Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Field Trip, Saturday, October 18th

Saturday, October 18th

ADVANCED HIKE – Dirt road has been filled to accommodate most vehicles, SUV recommended.

Swift Creek @ Swift Creek Trailhead #607

Coming from Whatcom County: Meet at REI @ 9 am to carpool
Coming from the South: Meet at Cook Rd. Park & Ride, exit 232
@ 9:30 AM.

Open to dues-paid members of the Mount Baker Rock & Gem Club
only. A waiver must be signed to participate.

We will convoy east on State Rte 20E to Concrete, WA and venture up Baker Lake Rd., then access NF-1130, and bear right onto NF-1144, parking at the Hot Springs/Swift Creek Trailhead.

For folks leaving from Bellingham, expect about 80 minutes of
drive time to get to our destination. Those joining at Cook Rd.
Will drive ~ 60 minutes. There are no toilets at this trail, so bring
your own TP.

Terrain is a steep downgrade, with an ~ 0.6 mile hike to get to the
creek from the parking lot. There may be logs, large rocks, pebbles, and sand to traverse. Expect mud puddles along the way.

The hike back will be a steep incline; be mindful you must carry
out what you carried in + any finds collected.

Arrival ETA: 10:40 am
Departure: ~ 3 pm for about 3.5 hours of agate hunting.

What to bring: Boots, bucket or pail, snacks, water, waders, walking stick, clothing layers – the water will be COLD!

This field trip will be happening rain or shine, so please plan accordingly

Host/contact: Trevor Duncan 360-920-2393

Posted on

Field Trip, Saturday, October 4

Saturday, October 4th

BEGINNER FRIENDLY – all vehicle friendly


Swift Creek @ Baker Lake – Swift Creek Campground
Coming from Whatcom County: Meet at REI @ 9 am to carpool.
Coming from the South: Meet at Cook Rd. Park & Ride, exit
232 @ 9:30 AM.

Open to dues-paid members of the Mount Baker Rock &
Gem Club only. A waiver must be signed to participate.

We will convoy east on State Rte 20E to Concrete, WA and
venture up Baker Lake Rd., then park in the gravel lot after
the bridge just past the Swift Creek Campground.

For folks leaving from Bellingham, expect about 80 minutes of drive time to get to our destination.

Those joining at Cook Rd. Will drive ~ 60 minutes. Park restrooms will
be closed for the season, so bring your own TP.

Terrain is a flat dirt road, with trail access through the
campground, and then a small hill to get down to the
creek. For those who don’t want to walk as far, there are
agates to be found just under the bridge, but gators or
waders are recommended for the best hunting! Expect to
walk up to 0.5 miles to the search site.

Arrival ETA: 10:40 am

Departure: ~ 3 pm for about 3.5 hours of agate hunting.

What to bring: Bucket or pail, snacks, water, waders,
clothing layers – the water will be COLD!

This field trip will be happening rain or shine, so please
plan accordingly.

Host/Contact: Trevor Duncan 360-920-2393

Posted on

August 2025 Board Meeting Minutes

8/11/25 – MBRGC Board Meeting, 6 pm, Ferndale, WA

Prior to meeting start, a discussion occurred about payment collection procedures for the mall shop.

Meeting opened by President, Michael Langley

Secretary Report: nothing to report

Treasurer Report: 7 new memberships, healthy income, expenses: State Farm Insurance. 2026 Show is already pre-paid! As well as monthly meeting space.

Joan Hartman estate, inventory.

Federation: Mike M. will stay in Kennewick Saturday night to save the club $

September Meeting: Candi presenting about Gem identification

October Meeting: annual auction

November: Wes presents about thumbnail/ mini specimens

December: Holiday potluck & gift exchange

Old Business: First Aid & walkie talkies for field trips. Should we adjust our stipend for field trips to increase interest? Discussed tools of the trade.

Jonathan Syltie, a club member has volunteered to do our club newsletter. Look for the first edition in Fall. Thanks, Jonathan!

Mineral Council Fieldtrips: Scheduled Field Trips.  Find out more HERE.

RRR has closed! We have 30 vendors filling 44 booths throughout the weekend of 9/27 & 9/28. $200 Facebook budget for advertising. Waitlist? 

ATM – yes! BBQ truck Saturday, and Pizza truck Sunday.

Our next Board Meeting would occur on Labor Day, 9/1 – shall we reschedule for 9/8? Voted, and agreed to meet second week of September.

minutes submitted by Trevor Duncan, club secretary

Posted on

July General Meeting Minutes

MBRGC General Meeting, July 21, 2025

Meeting called to order by club president Michael Langley at 7 pm.

August Show ‘n’ tell: Quartz crystals

September: Gem ID presentation by Candi G.

Raffle: congrats to our guest, Greg. Members: Heather, Chris H., Sandee, Gordy, Marjorie D., Bruce W., John L., Tom C., Melody

Secretary Report: nothing to report

Treasurer Report: 10 New memberships, welcome Stephanie! June was a busy month. Thank you for everyone supporting the club by participating in silent auctions at the meetings. Expenses: books, saw repair, utilities, meals, rent, etc.

RRR: Sold out! A waiting list has been started. 

Federation: Wala Wala, WA show in September. Mike will attend.

Lapidary: going well. Gordy and Candi on vacation soon.

2026 Show: Need help with tumbled stones, and prizes for kids. Free rock bags. Please bring donations to the mall, a meeting, or Candi and Gordy’s.

Mineral Council Field Trips:

8/16 – 8/17 Greenwater for agate, opal, jasper

9/06 – 9/07 Red Top for agate, jasper, geodes

9/20 Little Naches for thunder eggs

More info HERE

Newsletter – we las published a newsletter under Linda M. in 2018. Do we have a volunteer? It can be put out monthly, quarterly, etc. Let’s make this what you want to see.

Summer Picnic: Sunday, August 24th. 10 am set up and tail gaiting. The mall shop will be closed that day.

Location: 1371 Paradise Rd. Ferndale, WA 98248. 

Potluck style picnic – the club supplies water, plates, cutlery, chicken. 

Bring your own chair.

Food will be served in the afternoon, around 1-2pm. 

intermission, followed by the second half of John L’s presentation about self-collected minerals from around the USA.

Our August meeting will still be held on Monday, August 18th at 7 pm. Show n tell is “Quartz.”

minutes submitted by Trevor Duncan, club secretary

Posted on

July Board Meeting Minutes

7/7/25 MBRGC Board Meeting Minutes

attending: Dave S, Bruce, Gordy, Candi, Deb, Wes, Ralph, Michael, Trevor, Mike M, Harold

Meeting called to order by President Michael Langley at 5:55 pm

Secretary Report: Nothing to report

Treasurer: went over finances, 40k CD has been secured at WECU, 18 months @ 4% interest. So far, we have earned over $100 in dividends!

Q3 rent has been paid at the mall. Upcoming: insurance fees with Liberty Mutual, discussion about possibility of switching to State Farm for nearly $1k in annual savings.  Motion was made, seconded, voted, and passed to switch carriers. 

Michael brought up need for a signed waiver from all members at club outings (liability).

Thank you notes from Food Bank, Whatcom Humane Society, PAWS for the donations made from the jewelers sale. 

Federation: Mike M still planning to attend in Wala Wala, 2-day pass has been purchased.

Lapidary: 2 walk-ins last week, staying busy. Harold helped with saw maintenance – thanks, Harold! Bruce will start helping with Thursday nights at the mall – thanks, Bruce!

<discussion about vending fees, income vs. expenses from last show, etc. > Motion made, seconded, voted, and passed to raise 2026 fees to $20/ foot for table space. This is still less expensive than most other clubs, shouldn’t need to adjust again anytime soon. Went over social media, raffle, etc.

Old Setters Days – Still need volunteers for Saturday, July 26th. 4 x show cases, tables, etc. to be picked up at Gerard’s and set up at 3 pm Thursday, July 24th.

2-Day Rock Rendezvous (RRR) still open for members to sign up. Currently there are 2 spots remaining for 2-days. First come – first served for table placement. 2-day vendors will be against walls, 1-day participants will be in the middle of the floor.

July Meeting will feature the second half of John L’s presentation about minerals from the western states.

August  show n tell – Quartz crystals

September – Gem ID presentation by Candi

October – auction fundraiser

Field Trips: WWU? Justin C recently took 6 folks on a dig at Walker Valley, even made it up to the higher “Murphy hole.”

Upcoming mineral council field trips: 

07/26 – Lake Wenatchee for garnets
08/16 & 17 – Greenwater area for agate, jasper, and opal
09/06 & 07 – Red Top for agate, jasper, geodes
09/20 – Little Naches for thundereggs, leaf fossils, lilypad jasper

More info HERE <—- bookmark this link!

August Picnic at Gerard’s, Saturday, August 23rd (general meeting on the 18th), both will go on as Pavilion is paid for in August.

Old Business: newsletter?

New Business: First aid kit, and walkie-talkies for outings

Candi and Gordy out of town 8/1-8/16.

Meeting adjourned

 

Posted on

June General Meeting Minutes

Monday June 16, 2025

MBR&GC General Meeting

Pioneer Pavilion Community Center, Ferndale, WA

Meeting called to order by President Michael Langley @ 7:03 pm

Raffle winners, congrats to: Suzanne, Sandee, Ken, Matt, Steve, Todd & Tom

Secretary Report: nothing to report

Treasurer Report: 10 new memberships, lap room staying busy, September has only 8/40 spots left! 

Income: donations/sale, split with Ferndale food bank, and Paws. 

Federation: NFMS June newsletter available at Northwestfederation.org website. 

Old Settlers Days: July 25th & 26th – table to promote the club along with book sales. Happens here at the Pioneer Pavilion in Ferndale. The club needs 4x people both days to man our table and facilitate sales. 

March 2026 Show: time to get started on critters, we ran out at the last show! Critter making party at the mall, 1 pm Monday, July 14th.

We can always use volunteers to fold flyers, tumble rocks for the club, etc.

<break>

After our break, John Lindell presented an informative talk about field collecting and shared with us his impressive collection of minerals from western states. 

Meeting adjourned.

Posted on

June Board Meeting Minutes

June 2, 2025

MBRGC Board Meeting Minutes

Meeting called to order by President Michael Langley @ 6:02 pm.

Secretary Report: Polka Dot mine disappointing, discouraging self-collection. Thank you to Tawnya C. for volunteering to take over secretary role.

Treasurer Report: busy month (May), large deposit made at WECU. Deposit paid to COF for 2026 show, as well as Mall rent. CD at WECU still pending (not for a lack of trying), proposal made to increase investment from 30k – 40k, motioned, voted, passed unanimously. 

Discussion about increase of scholarship funds to WWU, and possibly WCC. 

10 new memberships in May. RRR = 31/40 spots reserved. Discussed concerns over inoperable power outlets at Pioneer Pavilion. Who will bring this concern to COF?

Silent auction brought in $100+ at May meeting, feel free to bring items to donate to meetings, every little bit helps!

Federation Report: reservations at 2 hotels for show in Wala Wala. 2-day show pass purchased, reminder of signature requirements for entry.

Side discussion about registration with SOS – filing occurs at the end of June.

Lapidary Report: issues reported with 8″ trim saw, appear to be user error vs. equipment malfunction. Discussed purchasing a new trim saw – will check if there is a blade on hand first. 

2026 Show: Candi is already tumbling rocks for the kids at show next year, it’s never too soon to prepare! Display cases – need to weed out duds as we have more cases than we use.

June meeting: John L. to present about his western mineral collection trips. Show n tell: pearl, moonstone, alexandrite, or any other rock of interest.

Discuss RE: incoming calls to the mall, please keep the ringer on so we do not miss calls. 

Thank you to everyone who supported our sale of donated items, only one box of tools left, as well as faceted gemstones. Talked about how to disburse funds, $3000 to Ferndale food bank, $3000 to PAWS for cause and/or Humane Society. Okay to bring small tray of gems to store, but will need to lock up in safe at night.

October meeting (auction), call for items of interest at beginning to save time. Please only donate usable items, rocks and rock-related.

Mineral Council Field Trips. More info HERE

We’d still love to have a club member head up a trip to Walker Valley, or other areas of interest. The club will pay $50-75 stipend depending on distance.

Meeting adjourned.

minutes submitted by Secretary Trevor Duncan. 

 

Posted on

Field trip for fossils at Slide Mountain

The Washington Mineral Council is conducting a field trip to Slide Mountain, east of Deming, for plant fossils. The trip will be on April 20, 2024 Saturday. The instructions from Ed Lehman of the Mineral Council are the same as his previous instructions that we posted on our page about the Racehorse Fossils Site 2. See that page for maps and photos. Note that any reference to the IGA store at Nugent Corner should be replaced by Nugent Corner Market. There is a coffee shop across the street from the market.