Iron shale was once the most common meteoritic material to be seen around the area of Meteor Crater. But, after way more than a century of collecting not very much is left of the interesting by-product of the ancient meteorites. Typically, pieces of iron shale are flat plates of hard black magnetic rock. The metallic iron and nickel is nearly
I decided this year that I would not work right up to the day before we left for vacation. So Saturday was my last day of work and I got to do some resting up and leisurely packing before we headed to the desert on Wednesday morning. Paul arrived just about exactly when we had planned and we started toward
On Vacation Soon we’ll be off on vacation. We thought hard about where to go and what we wanted to do this year. And the end of all that thought was summed up in the word “veg” we are just going to go out and sit all day if we want and do nothing. With all the changing rules about
As we near the end of summer it is always time for Paul and I to plan the first trip to the cooler autumn desert. And we have begun that process. We do not know where we are going but we have picked the date and put in for the time off from work. We have spent big portions of
The Tektite Lamp My article this month is maybe the one of the best examples of the convergence of hobbies that I have ever shared. It was actually well over a year ago that this all happened but I have just not be sure that I wanted to say anything about it. As I plan on doing more of
I mentioned recently that my collecting habits have changed toward falls. Well, I was adding a couple of new specimens to my database and decided to see how many falls I actually had. Boy was I surprised when I found that I had jumped all the way to nearly 30% falls in my collection. It has not been that long
Over the years my wild goose chases for meteorites can be counted on one hand. I just don’t seem to get a lot of the calls about grandpa’s meteorite that fell on the hill just over there. But, I got home from an early morning meeting one Saturday recently as the phone rang. It was a professor in the Physics
This month is going to be kind of a weird mix of topics. I may even disappoint a few people by doing something I rarely do and that is not revealing a secret. First, it came to my attention by an interested reader of a past article from a couple months ago that I had never written in Meteorite Times
Times change and they say that you can never go back to the way it was in the past. That is certainly true about meteorite collecting. There are a few of us out in the world that remember having to be on waiting lists with dealers. We would tell them what we wanted and hope in the next few months
Another Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is in the history book. What an exciting trip it was for Paul and I. We took an extra day this year and it made a big difference in the way the week went. It was a little more relaxed and we had a chance to find a few more great items that we
As I think about the Tucson Gem Show coming soon, I am trying to put together my short list of meteorites. Ones I would be interested in if I see them there. It has become increasingly apparent to me lately that I have made some real tactical errors over the years. Also I have never learned from my mistakes. This
Well, I am taking a month off from my article so that I can finish a book with the working title above. There was a recent discussion on the internet suggesting it would be great if there was a how to manual on cutting meteorites. It was mentioned that I had written articles in several different publication over the last
Tools and Techniques for Cutting and Finishing Meteorites Read Post »
Paul and I had a fantastic vacation again. Each year I do my article on what happens when we go out. We had decided that this year with all that was going on in our lives that we would take a break from the long days of hunting meteorites from morning to dusk. We had actually figured we would not
Paul and I are heading out for vacation in a couple days and with that on my mind I have been unable to think of anything really great to write about for this month. I thought , “go back and look at what you have written on before and see if that gives you any ideas.” Wow, I knew we
Anniversaries – Moon Landing This has been a summer of 40th anniversaries. It was my fortieth high school reunion, there are specials about Woodstock on TV. But, the Moon Landing was by far the most important for me. I actually met my wife the day of the Moon Landing. As Neil and Buzz walked on the Moon she and I
