Afternoon: Check into your room at Days Inn Hotel. Rooms may not be ready until the 3:00 PM check-in time. At 5:45 PM, come to the hotel front lobby, for our Road Scholar Registration, you will receive your name badge with participant list and detailed itinerary for the week.

Dinner: Around 6 PM, we travel to a local restaurant for dinner.

Evening: Following dinner, we will cover all the details for the week, show samples of specimens you will be finding on field trips. We will discuss preparations needed for each day and items to bring.

Lodging: Days Inn

Meals Included: Dinner

Explore Delta's History, understand Gemstones, examine the geologic history, learn how to catalog your collection, learn about Beryllium, probe the complexities of the Japanese Relocation Camp during WWII Learn about the rare and beautiful Red Beryl.

Note: Most of the day will be spent in a classroom setting learning all about the geologic history of the are so you gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of what we will be finding and collecting the remainder of the week.

Breakfast: A continental breakfast is provided by Days Inn in the front lobby. You can eat in the lobby or take your breakfast to your room.

Morning: Start the morning with a presentation from a local historian on the history of Delta...A Town Steeped in History and Tradition; Learn the fascinating history of Delta and its founding from the early years as a railroad servicing town called Akin prior to 1905 to Burtner named after a railroad employee, to a naming contest when Delta was submitted and officially adopted as the towns name which means a fertile area near a river's mouth. Delta became a city in 1940. During World War II the federal government forcibly relocated 110,000 Japanese-Americans from their West Coast homes to special camps. Topaz, a relocation center near Delta, housed some 8,700 internees, making it the largest "city" in Millard for a few years. From its early years, Delta has been the commercial center of one of the largest alfalfa seed and hay producing regions in the Intermountain West. The early 1920s was a time of expansion beyond the limits of productive farmland, stimulated by exceptionally abundant irrigation water and particularly high alfalfa see crop prices. In 1925 the area produced more than one-fourth of the total seed harvested in the entire nation, bringing impressive profits to many growers. By that time, three national seed-packing companies and several local concerns had warehouses and cleaning plants in the Delta area, some of which continued through the difficult years of the 1930s to prosper again later. In the decade of the 1950s, the region produced nearly six percent of the nation's alfalfa seed output. Learn about the Gemstones of America and then learn the fascinating Geology of the Great Basin area from a Geology Professor.

Lunch: Local Restaurant.

Afternoon: Geology of the Great Basin, continued and organizing and labeling your collection. Learn about the modern Day Beryllium Mining from a representative from Brush Resources and learn how Delta provides one of the richest pockets of Beryllium which when processes becomes the lightest weight and strongest metal in the world. Learn how it is used in military applications and other applications needing this high strength and light-weight properties. Learn the fascinating history of the Topaz Relocation Japanese Internment Camp established in Delta during WWII from the Topaz Camp Historian and examine the artifacts from the site.

Dinner: Local Restaurant.

Evening: Discussion of Red Beryl Mining in Utah by the Harris family of Delta. Also known as Red Emerald, this gem is found only in Utah and is more valuable than diamonds.

Lodging: Days Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Dig for Trilobites in the Drum Mountain Range. Collect Wonderstone. Visit the Ghost Town of Joy. Collect Agate and Jasper. Visit the Topaz Relocation Camp.

Note: Van ride for several miles on dirt roads to collect Trilobites, Wonderstone, Agate and Jasper. Wear clothes that can get dirty and dusty. Rock Hounding tools are provided or you can bring your own.

Breakfast: A continental breakfast is provided by Days Inn in the front lobby. You can eat in the lobby or take your breakfast to your room.

Morning: Digging for Trilobites at Antelope Springs. Privately owned quarry, good quantity and quality. Requires sitting on rock and splitting layers of rock using small picks and wedges. Rock Hounding tools are provided or bring your own. Western Utah is one of the best-known Cambrian fossil localities in the world. The Wheeler Shale and Marjum Formation, strata of Middle Cambrian age, exhibit various exposures throughout the House Range and nearby mountain ranges west of the town of Delta, Utah. The Wheeler Shale is named for a major feature in the House Range, the Wheeler Amphitheater. The most famous Wheeler Shale fossil is the trilobite Elrathia kingi; so common at some sites that specimens are commercially quarried and are made into novelty accessories, as well as sold to collectors and institutions all over the world. However, Elrathia is just one of about fifteen trilobite genera of the Wheeler Shale. Bathyuriscus fimbriatus is also relatively common at certain sites. Even more abundant are several species of agnostid trilobites, such a Peronopsis interstricta. These are typically less than a centimeter in length.

Lunch: Boxed lunch at the Trilobite Quarry

Afternoon: Collect Wonderstone (beautiful red, cream, orange swirled-unique to area) at Drum Mountain Range. Wonder Stone a type of Rhyolite: Rhyolite is a light-colored rock with silica (SiO2) content greater than about 68%. The word Rhyolite comes from the Greek word for stream (rhyax) the suffix lite. Rhyolite was named streaming rock because of its beautiful flow bands, which are made of bubble and crystal rich layers that form as the lava flows onto the surface and advances. Rhyolite can look very different, depending on how it erupts. The color of Rhyolite ranges widely, but generally is white or light yellow, brown, or red. Most Rhyolite is flow banded; that is, they show streaky irregular layers that are formed by the flowing of the sticky, almost congealed magma. This particular variety was once a very fine volcanic ash. Through pressure and time this ash became rock hard as the colorful chemicals such as iron in the earth seeped through and swirled into a glorious design producing a smooth texture for a soft, desirable cutting material. Visit the Ghost town of "Joy" Collect Agate and Jasper. Agate is the Mystical birth stone for September. It is also the birth stone for the Zodiac sign of Gemini. Agate is the accepted gemstone for the 12th and 14th wedding anniversaries. Jasper is the mystical birth stone for the month of October. Jasper is an opaque variety of chalcedony quartz. Agate and Jasper can be found all over the world but in great quantities in California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Washington. This mineral comes in multiple colors due to its impurities. The mystical powers and energy omitted by a jasper vary depending on color. Visit the site location of the WWII Topaz Japanese Relocation Camp on the way back to the hotel.

Dinner: Dinner at Mi Rancherito at your leisure. Mexican & American cuisine options.

Evening: Continue sharing Rock Hounding stories around the dinner table with other group members.

Lodging: Days Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Dig for Topaz Crystals (Utah State's Gemstone) at Topaz Mountain Dig for the world-famous Dugway Geodes

Note: Van ride for several miles on dirt roads to collect Topaz and Dugway Geodes. Wear clothes that can get dirty and dusty. Rock Hounding tools are provided or you can bring your own.

Breakfast: A continental breakfast is provided by Days Inn in the front lobby. You can eat in the lobby or take your breakfast to your room.

Morning: Search for and excavate Sherry-colored Topaz on privately owned claim. Rock Hounding tools are provided or you can bring your own. (dental-type excavation tool recommended). Topaz, Utah's state gem, is a semiprecious gemstone that occurs as very hard, transparent crystals in a variety of colors. The topaz crystals at Topaz Mountain are naturally amber colored, but become colorless after exposure to sunlight. The crystals formed within cavities of the Topaz Mountain Rhyolite, a volcanic rock which erupted approximately six to seven million years ago (Tertiary Period) from volcanic vents along faults in the area. The Topaz became the State Gem in 1969. It is a semiprecious gem found in Juab County of Utah at the Thomas Mountain. This hard gem is an aluminum fluorisilicate and is next in hardness to carborundum and diamonds (two of the hardest natural minerals around). A favorite location for the mineral collectors and rock hounds is called "The Cove" on the southern end of the Thomas Range. Wear topaz only if you wish to be clear-sighted: legend has it that it dispels all enchantment and helps to improve eyesight as well! The ancient Greeks believed that it had the power to increase strength and make its wearer invisible in times of emergency. Topaz was also said to change color in the presence of poisoned food or drink. Its mystical curative powers waxed and waned with the phases of the moon: it was said to cure insomnia, asthma, and hemorrhages. Topaz is the birth stone of November.

Lunch: Enjoy a boxed lunch at Topaz Mountain.

Afternoon: Brief discovery of the Pony Express Trail, Dig for Dugway Geodes on private claim (geodes range in size from golf-ball to bowling ball size).

Dinner: Dinner at Mi Rancherito at your leisure. Mexican & American cuisine options.

Evening: Continue sharing stories of the day's explorations around the dinner table.

Lodging: Days Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Stone Carving Demonstration and Rock Hounding Business overview Clean, cut and polish Dugway Geodes Trilobite Fossil Cleaning

Note: Field Trip to "The Bug House" in Delta. Wear clothes that can get dirty and dusty.

Breakfast: A continental breakfast is provided by Days Inn in the front lobby. You can eat in the lobby or take your breakfast to your room.

Morning: A hands-on experience at local Rock and Mineral shop called "The Bug House" Learn the Rock Hound Business from a local distributor and wholesaler. See a cutting and polishing demonstration. Begin cleaning, cutting and polishing your Dugway Geodes. Program includes cutting all of your geodes and then pick your favorite Geode for polishing up to a Cantaloupe-size, which is also covered in your program fee. You may choose to have all of your Geodes polished or at least pick out the best ones for polishing. The fees for polishing your geodes ranges from $4 for a golf ball size geode to $125 for a basketball size geode.

Lunch: Boxed lunch at "The Bug House"

Afternoon: Continue cleaning, cutting and polishing your geodes. Learn how to clean, polish and catalog your trilobite fossils collected earlier in the week. Includes classification and storage techniques. Spend the afternoon participating in this hands-on Trilobite cleaning and preparation class (involves use of dremel tool and safety glasses which are provided).

Dinner: Local Restaurant.

Evening: Trilobite fossil cleaning and preparation continued if needed.

Lodging: Days Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

"Show and Tell" share your best discovery of the week or share something from home. "Trading Post" Visit West Desert Collectors and learn about the rock hounding business. Visit the Intermountain Power Project Plant Pick up your polished geodes

Note: Casual Dress for the day. Bring your favorite rock, gem or mineral from your collection at home to show the rest of the group or show your best specimen found during the week. Bring samples or any rock specimen to share with rest of the group during the "Trading Post" time. Visit West Desert Collectors and see a cutting and polishing demonstration. Explore the Intermountain Power Project Plant. Visit "The Bug House" to collect polished geodes and other treasures found during the week.

Breakfast: A continental breakfast is provided by Days Inn in the front lobby. You can eat in the lobby or take your breakfast to your room.

Morning: "Show and Tell" time! Marvel at each others' collections, special finds or specimens from home and/or found in Delta. Bring samples of something from your home state or something you have collected in the past to share with the rest of the group during our "Trading Post" time. Please enclose your specimens in baggies with a label or piece of paper describing what the rock or fossil is, where it was collected and the date. You can also include any geologic history of your specimen on the piece of paper. This is a fun but completely voluntary activity and if you do not have any specimens to share, at least you will go home with other participant's samples to add to your collection. Visit West Desert Collectors Rock Hound Shop and learn about the ups and downs of owning a large rock hound business. Enjoy a rock cutting and polishing demonstration and see how specimens evolve from a rough rock or gemstone to a beautiful finished product ready to sell for top dollar in rock shops and gift stores.

Lunch: Local Restaurant.

Afternoon: Explore world's largest coal-fueled power generation plants in this exclusive VIP tour by one of the managers of IPP. Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) is the owner of the Intermountain Power Project (IPP) located in Delta, Utah. IPP generates an average of more than 13 million megawatt hours of energy each year from its two coal-fired units. The energy is delivered over the project's AC and DC transmission systems to 36 participants in the project that principally serve Southern California. Additional generation capacity at the IPP site is now being considered. IPP includes a two-unit, coal-fired, steam electric generating station, with a net capacity of 1800 megawatts. Most of the power generated is sent to Southern California, the L.A. Basin. In fact, Utah?s coal-fired Intermountain Power Project is the single biggest source of power for the L.A. Department of Water and Power in California. Head over to "The Bug House" to collect your final polished beautiful Dugway Geodes and other rocks and gemstones collected during the week. Depending on how much you were able to collect, some items can be shipped to you home for a nominal fee.

Dinner: Local Restaurant.

Evening: Program finale including passport stickers given out at dinner

Lodging: Days Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: A continental breakfast is provided by Days Inn in the front lobby. You can eat in the lobby or take your breakfast to your room.

Morning: Program ends after breakfast Saturday morning. As listed in transportation information, the shuttle van will leave at 9:00 AM to the Salt Lake International Airport and then downtown Salt Lake City to the Plaza Hotel for anyone staying an extra night.

Meals Included: Breakfast