[meteorite-list] Hot AUG NV. Dry Lake bed meteorite hunt.

From: ontheroad at usairborne.com <ontheroad_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:59:49 -0700
Message-ID: <85A41EFFFBA84958A1778A215321A4B6_at_UserPC>

 
 Hi All
 I just got back last week from my second NV. dry lake bed meteorite hunting
trip I did on Aug 12,13,14,15. I had 5 days off from teaching flying so
Off I went to my location #1 720 miles from my Airpark in Wa State . I
offered to take my wife but she said it was to hot for her taste. So I
packed all my tools. This time I had my trusty Kawasaki Teryx side by side
4x4 buggy with sun shade roof. I got to my site #1 after a full days drive
just at dark . I was up at 5 A.M. & hunting as I ate my cereal. I got a few
nice ones as I ate. I started with a probe out onto this huge lake bed just
to see if I could spot any out in areas I have not hunted before . I brought
my X-Terra 70 so I could check the area I had found my biggest 196 gr rock
last hunt when I was here. It's a sand dune so I felt there was likely a
bigger one here . I set up a grid & with in 10 min I had found my 1st
underground rock. This gave me high hopes So I hunted on. I felt pretty
small out here with my detector on this huge lake bed. After about a 1/2 hr
my x-terra 70 said there was a -8. I opened up a hole & there was a really
nice underground meteorite about 5 inches under. It was my second biggest I
have found here at this location. I hunted with my detector till I wore my
self out in the heat . Then I packed it up & hunted the rest of the day by
foot and some on my 4x4. It was a great day of hunting So I cooked up a big
N.Y steak & some veggies & nice salad & had a cold beer. I was tired but the
meteor shower was on tonight. So I laid there in the back of my truck
watching the show . I woke up early & it was quite chilly out . I did the
same as 1st morning I ate my cereal as I hunted in my slippers. I had found
3 nice ones during breakfast. I felt it was going to be a good day so I got
going as soon as I had sun. I went back & hunted the dune area with my
detector with no luck at all. Then I hunted a second area with my detector
& only a few small ones that were in cracks made my detector sing . I felt I
was wasting my hunting time with my detector so I headed out to explore a
new area. The day time temps were getting really hot so I did my exploring
on my 4x4 buggy. I Had found a area that was producing a few nice sized
rocks , So I set up a grid in my 4x4 . The sun shade on my buggy saved me as
temps were hot. I did a east west grid. Going east I could see 15 ft out the
left side of my buggy onto the playa . Then going west into the hot sun I
could only see 5 ft out. So I did a 20ft swath across this part of the lake.
I was really hitting them nice. I had my I pod on as I hunted & I went threw
3 great albums Kansas, Journey, John Prine , I also did some filming. I was
like a kid in a candy store I was so high on life that I was dancing like no
one was watching me out on this remote lake bed. I had hunted two days now
14 hrs each day , so I was dragging my butt around .
This last & 3rd day I was slow at the punch. I did not hunt as I ate my
cereal. I kind of just starred out onto the huge lake bed thinking of my
next move. I explored areas on my 4x4 seeing if I could spot any new rocks.
I worked over the north eastern edge but nothing but a arrow head. Around
noon of my 3rd day I packed up my camp and drove west across NV. I was
headed to my hunting location #2 and it was all the way across the state. I
drove all afternoon but could not get there before dark , So I grabbed a
motel, Shower & Mx dinner. I had the motel give me a 4:30 wake up call the
next A.M. I hit the road by 5 A.M. & was standing on my location #2 dry
lake bed by 6 a.m . I felt good & rested up , so I watch the sun rise as I
took pics & ate my cereal. This was a huge lake bed but it was all hard pan
so I felt good about driving my big 1 ton 4x4 out onto it. I unloaded my
gear quickly & headed out on the hunt. With in a 1/2 I had found my first
possible space rock . After Pics of it as I found it I rolled it over for
second photo on its back with GPS location I only had 1 day here so I
wasted no time looking over my specimen. It looked a bit funny but put it
away till I could look at it better. My next adventure was finding a moving
rock. This specimen was black & you could see a nice trail were this fella
had moved 40 ft or more across the dry lake bed. I filmed it all for my
little film iam doing. Then I stuck my Magnet up to it and WOW it stuck like
it was solid medal. I recorded pics & location of it but knew it was not a
meteorite. I felt it was possibly magnetite. Then a bit farther I found a
much larger piece about 30 lbs then 4 more smaller 5 & 10 lbs rocks. Then
just like I knew where I was headed I drove to the east shore of the lake
walked about 30 ft from my 4x4 buggy looked down & there was a very nice
meteorite just waiting for me to find it & take home for classification .
Well I was 1 happy hunter. I had found two nice looking specimens before
9:30 in the A.M. After finding my 114 grm rock I set up a grid hunt threw
this area. I hunted all day till the clouds built into towering cumulus . I
loaded my 4x4 buggy as the rain started to fall not far from me. I was a bit
bummed that mother nature was running me off early . But I also felt good
about my hunting trip. I got 94 nice meteorites and about 967 grams at my
location #1 then at location #2 I found two by 9:30. my 114 gr is a nice one
. But the smaller one I got 1st is surly a funny looker. At one end it has
olivine & just under it is gold or gold olivine. I opened up a window & it
looks different from all the others I have.
After doing some investigating I spoke with the scientist that classified 3
other rocks from this lakebed . She said the meteorite rocks from here were
very different then others that have been found in NV. In fact she presented
her information to this year's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference .
 
So I now have 9 meteorites that will be getting classified over this next
few years from two Nv locations. This very nice scientist will start my
classification this next year when she gets more free time. So I guess I
will just relax & enjoy the wait. O.K. don't laugh here folks but from my
1st M hunt I have been keeping my eyes open for moon rocks. So I have a few
Meteor wrongs that I have that I kept because they are different lookers
with a look kinda like the photos I have of moon rocks. I know it's a huge
stab in the dark but I have kept them & when I come south this winter to
Quartzite & Tucson shows I will have one of you folks that are a moon rock
pro look them over. I really fill that NV will soon have a moon rock show
up . I manifest all my dreams , So finding a lunar in the USA is on my
manifest list.

 I leave for the Black rock desert this Sunday for 7 days & 7 nights of fun
adventures on the playa. I will be out doing the 2010 Burning Man show where
I gift flights. I leave my Aircraft at the Black Rock airport and fly it in
the mornings gifting the joy of flight to the natives. I'm sure I will see
some space aliens out there this week . If you have never been to burning
man you owe it to your self to come see things you will never see any where
else on earth. It's the biggest living art show in the world. Our little
Black Rock Airport we build grows to over 150 planes.

 But this year I will also fly out to the remote northeastern edges of the
dry lake bed and spend 3 to 4 hrs meteorite hunting.

 I'm truly hooked on this meteorite hunting. I have never ever found any
thing in my life that has excited more then flying until I started hunting
meteorites. Now when iam flying I'm thinking about my next hunting location.

  I have a trip to Belize to set up two aircraft for one of my clients then
fly float aircraft all around the islands & jungles filming , but now I
think of this trip as something that's taking away my Meteorite hunting
time.

 I cant wait for my next big hunt in Oct. Where I will home base out of
Lovelock airport and then fly out to 6 very remote locations from there.

 Have a great day

Scott Johnson
U.S. AirBorne Sport Aviation LLC
Eagles Nest Airpark
Sport Pilot C.F.I WSC-L WSC-S
www.usairborne.com
info at usairborne.com
Office 509-780-0554
Cell 509-780-8377
 
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Received on Wed 25 Aug 2010 05:59:49 PM PDT