday after takedown but not everyone can comprehend the commitment of time he put in the months leading up to the show. On top of all this he also found time to enter five cases in the show himself. I will leave it up to Rob to individually thank the members that helped him for fear of missing someone. To everyone who helped out at this year’s show I want to offer my personal thank you. It was a great show.

I was especially pleased with the number and quality of display cases that club members and guest exhibitors put in our show. Not only was the quality of the material first rate but the organization and manner they were displayed was outstanding. Mary Pat and I have had the opportunity to attend a half dozen or more shows of other clubs in the past year and I think the cases at our show were some of the best.
Don’t pack those great displays away just yet! Your next opportunity to exhibit is just a few months away. The Ventura County Fair begins August 5, 2009. This is a great chance to show off your display to thousands of people and possibly win a few dollars in the process.

The Conejo Gem & Mineral Club has a long history of putting great displays in the fair. In past years members of our club have taken major awards at the fair and many of our members have ribbons and trophies to show for it. The fair accepts mineral, lapidary, fossil and jewelry cases and individual items as entrees for both competition and as display only items. Display cases are available through the fair or can be borrowed from the club.
Don’t be put off by all the categories and rules found on the Fair web site for gem and mineral entrees. You have an inside track and members to guide you through this simple process. Several of our senior members have worked at the fair and displayed material for years. Tell me what you want to display and I will put you in touch with a member who can show you the ropes and guide you through the process.
I will have all the County Fair details at the June Meeting.

Programs: Mary Pat Weber, V-P
June 11th: ROCKHOUNDING YOUR WAY THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Earth is not the only place in our solar system to explore for exciting geologic discoveries. Our guest speaker this month will be Dr. Randii Wessen of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. He will bring us up to date on how NASA and JPL are overcoming the unique challenges posed by conducting scientific exploration in outer space. His program will feature some of the latest photos from current JPL missions as well as the future of U.S. robotic exploration. Join us as Dr. Wessen takes us on the “ultimate field trip” into this vast frontier.

Pebble Pups: John Bouck Youth Program Coordinator
June 11th Pepple Pup program. Well, what an exciting time to be a Pebble Pup and Junior Rock Hound! Our monthly meeting was well attended with fourteen kids from first time Pebble Pups to pretty knowledgeable Junior Rock Hounds. In our plush setting in the board room we described our favorite rock, gem or mineral, what it was that we liked about it and made impressive drawings of them. Those drawings showed up just a few days later on proud display as part of the CGMC Annual Show.
For those that made it to the show, not only did they get to see their artwork on display but also were treated to a huge assortment of gems, minerals, carvings, fossils and magnetic material of all shapes and sizes. Mitty Scarpato did a wonderful job running the kid’s room and had the help of several of our Pebble Pups – thanks to all the helpers. In the kid’s room the youngsters could find rock grab bags, sift for buried treasure, take a spin on the rock wheel of fortune, or paint your own fossil. Many kids did everything!
This coming meeting we’re going to start into our summer volcano experience. We’ll be learning about the different rock types that volcanoes produce and building up to our volcano explosion!

Volcanos - 1: Learn about the different rocks associated with the heat, pressure and composition of volcanos. Build your own volcano

We will also make available a syllabus of planned activities for the Pebble Pups over the next five meetings. This project is great for all ages and skill levels and is sure to be a fun and educational project.

The following members will serve as elected officers for 2009
President: Dick Weber
Programs: 1st Vice-President Mary Pat Weber
Field Trips: 2nd Vice Presidents Mike Miller & Robert Sankovich
Membership: 3rd Vice-President Camille Van Ast
Editor: 4th Vice-President Becky Williamson
Treasurer: Sat Scarpato
Secretary: Mitty Scarpato
Federation Director: Robert Sankovich

Appointed officers for 2009
Art Council: Camille Van Ast
Community Education: Mitty Scarpato
Historian: To be announced
Librarian: Mike Miller
Parliamentarian: Roy Foerster
Publicity: Deb Sankovich
Refreshments: To be announced
Shop Foremen: Robert Sankovich, Manny Valdez
Show Chairman: Robert Sankovich
Ways & Means: Mary Pat Weber, Linda Demangelaere, Nick Duncan
Website: Robert Sankovich
Workshop Coordinator: To be announced
Youth Program Coordinator: John Bouck

Welcome:
To our new members!
Tracy Phillips, Charlie Hwang, Gil and Gayle Unzueta (and Lizz and Sami), Cephas and Jesusa Romero, Peter Loveless, Kelsey Nagel and Joe Head (and Bryn and Rylin), Michael and Juanie Walker (and Jacob and Woodrow.)

Field Trips: Rob Sankovich & Mike Miller VP's. See field trip page for contact information. Please let us know if you are going to go on the field trip. The weather can change, if we don’t know your going we won’t be able to contact you if the field trip is cancelled. There will be maps and flyers at the club meetings. There are still people who show up for the field trip without notifying Mike or I, you can still be part of the field trip, but it is important that you let us know your going to attend. Please let us know if your going to attend, e-mail or call us. I have new truck, it's a white Ford F250 four wheel drive, crew cab, if your looking for me, look for my truck.

June 12th-28th, Road Trip, 17 days, 6 collecting sites: I must know if your going! were going to be at a lot of different places on this trip and without knowing your going we might not rendezvous. Even it your going to be only on a part of the trip, let me know ASAP. Try to contact me at least a week before. As of right now there will be at least 12 people going on the trip, maybe more.
Field trip: Our June field trip will be to 6 different sites, 17 days, collecting in 4 different states and travelling through a few others. We will be collecting topaz crystals, trilobite fossils, blue forest petrified wood, green river formation fish fossils, sapphires and obsidian. We'll be leaving on Friday afternoon-late afternoon June 12 to June 28th Sun. We will be rough camping, and staying at motels for part of the trip. If you will be camping you will need to bring everything you need, most sites have no facilities. You can join us for part of the trip, or all of it. We will keep to the itinerary so you can rendezvous with us. We will need to know if you are going so we can exchange cell phone numbers, and we can rendezvous if you aren't going the same date/time as us. The basic information is below, if you are going to go I will e-mail more detailed information and maps. There is not enough room on this flyer for all the information. You won't need 4 wheel drive, but it is preferred. The weather will vary so bring layers of clothes, it should be warm in the lower states, but Montana could be cool at night. Deb and I will be tent camping. On the back of this there is a break down of each day. I’d recommend bring a shade unit of some sort, some places there won’t be any trees or shade. We will leave Friday the 12th in the afternoon/early evening and drive as far as we can and spend the night in a motel. The time we leave depends on who’s going and if you want to caravan. Some sites are pay sites, Trilobites $70, Fish fossils $100 for 8 hours.
Directions: I’ve put our route/time table on the back of this. Estimate 3200 miles for whole trip.
Meeting: Depending on who’s going, times, We will work out a rendezvous times and places. I plan on driving Friday afternoon- late afternoon. If your going Friday we will meet at my house. We will then drive as far as we can for the day/night and stay at a motel. I want to try to get to the Las Vegas area. 315 miles, 4 hours, 45 minutes. You can rendezvous with us anywhere on the trip, I’ll give you my cell phone number and I’ll need yours. Some days I might not have reception, but every time we move to another site I will check my voice mail and call anyone who is planning to rendezvous.
What to collect:
Utah: 2 sites, Topaz Mountains for topaz crystals, (http://www.utahoutdooractivities.com/topaz.html
U dig fossils for trilobite fossils (http://www.u-digfossils.com/s
Wyoming: 2 sites, Blue Forest Petrified Wood for petrified wood,
Kemmerer/Green River Formation for fish fossils (Warfield Fossils http://www.fossilsafari.com/index.html
Montana: Yogo Gulch/Creek for sapphires (http://www.gemland.com/yogo1.htm
California: Davis Creek, obsidian, various types (http://www.cfmsinc.org/fieldtrp/y2001/obsidian/obsidbon.htm
Tools: Collecting bags, buckets, day pack, digging tools, rock pick, pry bar, safety glasses, gloves, sledges, gad bars, chisels, shovel, trowels, sieve, sifter box, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, sturdy shoes, layered clothing. Lots of drinking water, camping gear, shade unit, food, cooler, we will stop along the way and buy groceries/Ice to restock coolers, wood for campfires
Contact: Robert Sankovich 805-494-7734, rmsorca@adelphia.net
Please let me know if you are going to go on the field trip.
Route: time includes short stops, averaging 60 miles an hour overall.
Fri 12th Thousand Oaks to Las Vegas area, 315 miles, 4 hours, 45 minutes-(Motel)
Sat 13th Las Vegas area to Topaz Mountains 360 miles, 5.5 hours6-(Camp)
Sun 14th Topaz Mountains-(Camp)
Mon 15th Topaz Mountains-(Camp)
Tues 16th Topaz Mountains to U dig fossils, 30 miles,1 hour, after collecting we will drive east then north as far as we can, should reach Salt Lake city, Utah,180 miles, 3 hours-(Motel)
Wed 17th Salt Lake city to Wyoming, Blue Forest Petrified wood,170 miles, 3 hours-(Camp)
Thur 18th Blue Forest Petrified wood-(Camp)
Fri 19th Blue Forest Petrified wood-(Camp)
Sat 20th Blue Forest Petrified wood to Kemmerer, Warfield fossils, 50 miles, 1 hour, after collecting we will drive north as far as we can, should reach Jackson, Wyoming, 170 miles, 3 hours-(Motel)
Sun 21st Jackson Wyoming to Yogo Gultch/Creek, 360 miles, 7 hours-(Camp)
Mon 22nd Yogo Gultch/Creek-(Camp)
Tues 23rd Yogo Gultch/Creek-(Camp)
Wed 24th Yogo Gutch to Twin Falls Idaho, 545 miles, 9 hours-(Motel)
Thur 25th Twin Falls Idaho to Davis Creek, NE California, 485 miles, 8.5 hours-(Camp)
Fri 26th Davis Creek-(Camp)
Sat 27th Davis Creek-(Camp)
Sun 28ths Davis Creek, California to home, 716 miles, 11 hours, 15 minutes

July 11th Sat 9am. Oak Park
Field trip: Our July field trip will be to Oak Park. We will be looking for petrified wood, float and buried. Some of it's on the surface and all you have to do is pick it up. Most of it is golf ball size and smaller, but I have seen larger pieces found there. We will be walking up a hill. Light brush on the hill. The hill is not very high or big, so this is a good field trip for all ages.
Meeting: Saturday Afternoon, July 11th 2009, 9am-2pm. We will meet site at 9:00 am. There will be a short briefing of the site. Please remember to sign a release form to participate in the field trip.
Tools: Collecting bags, buckets, day pack, digging tools, rock pick, pry bay, eye protection, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, sturdy shoes, pants recommended, drinking water, lunch or snacks.

August 1st Sat 10am Jade Cove
Field trip: Our August field trip will be to Jade Cove, south of Big Sur. We will be looking for Nephrite Jade. It can be found along the shoreline. You can come up for the day or join us camping over night. Deb and I will be there Wednesday July 29th to Sunday August 2nd. Day use free by side of road, camping $22.00. No electric hookups. 45 campsites half are assigned on a first come, first served basis. You now can reserve your campsite. See contact information below. 8 persons per site. Each site has a picnic table, grill and fire pit. Flush toilet restrooms and water nearby. Saturday night there will be a potluck dinner with our club and the Channel Islands Divers club which Robert and Debra are members.
Meeting: Saturday Afternoon, August 1st. 2009, 10am-4pm. We will meet at Robert’s campsite. There will be a short briefing of the site.Please remember to sign a release form to participate in the field trip. We will then drive south on Hwy 1 half a mile to a long pull out on right side (west) with a entrance to Jade cove. Use the stairs to climb over the fence and walk approximately 150 yards across a grass area to a switch back down to the cove, approximately 100 yards, use sturdy shoes. The bottom of the trail can be washed out so take your time. Walk over the bigger rocks at the basin to the center of the cove where there is a small beach. In the surf and along shore Jade can be found amongst the other rocks. Be careful and aware when collecting close to the surf zone.
Minerals to collect: Nephrite Jade, Serpentine, Actinolite, Soap Stone, Ab shells.
Tools: Collecting bags, buckets, day pack, digging tools, rock pick, pry bar, eye protection, trowels, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, sturdy shoes, rubber boots or old tennis shoes, layered clothing, towels, change of clothes/shoes in case you get wet. Drinking water, lunch or snacks. camping gear if you plan on spending the night.
Contact: Robert Sankovich 805-494-7734, rmsorca@adelphia.net
Mike Miller 805-498-9586, rockfmdr@aol.com Please let us know if you are going to go on the field trip, weather changes. If we dont know your going on the field trip, we won’t be able to contact you if the field trip is canceled Color aerial photo of Sand dollar beach to Jade cove if you are interested, e-mail me and I'll send it to you
Reservations: Recreation Gov. 877-444-6777 http://www.recreation.gov
Links: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres/recreation/camping/mrd/
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres/html/rec/recmap_mrd_5.htm (Map)
Following two are Scuba Diving links, but have Jade Cove info
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_West/CalM/Jade_Cove/
http://www.cadivingnews.com/divespots.html?article_id=342

Field trips done: May 2009
Piuma Fossils:
We had a great turnout, over 34 people showed up. We had great weather, a bit of a hike, lot's of stickers, but I think most people found something. Jim Brace Thompson took a photo of a large rock with scallop fossils on it. I don't know if Becky can put it in the Conejo bulletin, so hopefully you are looking at it now. I would take a large helicopter to remove it. I found a nice piece and will bring it into the June meeting, I hope other that were on the field trip bring in what they found. I always tell people that the #1 rule is watch where you step. Some people did see rattle snakes. People attending: Conejo-Peter Loveless, Richard & Collin Simpson, John, Karla, Travis Bouck, Jordan, Brooke, Lee Sarna, Sal & Mitty Scarpato, Jaunie & Jacob Walker, Jeff Miller, Kevin & Diane Grizard. Oxnard-Stephanie Hagiwara, Larry & Donna Knapton. Ventura-Jim and Nancy Brace Thompson, Heidi Mauer, Stuart Bloom, Abe & Esther Bar-Shai, Andy Anderson, David Maurtz. Kent & Marinana Christenson, Krishna & Caleb Juarez, Luther Brown.

In March we went to Ant Hill, I dug near Wes Farmer, he is also a painter, he painted a scene of Ant Hill, with rockhounds collecting shark teeth. Jeff Miller and I are in the painting, you can only see my back, it's the red shirt. Jeff is to the left. Here is the link to check it out. http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/seashorediscoveries/index.html

Conejo Gem & Mineral Show 2009
The show was a success, a lot of new members helped out. Without your help we wouldn't have had a show. I want to thank:
Lee Anderson
Don Asher
John & Karla Bouck
Kathy Cairns
Stuart & Hertha Chalfant
Jackie Counsey
Richard & Bianca Cronin
Linda Demangelaere
Steve Douglas
Nick Duncan
Lyndell, Robert Fong
Roy & Bob Foerster
Audrey Harvey
Luke Herda, Lisa Syring, Jasmine Mogadam
Charlie Hwang
Peter Loveless
Jeff Miller
Mike, Diane Miller
Xiaofang Mu
Wei Wang
Norman, Nelson
Arnie Rudman
Deb Sankovich
Sal & Mitty Scarpato
Richard Simpson
Calvin Smith
Tracie Sabol, Destiny Guerrero, Tyler Eton
Lynn Stewart
Zsuzsa & Be'la Somogyi
Becky Williamson
Manuel Valdez
Camille Van Ast
Dick & Mary Pat Weber

I hope I got everyone that helped out. We had 43 exhibits, more then last year, we had a club case, field trip case, Dino Dislpay. We had good weather. Luke did a great job with the kitchen. With the economy the way it is, we still did well. Attendance was a little less then average. I had a lot of fun. We had people join our club at the show! June's meeting should have some new faces, welcome them to our club. We sold quite a few t shirts, but still have some adult sizes left, I'll bring them into the June meeting. We have Brett Johnson to thank, from the Oxnard club who helped us out with them. I also want to thank Jim Brace Thompson, and the Ventura club, they loaned us the Dino replicas, 5 exhibit cases, and the vib lap to make the memento's. I hadn't bought ours yet, so I used Ventura's. The memento's were a big hit, Mitty used them for a question for the kids to find the answer. I still have a few memento's left and will bring them to meetings, they will be in the hourly raffle, and a few at the November club silent auction. I've been the show chairman for the last 3 years, and have enjoyed it, but I am open to anyone who would like to be the show chairman for 2010. Our club should have several people who can facilitate our show. Thanks again for everyone helping out!

Robert Sankovich
Show chairman 2009

To All the Plant Room Assistants from Camille Van Ast:
We had a very successful plant sale this past weekend at the show. Thanks for all the plants that were brought in by: Bianca, Debbie, Manny, Jack Cronander, Don Asher, Joyce Reid a garden club friend of mine (and me.) We had an overflow of 3 large tables packed full of plants. Thank you all for all the work you did! I know that was not just a day’s work to plant them and keep them alive for the show!!!!!
I also like to thank the following people for volunteering to sell and answer questions at the booth at the sale: Bianca Cronin, Lee Anderson, Lyndell Fong, Pat Halliday and sister Gwyneth, and Zsuzsanna Somogyi. I hope you all had a fun time being there, I did! We made a total of $358 at the sale, about the same as last year, and we had 4 or 5 boxes of plants going home for tender care with Debbie, Lyndell and me. Hopefully they will return bigger next year. I hope I did not forget to mention anyone, so again…
Thanks for all the help! Camille

CFMS: http://www.cfmsinc.org/
Zzyzx November 15th-22nd 2009 Lapidary, Silver Fabrication, Soft Stone Carving, Wire Wrap Field Trips and Enameling classes. If your interested in this I suggest you sign up now, it's first come and by the end of March they will probably be full. The CFMS website has information and the registration form online, there is also contact person for information. http://www.cfmsinc.org/
Where: Zzyzx is a Desert Study Center located at Soda Springs CA. It is approximately 50 miles NE of Barstow off of I-15 at Zzyzx road.
Cost: $350 per person per week. It includes,quarters, or RV Space, three meals per day, and classes. Additional charges may be assessed for material furnished by Instructors.
CFMS show 2010

Lapidary Shop: The time is flexible. You call us and we can set up a time that works for you.

All equipment is operational. If you want to use the shop, contact:
Robert Sankovich 805-494-7734 rmsorca@adelphia.net
Manuel Valdez 805-492-1609

The club has bought a used 18" Rociprolap made by Rose Enterprises. It's cast iron and heavy. The whole thing probably weighs 100lbs. There are two parts, the pan, and the base. We will now be able to polish larger stones, slabs, geode/nodules. It will need to run through several grit stages and polish, that will take time so we will make it so you will check it out and use it at your house. I'll let you know when it's available. I have to make a user manual.

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Conejo Gem & Mineral Club Information:

Members typically have an interest or involvement in mineralogy, geology, paleontology, rock cutting, faceting, polishing, making cabochons, collect rocks, minerals or fossils specimens. Come to the Conejo Gem and Mineral Club and become a member of one the largest hobby groups in the United States

Club Meetings: The 2nd Thursday of every month, 7:30pm, at the Hillcrest Arts Center, 403 West Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks, CA. Across from the Oaks Mall. These 2-hour get-togethers involve a brief business announcements portion followed by a 20 minute social time serving cookies, juice, coffee. You can check out what was found on the last field trip and what you can find on the next. There is a monthly raffle, Then a 45 minute program given by a guest speaker sharing their knowledge on geology, jewelry making, rock, mineral and fossil collecting, volcanology, paleontology and many other fascinating subjects. There are many different interests for members to check out at our club, we’re not just rock hounds. Members are involved in jewelry, wire wrapping, bead making, geology, fossils, minerals and lapidary arts. During the business section, youths are invited to attend a separate program where they can learn some science or a craft. We have programs for younger members to further their knowledge of earth science, geology and rock/mineral/fossil collecting. Let us know what interests you have and we will introduce you to members with similar interests. We print a monthly bulletin for our members to keep them up to date on club happenings. There is also a modest library for members to freely expand their interests.

Summertime we have a Picnic/BBQ at the park, Ice Cream social in August, Silent Auction in November and in December a Christmas party, they are a lot of fun. Our club is very family orientated so the whole family can participate in a fun hobby together and get some exercise in the out doors. Operating funds are generated from membership fees and proceeds from our annual show held every May called the Pageant of a Thousand Gems, (follow the link for more details).

We put on an annual Gem and Mineral show, participate in the Gem and Mineral Department exhibits at the Ventura County Fair, and support other Gem and Mineral Clubs by displaying when we are invited. We are members of the Arts Council of the Conejo Valley, the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies (regional) and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (national).

Lapidary Shop: Available for members who would like to cut and polish rocks and minerals. We have a 24” saw, a Trim saw, 2 Genie polishing machines, a fine polish wheel. .

Field Trips: Each month we have field trips, some local day trips, others overnight camping/motel. At the club meeting you can check out the rocks, minerals and fossils that have been collected on field trips. To give you an idea of the rocks, minerals and fossils you might find, check out the specimens brought in to each monthly meeting. You don’t have to be very experienced. There are many members willing to share in their knowledge of collecting rocks, minerals and fossils. We have many different types of field trips for all ages, so there is always something for everyone.

Please send us an e-mail if you have any questions or would like further information not found in this site. Webpage related concerns may be directed to the same e-mail. Contact information is below.

 

You can write us at;

Conejo Gem and Mineral Club

P. O. Box 723

Newbury Park, CA  91320

 

or you can contact

Robert Sankovich

805-494-7734

rmsorca@adelphia.net

 

 

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