Tonopah Nevada-
Home Of The Royston Turquoise Mine
Rock Hound Report, by Marilee Strech.

Turquoise---I love turquoise---to wear,  and to sell, and even better, to mine!!

I have always wanted to go and find turquoise in the rough, but until last December, I had not found a place to collect that was worth the trip and time to do.  The Travel Channel, with hostess Kirsten Gum, aired a show about the Royston Turquoise mine in Tonopah, Nevada, that sounded like the place for which I have been looking!  I went online and found their website, www.roystonturquoise.com and www.tonopahturquoise.com, with all the information about the mine tour, plus a list of all the other mines that are owned by the Ottesons.  What a great websites--so colorful and so easy to navigate!

So, with great anticipation, I called Donna Otteson and booked a tour for May 7th, 2008.  They only do tours on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from April thru October, so it is imperative to call ahead and reserve your spot. You can print out the reservation form online and fax it to them with your deposit information.  This mining tour will be extremely popular, so don't wait too long to book it. Donna and her husband Dean, along with other family members, do their utmost to give you the experience of a lifetime.

We began our travels  from Santa Ysabel up Hwy. 395 to Lone Pine,CA , where we checked out a couple of other rocking sites, of which there are dozens all over that area of California.  The view at Lone Pine is spectacular, with Mt. Whitney looming above us, still covered with snow at least one third of the way down the mountain.  Mt. Whitney is the tallest peak in the lower 48 states, topping out at 14,496 ft.  The Whitney Portal starts right there in Lone Pine, a favorite area for hikers from all over the world, as the whole Eastern High Sierra access is centered in this region.  I picked up a great map for the area published by Sierra Maps---it is a recreation topo map and guide.  All the old mine sites are on this map as well, so it is a great map to use in conjunction with your rockhounding  guide books.

The next day, we continued on to Tonopah via the Westgard Pass route  (Hwy.168) which takes you past the turnoff to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.  We attempted to visit that forest, but snow at the higher elevations prevented us from getting any closer than the 9000 foot elevation, where we could view the surrounding mountains from the Summit/turnout  (about 4 miles from the actual forest).  From there, we continued on toward Lida, NV passing wonderful stands of mountain wildflowers, numerous abandoned mines and ghost towns, and Crystal Hill, where we stopped to do some more collecting.  From Lida, we connected with Hwy. 95 which took us through the mining town of Goldfield and finally, Tonopah.

Tonopah itself is very picturesque, with a real mix of the old and the new. It is the seat of Nye County, NV, so all the goods and services people need are available there.  The downtown area is authentic, with most of the old buildings still in use.  The old courthouse with its cupola has been replaced with a modern facility, as has the Tonopah Hotel been replaced by more modern hotels.  However, they are great subjects for a photo op, as is the Mining Park with its scenic displays and vistas of the whole area.  The Ottesons operate their shop from an old bank building, built in 1902, with the safe still in the basement.  Tunnels run under the street from their building to the old bank across the street---an old but effective method of protecting the bank's money from robbers!

Their shop is called Otteson's Blue Dream Mining, and is decorated with some great art that really catches your eye.  The inside of the shop is just as colorful as the outside, with displays of their jewelry and their famous White Buffalo turquoise, found exclusively at their mine.  We were made to feel right at home while waiting for the other "miners" to gather.  Donna gave us an orientation speech about the mine itself, and showed us samples of what to look for while collecting.  She told us about the different colors of turquoise we might expect to find, giving us permission to collect yard rock as well as seam material if we so desired.

 A real bonus to our day would be added when we returned to the shop in the afternoon---they would go through our material with us and pick out three stones per person to be cut and cabbed on the spot by Dean and Victor, at no extra charge.   This really was the highlight for me, to see in finished form the true beauty of the outstanding material we had collected.  I found one large piece of seam material about 2 1/2 in. wide by 4 in. long which showed both blue and green turquoise.  When this was cut and cabbed, I was thrilled to see the pattern of a  blue river edged with green meandering thru the gold and brown host rock---what a great bracelet stone it will make!   The pieces of rough that were leftover from that first cut contain a least four more cabs for me to cut.

The whole day was great, as the Ottesons make sure everyone finds something good,   The Ottesons are the best at what they do---from start to finish, your day will be one you will long remember.  What a treat to be so well treated---they make you feel like family!  I have been just filled with joy and bubbling over with this adventure---so much so, that I am going again!   

For Tonapah, part 2, click here.