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The Big Luna, a 62 lb. Geode
It began one weekend in the middle of October, 2004. We had told friends of ours about the Baker Ranch and promised to take them there one day. To explain further, The Baker Ranch Thunderegg Mine is a private claim held by the Geode Kid, Paul Colburn. He opens his mine to field trips, each Spring, during the annual Rockhound Roundup in Deming, New Mexico. Otherwise special permission is required, which we obtained. Some very rare geodes and nodules have come from there. Most contain agate or quartz. The agate colors cover a large range including blue, red, orange, yellow, pink, and many others. It was Saturday morning and we started out after a good night's rest and a delicious breakfast at the Grande Hotel in Deming, NM. We had all made the 200 mile trip from Sierra Vista, AZ the night before, to give us time to rest and get an early start in the morning.
 The final drive to the mine from the motel was about 45 minutes, half on paved road and the rest gravel. The gravel road is well maintained but if it rains hard or long enough it becomes very muddy and would require a four wheel drive vehicle to make it. This day it was dry and quite a pleasant drive. At one point we pass the Aerostat mooring station. I believe it is used for gathering a variety of data such as weather, low flying aircraft and illegal border crossings from Mexico.
 When we arrived at the mine we were happy to discover that the Geode Kid had his crew doing some mining with a bucket loader. This was a plus as they bring up new material to go through and discard it on the dumps. Of course this is after they get what they want. A lot of good geodes and thundereggs are missed by them in this process. I approached to let them know we were there with permission from the Geode Kid and we would, as always, stay out of the mine pit and only dig through the dumps.
 We spent most of the day trying different areas of the dumps. Our main focus was on the new material as this would yield a higher percentage of good ones. In the future this would also be picked over by others so now was the time to get to it. Mid-way through the day we took a lunch break and we discussed what time we would head back to Deming. We had plans that evening for dinner at the Rancher's Grill in Deming. This is a very nice Steak House and we always look forward to dinner there when we are in town. At day's end we gathered up our tools and loaded our buckets of goodies. Bear in mind that the percentage of good ones could range from 30% to 80%. It's always a surprise when you cut one open. Sometimes and often it will be what we call a "mud ball", in other words no Agate or Quartz just a lot of Rhyolite and other not so nice material. When you get a nice one it makes it all worth while. Multi colored Agate are one of the marvels from this area. Some are solid and some are hollow. Many are lined with beautiful Quartz Crystals, with some bearing Stalactite Crystal growth. A sampling of some are featured in our world-class Mineral Mine Store. The next day, on our way home, we decided to return to the Baker Ranch Thunderegg mine for one more look around. Our friends, Larry and Ann, accompanied us but left early as they had other plans back at home that day. I was at the bottom of the
dump where the bigger rocks had rolled down. I was using one of these
big rocks as a table to window smaller geodes with my hammer. My heart beat rapidly as the unmistakable hollow sound emerged from my hammer's blow. Could it be? Yes, most definitely this big rock was truly a Geode. I was becoming even more anxious as I got closer to revealing the inside of this great Geode. Very few of the hollow ones turn out to be duds so I felt there was a good chance of it being great. I put the point of my hammer into the crack and slowly pulled off a large section of the geode measuring about 10 inches in diameter. I now call this the lid, similar to one from a very large cookie jar. The lid was lined with miniature quartz, pale orchid in color. The inside of the geode was filled with same orchid colored 'druse' quartz. There was a very thin band of black and red agate between the layer of quartz and the outside rhyolite shell. We named it the Big Luna. This is the name of the county we were in at the mine in New mexico. The pictures that follow
don't show the true colors but they do give a good idea of the size and
the Druse Quartz lining in the Geode.
The Big Luna is SOLD to a private collector in Germany. To contact me about many other geodes we do not have shown on our website please contact me » here.
Be sure to check out our second shopping page featuring World-class
Thundereggs from the Baker Lode Geode Mine. We were
fortunate enough to collect these beautiful gems during some of our trips to Deming, New Mexico. Some nodules are filled with multi-colored Agate; some are lined with Quartz Crystals and common Opal; some (extremely rare) contain gorgeous Quartz Crystal encrusted Stalactites.
I want to wish you all the best in your rockhounding endeavors and remember...... Be Safe, Fill your holes, Close all gates behind you, and respect the property of others. This will help protect the open access we have come to enjoy in the Great Southwest.
I update frequently with new articles. Information contained in these is from reliable sources and personal experiences with a little humor thrown into the mix from time to time. So come back and visit often! NEW Rockhounds Store
Agate 2006 Baker Lode Mine, New Mexico Deming, New Mexico Oregon Sunstones The Big Luna Total Wreck Mine Virgin Valley, NV Opals Washington Camp Kids Corner:
Prospector Ron's Articles:
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