ITINERARY
Day 1   Tuesday, April 8   TUCSON to POLLY ANN MINE and ROUND MOUNTAIN
Meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Desert Museum to load the museum’s pickup truck with your gear. Cars will be left here for the duration of our trip and participants will travel in rental vans and ASDM vehicles. At Texas Canyon we stop to look at the granite and maybe look for large feldspar crystals. From here, we continue to Safford, then Duncan where we stop for lunch at a café. Afterwards we travel to the Polly Ann Mine where the fun starts. The Poly Ann is a former surface and underground fluorspar mine in the Steeple Rock Mining District. It had its peak production in 1937. Octagonal green fluorite crystals will be the treasure we seek! End of the day lands us at the Round Mountain Rockhound area where we set up camp and enjoy a tasty cookout. (D)

Day 2   Wednesday, April 9   ROPER STATE PARK to COCHISE STRONGHOLD
After coffee and a hot breakfast, we get down to the business of rock hounding. Now maybe you are wondering why this is called the Round Mountain Rockhound site. Could it be the rocks are round? As in geodes? Bingo. There are chalcedony eggs and basalts. Learn about vesicles and vugs, pahoehoe and aa, and why the volcanic rocks are here, and the fluorite was there. Late morning we pack up and head to Roper State Park for a picnic lunch, then continue on to the oak woodlands of Cochise Stronghold. Here we can get close up and friendly with the rounded granite outcrops and learn about spheroidal weathering, the mineral that make up granite, look for reflective, twinned crystal planes on the feldspars. When night settles in, we again enjoy a cookout and campfire. (B, L, D)

Day 3   Thursday, April 10   DRAGOON MOUNTIANS and LIGIER MARBLE QUARRY
After breakfast, we pack up and head to our final collecting location:  the Ligier Marble Quarry to look for marble and blue lace agate. Here we discuss limestone formation, scarn deposits, the Paleozoic seas and Tertiary intrusives. We have a picnic lunch, gather our booty and drive back to the museum in the afternoon, arriving by 5:00 pm. (B, L)

YOUR LEADERS
Sonya Norman and Peggy Savoie have degrees in Geosciences and have both worked in the Museum’s Earth Sciences Department. Currently Penny is the Curatorial Assistant for that Department, and Sonya is the Public Programs Coordinator.

INCLUDED SERVICES
Transportation by van and SUV from the museum; most meals as denoted by B, L, or D; entrance fees to all camp grounds; instruction on mineral and rock identification and formation; use of collecting and camping gear (when requested).

CAMPING DETAILS
Restroom facilities:  At the first night’s camp there will be a portable toilet sheltered by a privacy tent. The second campsite has a standard camp ground composting toilet.

Needed Supplies:  Sleeping bag, pad, ground cloth, tent, folding chair, your own reusable coffee mug, refillable water bottle, flashlight (or phone light), cloth collecting bags (if you do not have anything, then we can provide). Money for lunch the first day in café.

Camping gear:  Bring your own if you have it, otherwise let us know and we will provide loaner equipment. If you want to buy your own gear, remember Reduce, Reuse Recycle. Check out Craigslist or FB Marketplace. There is always good, lightly-used camping equipment for sale.

Clothing:  Temperatures will average 81 daytime and could be as low as 36 at night, so bring warm gear for nighttime. Wearing your same old jeans for rock hounding every day is fine; it is better to pack no more than you really need.

Meals:  Staff will cook meals the two camp nights; provide hot and cold breakfasts; coffee, tea hot cocoa; and prepare cold lunches for days 2 and 3. Utensils, plates, bowls will be provided. The first day we will stop in Duncan, AZ at a café and all will purchase their own lunch.

Cold beverages/snacks:  Bring personal snacks and keep them with you. If you want something other than water for evening beverages bring soda, beer… and we will pack them in a group ice chest. Again, please be mindful of space and only bring what you will consume.

Showers:  There will be “pay-showers” available on our second day at Roper State Park, but we only plan on remaining there an hour for lunch. If one were a very fast bather, one could take advantage of this.

MEETING PLACE  
We will meet and leave cars at the Museum.

GROUP SIZE
This trip is limited to 16 guests.

ACTIVITY LEVEL
Guests must be able to walk unassisted at a moderate pace up to one-half mile over varied terrain. This tour is best suited for those that can spend much of the day exploring.

FEES
The per person trip price is $558 for ASDM members and $614 non-members. If you currently are not a Museum member, but would like to join, you may do so by following this link.
 
CANCELLATION POLICY
All cancellations must be in writing or email. Our policy is as follows:  Cancellations made 60 days prior to departure will result in refunded payments less a $200 per person handling fee. Cancellations made 59-31 days prior to departure will result in a 50% forfeiture of payment. Cancellations made 30 days or less prior to departure are non-refundable.

TOUR ITINERARY IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
We reserve the right to change components or alter the itinerary, and to make any other changes deemed necessary to carry out and maintain the quality and safety of the tour in good faith to the participants. In the case of civil unrest, acts of God, situations known as force majeure, we may cancel or postpone a trip.

QUESTIONS  
Should you have any questions about the itinerary or logistics, please contact Sonya Norman, Public Programs Coordinator at 520-883-3030 or at snorman@desertmuseum.org. For questions about payment, please contact the Reservations Coordinator at 520-883-3025 or at education@desertmuseum.org.