Hi Everyone,

Each year, during September, we are blessed with our Nation's second largest gem, mineral and fossil show; the Denver Show. I've been a participant in this show for several years now and am always looking forward to my return. This year's show was another terrific event and as always, everything seemed to end way too soon! As compared to Tucson, the Denver show is much smaller and is much less frantic. In Denver during show time, there are a total of nine different shows for visitors to consider. During the longer, bigger Tucson show, all opening and closing during the same period, are 50 plus different shows! Big difference! In many ways, and for many reasons, the intimate and relaxed Denver experience equates to a less hectic, grandly enjoyable show.

Now truth to tell, I very rarely visit any other shows, as I'm typically running my room solo at the Colorado Mineral and Fossil Show ( CMFS ) at the Holiday Inn. The only exceptions to this are the Great American Gem Show ( GAGS ), across the street from my show ( which I did not visit this year ), and the big culminating Denver Gem and Mineral Show ( DGMS ) and Colorado Fossil Expo ( CFE ) at the Merchandise Mart complex ten blocks north of my show. The GAGS show is typically a quick walk-through and an excuse to get out of the room. The DGMS/CFE show on the other hand is a must see! Typically, I'll spend several hours at the Mart each day, cruising through during the early morning hours, moving quick so as to get back to my own show before things get too busy and I'm missed.

This year's experience was much the same as in years past. Very enjoyable, very quick and very fun. I enjoyed seeing my friends ( old and new ) and am already looking forward to next year's, 2009 show. There are specimens one sees in Denver, and at the other big Mineral Shows, which do not leave their respective areas. This is the only way to see them and, it is very much worth the effort to do so!

This year's report, like my last year's report for 2007, will be mainly told/shared through photos, I just did not get out to see the majority, or even a tiny percentage, of the folks who participate in the show. I know I missed a great many things. Still, these were the things I experienced and enjoyed seeing, both in the room and during those late evenings when I shut down and cruised the hallways looking for open doors.

Thanks for coming along and all the very best,

John

I checked into my room at the Holiday Inn, number 107, after several days of traveling and immediately began tearing everything apart. With that job soon accomplished, I next awaited the delivery of my three display cases from the rental company. After they'd left, and with everything finally in place, I plugged in the case lights and began off-loading flats from the truck. I piled these safely to the side and then, with the doors opened for ventilation, I began the odious task of cleaning glass. Endless panel after endless panel, shelf after endless shelf. And then, honestly, like a breath of fresh air, the flats open next and the minerals come out. The shelves begin to fill with a myriad of colors and forms. Exotic names like stibnite, sphalerite and spherocobaltite are soon joined by other friends, spinels and sulfurs and sceptered quartzes, and on and on it goes. A roll call of the fantastic and the beautiful. I love watching the shelves fill with treasure! This year, in addition to the minerals, I also had Micro-Blasters and high pressure water mineral cleaning guns available.

Obviously, and I am a bit proud, the room was quite attractive and more than a few folks stopped in to say hi, including this big fellow, a 50,000 year old Russian fossil cave bear belonging to my next door neighbors, the Saint-Petersburg Paleontology Laboratory (Saint-Petersburg Paleontology Laboratory). These guys always have a room chock-full of the incredible!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of those few rooms I found open during the evening, there was one which seemed always open that I very much enjoyed, this was the room of Gui Lin De Tian Geological Mineral Museum. These folks from China had a wonderful array of treasures. After a second night's visit, I asked if I could take some pictures...