Sat. & Sun., May 5-6, Crystal Specimen Sale, Ray Berry, 7513 Tudor Road (I-25 ext 149), Colorado Springs; 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.; for more info rayber@q.com or call 719-598-7877.  Longtime mineral collector Ray Berry has a large collection of smoky quartz, amazonite, and related minerals from the Crystal Peak area.

Tues, May 8, 10:30 a.m., USGS Rocky Mountain Area Seminar Series, “Epeirogenic Transients Related to Mantle Lithosphere Removal in the Southern Sierra Nevada Region” by Jason Saleeby, California Institute of Technology.  Building 25 auditorium, Denver Federal Center. Visitors are welcome to attend.

Thur., May 10, 7:30 p.m., Friends of Mineralogy, Colorado Chapter, bimonthly meeting.  Topic, “Color and Luminescence of Colorado Fluorite” by Bill Hutchinson and Jeff Self.  At the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, VIP Room. All interested persons are welcome to attend; enter the Museum via the staff & security desk entrance to the left of the main doors on the north side.

Sat., May 12, “Dinosaur Discovery Day”, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., the first free public tour day of the year at Dinosaur Ridge, Morrison, CO, featuring Boy Scout Day; Scouts or Scout groups are encouraged to register in advance; “An opportunity for Scouts at all levels to satisfy their geology requirements and earn pins, belt loops and badges. More than 60 earth scientists and other volunteers, including certified merit badge counselors, assist with the event.”; see http://dinoridge.org/scoutdays.html .  All others are welcome to attend too. “Parking and check-in will be north of the Visitor Center at the Thunder Valley Motocross south entrance off of Rooney Road (for Scout sign-ups on day of event). Parking and check-in will NOT be available at the Dinosaur Ridge Visitor Center. NOTE: please do not drop off any scouts at the Visitor Center prior to parking as the check-in area is at the parking lot. Parking is $5 per car paid as you enter.”  [Note, DDD’s take place on the 2^nd Saturday of each month throughout the summer till October; Oct. 13 will be Girl Scout Day at Dino Ridge.]

Sat., May 12, Silent Auction, 12:00-3:00 p.m., sponsored by the Friends of Mineralogy, Colorado Chapter; Clements Community Center, 1580 Yarrow St., Lakewood CO (just NW of  Colfax & Wadsworth); all are invited to come.

Mon., May 14, 7:00 p.m., Rare Earth Element Associations within Hydrothermal Uraninite
Ores from the Schwartzwalder Mine , by Jim Paschis; monthly meeting of the Denver Region Exploration Geologists’ Society, Berthoud Hall Room 241, Colorado School of Mines; social hour 6:00-7:00 p.m., presentation at 7:00; for more info and an abstract see http://www.dregs.org/abstracts.html  “After this short presentation by Jim Paschis we will have a “Name That Rock” session. Bring a rock(s) of your choice to examine/discuss with your
colleagues. These rocks or cores may be ones that you have questions about, are controversial, that may be a challenge to identify, or completely unknown. Bring a hand lens.” All are welcome to come.

Tues., May 15, noon, “Climate Realism: Alarmism Exposed", by Mr. Terry Donze, Independent Geophysicist, Denver; CO-AIPG (American Association of Professional Geologists) May Luncheon. At Wynkoop Brewing Company, 1634 18th St., Morey/Brown Room, Denver; lunch at noon, speaker at 12:30 p.m. Luncheon $30 per person with advance reservation, $35 at the door, $5 walk-ins for talk only. Reservations: Contact Steve Sonnenberg, sasonnenbg@aol.com or 303-895-7663 by noon on May 11. “This lecture was scheduled for Metro State College in Denver in April, but was cancelled there.  We are fortunate to be able to have it at our May luncheon instead.”

Thur., May 17, 7:00 p.m., monthly meeting of the Colorado Scientific Society; two presentations by Dr. Warren Hamilton, Distinguished Senior Scientist, Colorado School of Mines: The Ancient Surface of Venus is Saturated with Impact Structures, and its Lowlands are Covered with Marine Sediments; and, Global Climate Change, a Tectonicist’s Perspective. At Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church, 20^th Ave. at Simms St., Lakewood; see http://www.coloscisoc.org/ for more details.  All are welcome to attend.

Fri-Sat-Sun, May 19-20, Cheyenne Mineral & Gem Show, held at American Legion Post #6, 2001 E. Lincolnway, Cheyenne, WY; sponsored by the Cheyenne Gem and Mineral Society.  As my friend from that club points out, “Cheyenne is only 12 miles from Colorado!”.

Sat., June 9, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., monthly Dinosaur Discovery Day at Dinosaur Ridge, Morrison CO.  See www.dinoridge.org  for more info.

Sat., June 16, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., GEOdyssey's Annual Mineral & Fossil Home Sale, 15339 West Ellsworth Drive, Golden, CO 80401 (303-279-5504). “A wide variety of individual specimens and low-priced flats will be available. All specimens are a minimum of 10% off, with bigger discounts for volume purchases. We'll have many specimens priced at 50% off and at $5 or less. Drinks and snacks provided. Directions: from west 6th Avenue, exit onto Indiana Street and go south on Indiana. Drive into Mesa View Estates. Turn right at the first street (McIntyre Circle) and right at the next street (Ellsworth Drive). We are about midway down the street on the left.” (from Pat Tucci)

Fri-Sat-Sun, June 22-24, Pikes Peak Gem and Mineral Show and Rock Fair held at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry, Colorado Springs. See http://www.csms.us/  or www.wmmi.org  for more info.

Aug. 9-12, “Contin-Tail” outdoor Rock Show, Rodeo Grounds, Buena Vista, CO; see www.coloradorocks.org

Aug. 17-19, Lake George (outdoor) Gem & Mineral Show, Lake George, Park County, CO; see http://www.lggmclub.org/

Through May 7, SPRING MEGA SALE at the USGS STORE: “Over 60,000 selected items for only $1 !!!  Buy selected USGS Maps and Products at wholesale prices. Have questions? Please call 1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747) Select Option 1, or email us at: usgsstore@usgs.gov.
Additional Information:
* $5 Handling charge on all orders.
* Shipping charges apply.
      Standard shipping cost estimations for $1 sale items:
      • 1-25 maps -> $5.00 • 26-50 maps -> $7.50 • 51 + maps -> $10.00
*All sales are final.
*While quantities last.
Use the online search tool at:
http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/usgs/zInvReductionSearchStart/(xcm=r3standardpitrex_prd&layout=6_1_61_55&uiarea=0&ctype=areaDetails&carea=0000000150&citem=00000001500000002787)/.do
This is an opportunity to purchase many USGS maps and publications at bargain prices. For example, on the search engine url above, if one searches for “Colorado”, the sale list shows 2496 total maps and other publications, including 120 Geologic Quads, 160 USGS Bulletins, 78 USGS Prof Papers, etc. Please note that the “USGS Store” is our USGS online sales site; it is not the same as the “The Map Store”, which is our in-person, over-the-counter sales outlet in Building 810, Denver Federal Center, run by the Rocky Mountain Nature Association.

Dinosaur Tracks Museum – Open Through May 10: The CU-Denver Dinosaur Tracks Museum is going to close permanently at the end of May. For the remainder of the spring semester, through May 10, the museum will be open to the public from noon to 5:00 p.m., Mon.–Thurs. or by special appointment. After the end of the spring semester (May 14–31), it will be open only when available by special appointment. The museum holds the largest collection of fossil footprints anywhere. It is located in the basement of St. Cajetan’s Church on the Auraria Campus. Admission is free.  Now is a good time to go see the track displays, which include both original and casts of tracks and trackways, of dinosaurs and of other fossil animals; it will likely be several years before the museum is reestablished at a new location.  For more information or to schedule an appointment [not required], contact the museum office at 303-556-5261 or email: dinotracksmuseum@ucdenver.edu . See http://www.ahec.edu/campusmaps/ahec3d.pdf  for an Auraria campus and parking map.

******************************************

ONGOING EVENTS:

USGS Free GPS, Map, & Compass Classes, on the second Friday of each month, beginning January 9, 2009.   The sessions are held in Building 810 on the Denver Federal Center, Lakewood; Map & Compass sessions are in the morning, 9-11 a.m., and "Using GPS with Topo Maps" in the afternoon, 12-4 p.m.; you may sign up for either or both classes.  Call for reservations 303-202-4689 or write to gpsworkshops@usgs.gov

Denver Mining Club, Ltd. (Local [and only] Chapter* of the INTERNATIONAL ORDER OF RAGGED ASS MINERS; Establ. 1891; Country Buffet, 8100 West Crestline Ave, SE corner at Wadsworth (across from Southwest Plaza), Littleton (purchase of buffet lunch is required). Meetings are every Monday, except when noted, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (+/-)   VISITORS ALWAYS WELCOME! [*There are no dues or membership list; just come!]
For a list of their upcoming talks see: http://www.denverminingclub.org/

Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum The museum is at 1310 Maple St. (corner of 13th and Maple Streets) on the CSM campus, Golden, and is well worth a visit at any time; daily hours are 9-4 Mon. through Sat., 1-4 Sundays. The beautiful new museum at the Colorado School of Mines is one of the treasures of our state’s legacy. Filled with fabulous mineral, ore, and fossil specimens, the collection has been amassed since the earliest days of the Territorial School of Mines in the 1870s. "Did you know?", "Evaluation of specimens is performed between 10 a.m. and noon, Tuesdays through Thursdays." If you have an mystery rock/mineral specimen that has always puzzled you, considering bringing it to show them at these times.