Collecting Selenite Roses near St David, AZ

Bearce Trip No. 72 - February 5, 2015

This is Trip No. 72 from the Bearce book (Minerals, Fossils, and Fluorescents of Arizona) -- Selenite Roses East of Saint David. The word "selenite" comes from the Greek "selenites" meaning moon stone. Selenite is a form of gypsum CaSO4-2(H2O).

Here's the trip report for our mineral collecting expedition on Thursday 5 February 2015 looking for for selenite crystal roses. Participants were John H and Tom H in the Red 2007 Avalanche without any lift nor lockers nor winch (John's street truck, although it has a few pinstripes from previous mineral expeditions). The directions given in Bearce were perfect, so we were there in about 1:10 hours from central Tucson. South on AZ 80 from Benson toward St David, SW on Arizona Powder Road, W on Desert Rose Lane, south again, then follow the gas pipeline southeast. You'll know you are there when the ground (including the road) gets all sparkly. The ground is literally covered with selenite crystals up to 2-inches across in this area - perhaps this was enhanced by the recent rains washing off all the dust. A little bit of digging in soft earth quickly uncovers even larger crystals. We came back with about 4 kg of selenite crystals including one selenite rose a bit larger than your fist. This would be a great place to take little kids because everybody gets crystals, and the digging is easy. The weather was sunny and clear at about 80 degF, and the damp ground suppressed any dust issues -- a perfect day to tool around in the desert. If you weren't digging, the views out over the San Pedro Valley were spectacular on this very clear day.

There was no vehicle damage. We used 4WD, but the road was pretty easy. The trail rating is 2.6 on the wheelin scale and 5 on the Bearce scale. You could go there in an AWD car as there are only a couple washes and deep ruts to cross. John's nose took the only minor damage getting caught on an acacia thorn.

We finished the day at Pablo's Steakhouse in Benson. The sign on the street says "Best Ribs in Arizona", and we are not going to dispute that. The pork ribs were delicious, and the chipotle sauce on the fried dill pickles had just the right kick.

Tom T reminds us: Do be careful. A fellow was killed there a year or two ago digging Selenite Roses. The bank of a wash he was digging in collapsed and buried him.