Sunny and 70

Along the west side of the Interstate is an area collectively known as The Strip. We parked in the middle, walked to the north end and worked our way south. Wear your walking shoes! You can see the show list at the end of the blog.

We spent around an hour at Rod Griffin Opals talking with his son Hugo and picking through loads of trays. He has Koroit Boulder Opal in trays of different prices. It was a treasure hunt where we sifted through them trying to find the best ones in several price ranges. Hugo referred us to a new video showing how the opals are mined. You can see our Opal pendants.

 

I lusted after a bead-drilling machine that I saw along the way. I will go back and have a closer look at that another day.

 

Some labradorite cabs called out to me. Often people cut it at an incorrect angle and it doesn’t have the shiny gleam that it should have. Well-cut pieces should shine their blue, green and yellow colors at viewers when you wear them.

Every year we see things that show up at every show. Carved skulls seem to be every popular. We saw lots of turquoise and also dyed howlite masquerading as turquoise. Gem trees have always been a popular craft, but this year we saw many large trees. You could spend $11,000 on your centerpiece tree! A couple of these show have large areas of metaphysical vendors with crystals, wands, massage tools of every important variety.

At Rapa River in the back we talked with an Arizona man who had historical stories to tell. He was representing Blue Bonster-Collectibles with some wonderful Peridot from the Apache reservation. Bonnie Sarnelli the owner had made some fun items out of wood and gem “found” objects.

Large amethyst geodes are always a big draw. Sometimes amethyst has been heat treated to convert it to citrine, man replicating a natural process. Not all amethyst will convert to citrine, sometimes it turns gray instead. So they do a test on a small piece to make sure they will get the result they want. Geodes from both Brazil and Uruguay are everywhere.

We noticed that many dealers have begun oiling their large mineral specimens. This makes them look shiny and bright, but can cover up flaws. This seems to be a new trend. We saw oiled adventurine, emeralds, rubelite, tourmaline. Buyer beware.

 

Bonnie found a few beads today, dark blue Lapis chips and pink Rhodochrosite. I bought some Larimar cabs because Bonnie found one cab with copper in it. We think our Copper Country folks will really like it.

If you need some 60’s era tie-dyed clothes, just follow the powerful speakers to the acid rock. The music was bouncing off the Interstate wall and bounding around happily. Peace, love and all that.

The shows along this Strip are the Globe-X Gem & Mineral Show at Days Inn, Rapa River Gem & Mineral Show, the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show at River Park Inn, The Howard Johnson Gem and Mineral Show, and the Quality Inn Gem, Mineral and Metaphysical Show. All of these have vendors in tents and in their hotel rooms, so you move along in and out of tables, rooms, and large and small tents. It is easy to see different things if you take a different turn on a second visit.

 

The morning conversation always involves making a plan involving which of the 45 or so shows we are going to. The decision was to return to Kino then see what we feel like.

Arriving early morning resulted in getting a nice paved parking spot instead of a dirty field. Indeed we did find a fine spot under a large Mesquite. Shade is at a premium in Tucson.

We explored some vendors we had not seen in our last visit and looked through some rough rock. I saw nothing I needed, although there was some nice Mexican Lace Agate. I took some random pictures of things you may not expect to see at a “rock show,” then explored the largest tent on site.

 

This tent is full of dealers selling everything: Jewelry, Beads, Cabs, Knives, clothing, display and shipping things, carvings of wood and rock. It’s sort of like a fair with an excess of beads and jewelry. You could talk to people offering facials, get your jewelry cleaned, or just chat with some foreign person. Bonnie talked to one guy that could not speak English. She had lots of questions but could not understand the answers. What fun!

We decided since we had a fine, shady, paved spot, we’d just leave the car and take the free shuttle over to the GLW, Holidome trade shows (business credentials required). You might think that a Holidome would be at a Holiday Inn instead of a huge white hard sided tent in the middle of a huge field. Well the show used to be at a Holiday Inn that is now a Radisson and has its own show. And now this Holidome Tent is about 30 times bigger than any Holidome I’ve ever seen. Maybe this show should get a new name. These are the largest combined shows in Tucson. Bonnie says I do these tents faster than anyone else who has ever come here.

There is a massive amount of buy/sell jewelry here imported from the Far East and India primarily. You see the expected cabs, facetted stones, jewelry, and beads, but also an eclectic mix just as we saw at Kino, but thousands of booths as far as the eye can see. This show takes two days for us to see, but I skip past all the jewelry and move fast. If you come, wear your walking shoes.

The Holidome tent was “creaking” and moving due to heavy winds. I know it made me feel secure. I can see the headlines. ” Heavy Winds Kill Thousands” ( One survivor that was awaiting bead shopping wife survives). That’s Why I was sitting by the door.

I think I spent under $20 here, that’s how much I like it. Bonnie made up for me though. Enjoy my pictures from the day.