In May, 2010, FMS member Dave Stuck directed our fluorescent search to a very small Barite mine location in the remote Colorado desert south of Blythe in Imperial County, California. I'm unaware that the mine has any name so I'll call it "Imperial Barite Mine" in recognition of both the county and "imperial purple", the high-value purple dye used in antiquity. There are endless combinations of fluorescent Barite and Fluorite along with different shades of fluorescent red, green, white. The Barite fluoresces a pale yellow-cream color but seems to be mixed in Fluorite. We haven't figured exactly what all of the pieces are but they're beautiful and unusual. The red may be Calcite but it does all kinds of surprising things . . . . more about that later when I get more UV pics.

The image above is the view looking east from the mine after sunset towards the Palo Verde Mountains. Beyond them is the Colorado River and Arizona, only 11 miles away. Mysterious desert geo-glyphs of a giant man and an animal just like Peru's Nazca lines were discovered north of Blythe near the river. The human figure is 167 feet across and can only be seen from the sky. Why did the ancient inhabitants build it? It's something to ponder when you're at the Imperial Barite Mine at night under the stars!

Maybe by wearing light-colored long-sleeved shirt and pants and remaining absolutely still . .

There was another big adventure to the South that same afternoon and into the evening. We braved miles of treacherous sandy road conditions, close proximity to the Mexican border, an encounter with the Border Patrol and lots of exposure to the elements and then it didn't quite pay off. Or did it? We think we found Willemite which is very rare in California. That part of the story may be told someday but not just yet.