Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 Subject: The Saga of a Steel Magnolia in Utah

Hi All,

Only mad dogs and Englishmen brave the noon day sun. But a rockhound in search of treasure will brave almost any thing. We went to Topaz Mountain on Saturday in spite of the 100+ degree heat forecast. Only 3? weeks ahead of schedule. Well, we were ready to go, so why wait? It was only a 215 mile ride south and west of Layton.

We got off of the freeway at Nephi and drove for about half an hour through land that had been burned in huge wildfires this last month (average speed about 60 mph, you figure out how much land we saw). Very sad to see the land scorched and blackened. Southern Utah is desert, southwestern Utah is really desolate desert. We drove into Delta (population 2998 and the last spot of civilization for a long while) to top off the gas tank before back tracking to take the turn off for Topaz Mountain. You drive for about 20 miles on a two lane marked highway, then you cross an invisible line and the painted lines disappear and you are on a two lane unmarked road for the last 18-20 miles before you turn off into BLM land. Now, this land is flat, really flat. You are driving across a valley floor between two mountain ranges and it is so hot that the mountains are almost invisible because of the heat waves and mirage effect, spooky kinda. It looks like fog, but in this dry climate fog would be impossible.

Now the dangerous part begins. I stopped the truck and got out. It was time for Katherine to drive (she is 16+ so it was time to sacrifice my nerves...drugs, I forgot my drugs!!!) Well, the upcoming 20 miles were straight as an bent arrow and there wasn't much that she could get into, or off of either. I think she killed off most of the hamster population in Utah squealing for joy. That's an in joke cause she sounds like a hamster when she gets excited. She got into the drivers seat and we got on our way at a sedate 15 mph, with a pronounced swerve to be sure, but we all have to learn some time. After 5 miles, or so, the swerving stopped, mostly, and I stopped begging for Dramamine. After about 30 minutes a car actually passed us (doing at least 80 mph), amazing actually, no crash. Another car from the opposite direction passed us after a bit and no head on collision took place. Someone must have been doing something right.

There were no animals in sight and only a few small birds were in the sky. There is no open or apparent water out here. We eventually got to the last turn off. By now we have passed a number of unmarked roads. Road is a euphemism for two tire ruts in the desert this far out from town.

The BLM has a nice sign that directs you to turn into the Topaz Mountain area. It is set aside for rockhounds and you can only use hand tools to collect the topaz. Did I tell you that you can get topaz, garnet, red beryl, and other goodies here? Well, I thought that dynamite was a hand tool, but I didn't have time to get any and I couldn't find any M80's, so that left me with the rock hammers, chisels and pry bars. Drat.

I took over driving at this point. The first 1/2 mile is gravel road and looks fine. Looks are deceptive. At 5 mph it was okay, at 10 mph any fillings you had have long since vibrated out and the connections to your pace maker have come loose. Five mph is just fine. At long last you reach a nice sand road with 'do not litter' signs every mile or so, this tells you that you are going in the right direction cause there are no other signs and the USGS maps don't show any other markings. Oh, if I forgot to tell you, the 2 wheel drive portion ends at the gravel road. If you don't have 4 wheel drive forget it, you won't make it, don't even think to try it. As you get closer to Topaz Mountain the road gets much worse. I am grateful to the kind individual who scanned in a photograph of the mountain on the net. It helped a lot in locating our final destination because nothing is marked out here. The gully (road) that leads into Topaz Valley gets narrower and rockier. The sand has the quality of fine powder and it is extremely slippery. There are big boulders every where for the unwary to run into and your 5 mph speed limit is still just fine.

It's about noon, the sun is full out, the sky is a vivid blue and it is dry beyond belief. It took a bit of doing, but we got into a nice camp site. Nice is defined by a semi-level area with minimal rocks to move. We parked the truck between two juniper trees to take advantage of the slight shade that it offered. The heat in the open is brutal. There were about six other trucks in the valley when we arrived, a veritable crowd. Katherine and I set up camp and then put our loungers in another patch of shade and did what Southern ladies have done for years...we flapped our fans, munched bon bons and read a good book. After all, it was too hot to run around and smash rocks. By 2pm only three vehicles (including us) were left in the valley and no one else came after we arrived. We dozed away most of the afternoon and just enjoyed the peace and quiet. The sounds of sledge hammers in the distance was actually pleasant. A man up on the knob was having a wonderful time with a hammer for hours.

Let me describe the valley a little better. This is volcanic country and there are eroded volcanic pipes and cones all over the place. Lava made Topaz Mountain happen. The valley is a semi circle of high walls, fluted with steep canyons, and the knob sits in about the middle. The knob is a giant glob of lava that looks like taffy that was poured onto a pan and then forgotten. It flows in waves and curves of frozen stone that stands about 200 feet tall and is about 1/4 mile oval. Because this lava is the composition that it is, it is full of holes and very light for it's weight. The best topaz is found inside the rock in a hole. You have to break the stone to find the hole that hopefully has crystals formed in it. Well, erosion over time has done a fine job of spreading tiny topaz crystals all over every where. Every thing glitters here, the dust on the road/gully, the rocks, the hills..... Just walking around is an incredible sight. Every step you take in the loose shifting sand makes these tiny crystals sparkle in the strong sunlight. There are two gravel fields on the side of the knob that are good prospecting areas. Gravel is defined by rocks the size of my fist up to and bigger than a five pound bag of flour. There is one wall of the canyon that is totally covered by rubble and a fault line in the rock is very visible in the middle of the field. It's tricky walking around here. We climbed to the top of the knob to look around before deciding to stay where we were and not go farther into the valley.

By the time the sun was down behind the top of the mountain we were ready to venture out and explore the area. Also the temperature dropped dramatically when the sun went out of sight. Hiking around with a load of steel hammers and other paraphernalia, not to mention the water bottles that never for any reason are more than an arm reach away, is just plain work. So, to make it more fun, we picked and poked at almost any thing that caught our attention. In reality, we found more crystals laying in the dirt than we got from breaking rock. Now where is that blasting powder when you need it? Well, after a while it was time to fix dinner so we headed back to camp. Fortunately, we did not meet the acquaintance of any of the local rattle snakes.

I am willing to accept many things in a remote camp...except hot dogs. You will never find a hot dog in my camp kitchen. Katherine planned pork chops with apple raisin filling for the evening, I helped a little. Getting the fire going was my main contribution. (big grin) OH!! I forgot to tell you that Katherine made several batches of fresh bread on Friday for us to bring along. This is after all, a high class camp site. After dinner, the show began.

Katherine and I put our lounge chairs out in the middle of the clearing and relaxed with a tall glass of distilled water with a twist of lime while the light faded across the valley and left the tops of the mountains in darkness. Then, minute by minute, the stars began to emerge from the thickening gloom. The air was so clear that you could see colors and sizes of the different stars as they twinkled into life. In about an hour there were so many stars out that it looked like a mist had settled over the valley. The milky way was a blazing swath across the sky. Then, the show really began. The Earth is passing through the Perseid Meteor Shower as we speak. We saw two flaming meteors streak across the sky. It was a sight that we had never imagined was possible to see. Sitting there in the darkness and watching the fiery streaks in total silence was awesome. It would not have been possible to see any thing like it on the east coast. Eventually, we decided to get to bed. It had been a long day and you can only absorb so many miracles at one time.

Now, as previously stated, this is a high class camp site. We brought our high tech dome tent, high tech sleeping bags ready to keep the desert chill away, and best of all (in my opinion) a high tech air mattress to promote a good nights rest. Sleeping on rock is not my idea of fun. Well, we were both tired puppies and we wasted no time, or battery power, in getting to bed.

Sunday morning arrived with my digital watch singing in my ear. Actually, it beeped and I got it quick before it woke Katherine. It was still dark when I got up. Watching the sun come up is a favorite event for me. I got the fire going and made cocoa. Now for the fun. I got Katherine up. (another evil grin) The sun came over the rim of the mountain in an explosion of light and heat. The muted colors blazed for a while before resuming their usual appearance. Our high tech tent became a high tech oven in the direct sunlight. Katherine broke camp while I fixed breakfast. Bacon, omelet, home fried potatoes and toasted bread made up breakfast without a hot dog in sight. I brought lots of lemons and limes for our water supply, too. Citrus is very refreshing in this heat. Even cocoa gets a bit much at 100+.

OH!! We saw a brown bunnie across the hill from our camp site this morning. It was the first animal that we have seen here. Now this might not be exciting, but an entire herd of his buddies had been through the valley leaving droppings the size of cantaloupes behind them. I was afraid that the bunnie might come to breakfast and bring his friends with him.

After breakfast, we packed the truck and went back to exploring the valley and hammering at the rock. By 10 o'clock it was too hot to do more, so we decided to head out.

Once again, the road(narrow, rock lined gully) presented a challenge. There are a number of roads around the valley, as luck would have it we took the wrong one. Not to worry, the truck was in 4x4 mode and we just went in what I thought was the right direction. Bingo! We found the right turn-off (the one with the do not litter sign). However, the 200 feet in front of the turn-off looked impassable even for us. No problem. I got out and walked around and found another gully (road) and we were back on the right track.

When we got back on the real live, paved road, we switched places and Katherine drove the next 35 miles. This time with only a little, occasional swerving, and at a respectable 25 mph. Today we saw two prong horn antelope as they bounded across the road in front of us. Katherine learned all about turning the head and hands at the same time while driving a moving vehicle. We all have to learn. Right?

Eventually we made it back to the main highway. While sitting in the passenger seat, I had time to reflect on the terrain that we were passing through. This is a harsh environment. It will kill you in a heartbeat, and then celebrate your return to the ecosystem in the next. With planning, you can not only survive, but enjoy the stark beauty of the desert and mountains. It was refreshing and satisfying to know that we had not had any harmful incidents during the trip. The whole experience was grand. We will be back to Topaz Mountain later in the year. (hopefully with hand held dynamite) :-)

Our trip back to Layton was uneventful and we got back in time to unload the mountain of stuff necessary for desert travel and then relax for the evening.

Next? Who knows.

Take care and write when you can.

See ya soon.

Jan Noble, steel_magnolia@mindspring.com

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