Meetings

  • What: Monthly meetings
  • When: Usually 2nd Thursday of March-Dec. at 6:30pm – 8:30pm MT.  **please check schedule for adjusted dates and times**
  • Where: See below and calendar for location.   
  • Who: Club Members, guests, and visitors (our meetings are open to the public).
  • Misc: FREE Mineral giveaway at nearly every meeting! 
  • AND Meetings include “Mystery Minerals” (a short program for kids at the beginning of every meeting – bring your gem/mineral ID books and/or kids or grand kids for “Mystery Minerals!”  Every month, we’ll do a short, simple (15 min) activity trying to identify ~5 “unidentified” rocks.  Bring your books and a kid to, literally, learn more!), club business, programs, guest speakers.

Upcoming Meetings for 2025

January, February –  No Meeting

March 6 (1st Thursday), 6:30 p.m. Upstairs Conference Room at the “Buena Vista” Airport, 27960 County Rd. 319, Buena Vista, CO 81211

Presentation: How to Identify Minerals – An interactive workshop.  Cindy Peratt (therockdoc.net) helps us start our rockhounding year off right by learning how to identify minerals! At several different stations, attendees will use identification books and characteristics like hardness, color, streak, luster, and crystal form to determine what they are looking at.

AND we’ll have a HUGE mineral/rock give-away!  You’ll not only identify minerals and rocks…you’ll get to keep them!  This will be a great meeting for rockhounds of ALL ages. 

April 10, 6:30 p.m. Mount Shavano Manor (meeting room), 525 W. 16th St. Salida, CO, 81201

Presentation: A Discussion on Tumbling Rocks and Minerals. Our own rock tumbler extraordinaire, Marcia Foky, will talk about the processes, tools, and materials involved in tumbling rocks. She’ll give hints and lessons learned and show examples of her work. AND, along with a mineral give-away, one lucky winner will go home with a full rock-tumbling kit!

May 8, 6:30 p.m. Mount Shavano Manor (meeting room), 525 W. 16th St. Salida, CO, 81201

Presentation: Learn How to Facet Gems. Mark Krivanek (https://krivanekjewelers.net) will bring a rough gem and facet it in front of our eyes all while explaining processes, tools, and materials.  If you’ve ever wondered how something turns from “rock” into jewel, this talk is for you! 

SATURDAY, June 14, 11:30-2 pm –  Centennial Park Pavilion (adjacent to the Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center and Centennial Courts at 410 W. Rainbow Blvd, Salida CO, 81201)

Cookout/Picnic/Gem and Mineral Auction – Join us for a fun afternoon and buy some cool mineral specimens!  CGMS will provide the burgers, hot dogs and buns.  Please bring your own drinks and a side dish, snack, or dessert to share.

July 10, 5:30 pm. Poncha Pass Agate Field Trip in lieu of monthly meeting.  

Agate Field Trip – Join us there! Heading South on HWY 285 shortly after the top of Poncha Pass, just past the chain-up area, turn right on Poncha Loop Road (Road # 5325). (Look for the brown sign for the Bonanza OHV staging area) – – – KID FRIENDLY! – – –  No signup required.
Find: Agate, blue chalcedony

August 14, 6:30 p.m. Mount Shavano Manor (meeting room), 525 W. 16th St. Salida, CO, 81201

Presentation: The Mysteries of Fluorescent Minerals – Colorado and beyond, Pete Modreski, retired U.S. Geological Survey in public communications and community & educational outreach. Pete will talk about fluorescent minerals, particularly from Colorado, and about how new improved kinds of UV lights have pretty much revolutionized fluorescent mineral collecting!

September 11, 6:30 p.m. Mount Shavano Manor (meeting room), 525 W. 16th St. Salida, CO, 81201

Presentation: The Big Blow and the Great Flood – amazing stories of geologic events that have shaped local landscapes.  Cindy Williams, retired geologist and mining executive, will share stories that explain why giant boulders are strewn along the river from Granite to Salida and how some local mountain tops were once valleys filled with steaming ash from a major local volcano.

October 9, 6:30 p.m. Central Colorado Regional (BV) Airport (UPSTAIRS meeting room), 27960 County Rd 319, Buena Vista, CO 81211 

Presentation: Down-moving Landforms,  Bob Hickey, Volunteer Geologist for the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area.  Bob will explain this interesting aspect of geology and tie it into why they are important to rockhounds both for finding specimens and for safety.

November 13, 6:30 p.m. Mount Shavano Manor (meeting room), 525 W. 16th St. Salida, CO, 81201

Presentation: Geology of the Salida and Buena Vista area from a Gem Prospector’s Perspective. Prospector Brian Busse (https://americangemtracker.com/) will share information about local geology, rocks and minerals, the processes that shaped our area and geologic history.  And he’ll answer the question, how does our geologic past affect today’s opportunities to find minerals and gems in our area? 

December 11, 5:30 pm – Mount Shavano Manor (meeting room), 525 W. 16th St. Salida, CO, 81201. Christmas Party/potluck dinner and Gem and Mineral Silent Auction. Members and non-members are welcome. CGMS will provide turkey, ham, pulled pork, plates and flatware. Please bring a side dish, vegetable, or dessert to share, your own beverages, and cash or check for the auction. Attendees MUST RSVP at: https://evite.me/PHjt9zrhq4