Here is a list of additional resources and interesting stuff!
My favorite online rockhounding forum:
I know the title says Rock Tumbling Hobby, but this is for all things rockhounding. Anything from upcoming trips to specimen photographs to identification help. This forum has it all. My username is mateoj so feel free to follow me or add me as a contact.
Another Google Map reference:
I’m not sure who this “Ryan” is, but he has put together an exceptional rockhounding guide with almost 200 different sites. He lists directions on how to get to each location as well as what you might find there.
Also, I believe this is an updated one with rock shops and stuff on there as well:
The more resources the merrier. You may find yourself following one list of directions and get lost only to find that another list of directions will lead you right to where you are wanting to go.
State of Utah Geology
http://geology.utah.gov/utahgeo/rockmineral/
A great site that has information on anything from mining/prospecting claims to collecting sites to mineral activity. They even have their own embedded google map as well with numerous collecting sites. I think my favorite useful part of the site is the section about “preparing” your minerals and fossils for show.
You can also visit their blog at http://geology.utah.gov/blog/ or the beta of their new blog at http://beta.geology.utah.gov/blog/
Gator Girl Rocks
http://www.gatorgirlrocks.com/state-by-state/utah.html
“Gator Girl” has a rockhounding website similar to this one for all of the United States broken down by state. The link above is for the Utah page. Information includes books, museums, places of interest, and other resources about her experiences in Utah. She also has some pictures near the bottom of her in the various locations.
RockHound Map
This is a neat little interactive map of locations throughout the United States. I noticed about a dozen or so in Utah alone. It took some getting used to, but I was able to navigate to the different articles about these locations and even found a place to comment and find similar articles.
Utah Rockhounding Forum
http://utahrockhounding.yuku.com/
This is an older forum that I haven’t seen anybody post on for awhile. The information is still good though and perhaps if one of you posted something we might just get an answer. Not as robust or extensive as the Proboards forum, but they have the right idea.
Gem Addicts
The URL says it all. This site really does have it all whether you are a collector, designer, or consumer. The page I visit most is the forum. If you have any questions, ask away! There are numerous people on there that really know their stuff.