Pre-Summer Solstice Update

I've only been gone from Phoenix for two months--a few days shy actually. Seems like ages ago when I pulled out of that metropolis.

The past two weeks have been dominated by my acquisition of the 1968 Airstream--my second. It needs a ton of work. I had no great reason to buy it, but I could, so I did. I had a blast working on it and prepping it for resale. It's already sold for early July pickup. It was not a profitable endeavor but I learned a lot and it was a fun distraction.

My mom had an open house at her farm last week featuring my business--Utahredrock. I saw a lot of family friends and they bought a few things too! Can't beat that. This weekend is my first in a month with no show of any kind.

I head out again next week for two to four weeks of shows. I'll be back in Ohio at least some in July before heading to New York via the D.C. area.

At the end of June and early July I'll be a vendor at the 50th Annual International Airstream Rally in Perry, Georgia. I can't wait to meet some more Airstreamers!

The 1968 Airstream

My 1968 Airstream parked at Animal Safety Products in Mansfield, Ohio. It wasn't welcome on the family farm. I guess one Airstream is the limit there!

My Home in Illinois

I had about 30 acres to myself at the Dupage County Fairgrounds west of Chicago. That's where my Chicago show was held. It was a great place to retire to after long show days. This is my 1973 Airstream. At the Chicago show I met Joan, a full time RVer and going solo at 80 years old. She was an amazing and fun woman. We had a beer in her motorhome and she told me of some of her adventures on the road.

Here's Sue

They found Sue's remains in Michigan and rebuilt them at Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History. A full size replica of her head was adjacent to my booth at the Detroit show I did. I made a point of going to the Field Museum while in Chicago because they have one of the world's largest meteorite collections. Only a fraction of it was on display, but it was definitely worth the stop. It's quite a museum.

Back in Ohio

I am back in Ohio for a respot before hitting the road again on June 20th. I just purchased a 1968 30-foot Airstream Sovereign. It's a rock star's dream. ; )

My 18 day tour was fun. I visited Detroit, Ann Arbor, Columbus, Chicago, and Toledo. It was productive too. I saw my friend Marc B who had an amazing run in Eastern Europe (especially Poland) in the 1990s. He started what became MTV Poland and sold to MTV. That was just one of his many venures there. He's now based in a beautiful house in Wilmette, IL with his growing family. The last time I saw him was in 1987 and the last time I visited him in Chicago was 1984.

In Columbus I met and conversed at length with the Chairman of Airstream, Larry Huttle. A very nice guy. He takes it upon himself to meet up with Airstream fanatics like me.

All's well. I am working hard and having fun.

The Ohio Base Camp

This has been the location of my residence for the past few weeks. It will remain my base until sometime in July though the Airstream will move a few thousand miles in the interim. This photo is at my family's farm just outside of Lexington, Ohio. It's very green here.

I head out today for an 18-day midwest tour.

Jake in Kansas Last Month

My boy Jacob Kanab Powell. He wouldn't look at the camera . . . then I finally got him. He's loving life as an Airstreamer and he especially loves hanging out on the farm in Ohio with his three new pup friends: Joker, Luke, and Magic.

Monday in Salinas, Kansas

I've been an Airstreamer for about ten days now--so far so good!

I'm en route from Denver to St. Louis where I'll see my sister Marcia and her family, then on to Ohio and a show in Cincinnati this weekend.

This past weekend was the Colorado Mineral and Fossil Show in Denver where I had a room. That show is at a Holiday Inn. You get a regular hotel room and set up shop there. There were approximately sixty of us dealers there. It was a slow show, that was the consensus from all the dealers.

I bought some fantastic things from other dealers who have good sources. These include various cabochons (gemstones cut in ovals or circles and polished, but not faceted) including cabs cut from high quality turquoise, fossilized dinosaur bones, fossilized palm wood, and Mexican crazy lace agate. These are pricey little stones but gorgeous and they will make beautiful pieces of jewelry.

Some of the turquoise is from a mine in Leadville, Colorado that has been closed since about 1970. This turquoise is almost impossible to find--it came from an old collection that was in storage for years. I love it! I have a strong personal affinity for Leadville where I spent time in 1988. It's the highest incorporated town in the U.S. at 10,152 feet. I also bought some Cripple Creek Turquoise. This is beautiful too. It's still being mined today but is expensive and hard to find. I got it from a gentleman who sells it straight from the mine.

I also met a few meteorite collectors and added to my meteorite inventory. There is nothing quite like a rock from outer space. I now have some Martian and lunar meteorites. How cool is that? They are tiny, tiny, but they're the real thing.

From a campground in Salinas, Kansas, with Jake (my pup) by my side on a beautiful spring evening,

Jim

Campsite Two above Bluff, Utah

This is where I ended up late at night last night after I got stuck in Navajo, Country. Not a bad spot.

At Window Rock, Navajo Country--ten miles northwest of Round Rock, Arizona

This picture cost me $69, four hours, and was the genesis of a mini-adventure. If I would have stayed where it's parked here for the night I would have been fine, but I was on a quest for the perfect campsite. Next thing I knew I was stuck in the sand with the truck's wheels buried. After over two hours of failed struggling to get out and a failed hitch-hiking effort, I unhitched, drove to town, found a Navajo man at a rodeo and talked him in to helping. He got me right out and I continued up the road at about 10 PM headed toward BLM land in Utah.

In front of the largest piece of Canyon Diablo Meteorite

Most meteorites are named for where they are found. Meteor Crater is in Canyon Diablo (devil's canyon) in northern Arizona. Hence, any meteorite found near there is a Canyon Diablo. They estimate that the meteor that created this massive hole was about the size of a football field. It shattered on impact into thousands of pieces of all sizes, and this relatively small piece is the biggest we've ever found.

Meteor Crater at Canyon Diablo near Winslow, Arizona

This crater is almost a mile in diameter and almost 800 feet deep. It was created when a large iron-nickel meteorite hit the earth about 50,000 years ago. It's impressive.

My first camping spot as an Airstreamer, Sedona

Come see me on the road . . .

Yesterday, April 20, 2007, I became a full-time Airstreamer leaving my former house in Phoenix early in the afternoon. I am writing from Verde Valley School in Sedona and am about to continue north and east through the heart of the Colorado Plateau.

I am working my way to Denver via Flagstaff, Meteorite Crater, Canyon de Chelly, Bluff (Utah), Moab, and Grand Junction. I'll cross the continental divide on I-70.

April 27-29
Denver
Holiday Inn/Denver Central
www.mzexpos.com

May 4-6
Cincinnati--Geofair
Cincinnati Gardens, 2250 Seymour Ave.
www.geofair.com

May 19-20
Detroit
Midwest Mineralogical & Lapidary Society
Southgate Arena (Southgate, MI)

May 26-27
Chicago
Chicagoland Gem and Mineral Association
Dupage County Fairgrounds (Wheaton)

June 1-3
West of Toledo, Ohio
Stateline Gem and Mineral Society
Fulton County Fairgrounds

Please email if you're coming: utahredrock@yahoo.com or call 928.300.8010

In front of Utahredrock's Booth--Ontario, California

The Whole Setup

Center Stage

Amber, Turquoise, and Onyx

On Display: Tiger's Eye!

Campo Two

This is the second meteorite I ever got. It's a 17 pound Campo del Cielo. I am holding it in the first Ontario photo to give you an idea of size. I sold it at this show, which was both a happy and sad moment!

My New Home

Here's a photo of my new home: A 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 diesel truck and a 1973 Airstream Tradewind Land Yacht (25 feet). Yee haw! I leave Phoenix and become a full time Airstreamer on April 19, my grandmother's 99th birthday. Special thanks to Darla for her invaluable help in transforming the interior.

Mel Robbins and Sirius Radio

In January after trying for a few months to make my job with WGU work, I realized it wasn't working and wasn't going to. This was pretty depressing but I was determined to continue to be proactive. If I couldn't get my job with the University to change, I wasn't going to let it bring me down. I decided I wanted a career coach.

I'd used one before who I liked but couldn't get in touch with her.

So I went online and started searching. I narrowed it down to a few candidates. On a whim I contacted Mel Robbins out of Boston. Her web site impressed me. I doubted if I could afford her, but the whole venture was an investment in myself--even if I had to borrow to do it. I wasn't going to just flounder.

I emailed Mel and she wrote back offering to work with me for free if I would do it on the air, on her soon to be launched show on Sirius Radio.

Sign me up!

We agreed to it, I then just had to wait for the show to start. Over the ensuing six weeks or so everything in my life changed. I indeed would be leaving the University. I'd found a niche where I could open my own business, something I've wanted to do for a while. I made the decision to move out of my house and in to a Airstream.

Today was my first "appearance" on her show. It was fun and different. It's hard to know how many people are listening. I realized afterwards how difficult it would be for people to get much sense of me or where I am coming from after our limited time on the air.

So I will be directing them here and hopefully talking to Mel for a while. Lord knows I could use a good coach!

Thanks Mel and Sirius for this opportunity. Thanks to anyone who is listening too. I'd love to hear from you at: utahredrock@yahoo.com.

Utahredrock: The online magazine

I've been asked: Where is Utahredrock: The online magazine of the Colorado Plateau?

That project is currently on hold. My main priority right now is getting Utahredrock, LLC--my new merchandising business up and running. I have plans to bring back the magazine covering the Colorado Plateau but it is currently not available.

Time of Transition

This is my last month with Western Governors University where I've worked this past year. WGU is an outstanding online university that is changing the way education is being delivered with their competency-based model. I highly recommend WGU to any adult who wants to finish a bachelor's or earn a master's in education, business, information technology, or the health professions. WGU is best for those over 23 who work full time or have other adult responsibilities.

As I finish my job this month I am packing up my house, selling off many of my belongings and preparing to move in to a recreational vehicle (RV) full time. I am shopping for the RV. I just bought a new truck to pull my soon to be purchased travel trailer.

After WGU I'll be self-employed at my new business: Utahredrock, LLC.

I've been in Arizona for nearly four years and will maintain an Arizona address. I've been in Phoenix for almost three years. I think my time in this house makes a new record for amount of time spent in one place since I left my childhood home. Pretty crazy!

My First Meteorite

Sitting at home one night last week I got a call from my friend Kellie Forbes of Utah. She was passing through Phoenix on her way to the Tucson Gem Show where she had a booth for three weeks. Kellie worked for me on the Olympics in 2002 and is an amazing woman.

I went to Tucson this past weekend and was overwhelmed by the gem show. It is actually about 40 separate shows--I was at one of the 40. I've always liked rocks but had no idea how cool they could be or what a gem and mineral show was like.

Across from Kellie was a gentleman from South America. He was selling meteorites.

I found myself strangely drawn to these rocks from space. He sold Campo del Cielo (field of the heavens) meteorites that he and his team dig up in Argentina.

I bought my first rock from space this weekend--a Campo meteorite composed primarily of iron and nickel. Only 5% of all meteorites have this composition.

Man is it cool!