Wonderful weekend mining for salt crystals on the Searles Dry Lake.
If your child is a big fan of rocks and crystals then Gem-O-Rama is the weekend get away for you. Trona is about 3 hours outside Orange County on the way to Death Valley.
Gem-O-Ram is only once a year on the second weekend in October. It's for sure one of our favorite yearly events. Here's what to expect during your weekend in Trona.
Where to camp:
There is a dry camping ground about 5 miles outside of town at the Valley Wells Recreation Area. To get there, take Trona Wildrose road north out of town. Follow it to the next small town, then turn right on Valley Wells Rd. They normally will have a sign up that points you to the campground. Don't drive too fast or you might fly right past the dirt turn off road.
Although it's dry camping they do have restrooms and portable toilets. You will also find a fresh water faucet for cooking and cleaning along with an outdoor shower where you can wash yourself off in a swimsuit. It's only cold water but after a long day in the hot sun you won't mind it at all.
The campground is fenced in. You can camp anywhere inside or outside of the fence. The cost for camping this year will be $10 per night. You will see someone collecting the camping fee as you pull in or there will be a truck with a sign driving around collecting the fee. If you are bringing your pets, you will only be allowed to camp outside the fence.
Here's the map to indicate where you may and may not camp.
You can rent a fire pit for $5 a night or bring your own. No ground fires are allowed. I recommend bringing your own because they only have a few pits and they go fast. You can by wood at the Shell gas station where you enter into Trona, but it's very dry and burns out fast.
Get to bed early the fist night, because you will have a very early start on Saturday.
Don't feel like cooking:
On Saturday morning you can enjoy a pancake breakfast at the Trona Community Center. The price is $6 for adults and $4 for kids under 8. Food is also available in the main show building. On Saturday and Sunday they have lunch from 10 am to 4 pm. On Friday and Saturday they have dinner from 5 pm to 7 pm for $11. You'll also find a snack shop outside the building selling breakfast burritos in the morning. A Family Dollar is right next door for anything else you my need. There's a Mexican restaurant called Esparza that's open from 5:30 am to 7:30 pm. Closer to the campsite you will find Trails Drive-In and they are open from 10:30 am to 9 pm.
Mud Trip:
The first field-trip of the day will be the mud trip. Registration starts at 7:30. We are normally already there at 5 am to park our car in the caravan line. You want to be there early, trust me. You get to spend 2 ½ hours at the sight, but the time starts from when the first car gets there, not when you get there. That time may seam like a lot but trust me it's not. We go early, park, and then go to the pancake breakfast and make sure we are back in time for registration to buy our tickets.
At registration you can buy all your field-trip tickets or you can pay as you go. Make sure to bring cash. The mud trip is $15 per car, not per person. You may dig out as many crystals as you like. Hold on to your ticket because someone will collect it when you enter the area for the field-trip. Make sure you are in your car, engine running, and ready to drive at 9 am. The trip starts promptly. You don't want to be that guy that's holding everyone else up because you aren't in your car and ready to go.
What you will need for the mud field-trip:
1. Sun hat
2. Rain boots
3. Old clothing to wear
4. Sunscreen
5. Garden tools
6. Three big buckets. The five gallon size buckets from Walmart cost about $2.50
7. Scrub brush. The metal kind from the 99 cent store, that you use to clean your grill.
8. Gloves (the kind you wash dishes with)
9. Paper shopping bags
After the mud field-trip be prepared with a change of clothing, wet wipes, and a plastic tarp. This popup changing tent I found on Amazon came in really handy to change out of our dirty clothes. For the plastic tarp, use the kind you buy for painting.
The first thing you do when you get there is scoop a bucket full of the brine water and set it aside for cleaning your crystals. There's a cleaning station but it can get very busy and that water turns dirty fast. Normally I will stay at the station and clean while my daughter digs for crystals.
They have two water trucks on sight for cleaning yourself off after you are done.
After you're all done, get out the big plastic tarp and put everything inside the it. Close it up really well to put in your car. You don't want to get any of that black mud in your car. Use the paper shopping bags as disposable floor mats for your feet.
Blow Hole Trip:
All you will need for this trip are some rain boots, a bucket, and water. Make sure you take lots of water, it can get really hot out there. I bring an umbrella and try to hold it over my daughter as she sits and look for crystals.
This trip is also $15 per car. It starts at 2:30 pm. After you are done with the mud trip get back in the caravan line so you're already set for the Blow Hole. During the wait is a good time to have lunch and check out all the vendors. There's about 20 dealers and 50 exhibits there with beautiful crystals.
At the blow hole they pump out loads of crystals from under the ground for people to walk around and pick up. This one is really fun and easier for smaller kids. Make sure you stand back behind the line when they have the drill running. If people don't listen and do not stay back they will shut everything down.
Pink Halite Trip:
The pink halite tip is on the Sunday at 9 am. The cost for this trip is $20. We have never gone on this one because it sounds like way too much work and normally we are pooped by this time.
You will also have the opportunity to take the Searles Valley Mineral Plant Tour for free. The bus runs at 10:40, 11:25, 12:10, 12:55 and 1:40.
Places we stopped at on the way to Trona or on the way back home:
When driving into Trona on Trona Road keep your eyes open to see if you can spot the Fish Rocks. They have a spot for you to pull over and park off the road. On that same road closer to town you will also find the Trona Pinnacles where they filmed Planet of the Apes. Just make sure you don't get stuck in the sand out there.
At Randsburg Ghost Town, you can stop for a bite to eat at the General Store (35 Butter Ave, Randsburg, CA 93554) before heading over to Trona. It's a cute little Western gold mining town covering about two square miles. The town has some antique shops, the Randsburg Desert Museum, and two bars. It's a really cute little town only 45 minutes outside Trona.
We hope you will enjoy Gem-O-Rama as much as we have.
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