3500 participants? That's like more than double the population of Trona. Hopefully local businesses profited from this event!
More than 3,500 visitors participated in three field trips to Searles Lake to collect saline minerals that adorn the salt bed, as visitors from around the country in the gem and mineral show over the weekend.
LINK: http://www.ridgecrestca.com/article/20121016/NEWS/121019810