Gold is great...BUT...

I love prospecting for gold and occasionally finding some, or for that matter, finding something long hidden and new to my world. It is not so much the finding, but the thrill of the chase(search) and looking forward to something new and exciting. I guess we all just need a change to the everyday boredom of our lives, sometimes. Sometimes, if I don't make it out of town I might just do something silly, like, go to a big parking lot somewhere in town. Early morning is the best time, when the sun is just coming up in the east. I park to the far side of the parking lot(like a Walmart lot...or anything big) and walk slowly toward the east. If there is a coin or something shiny laying about, the sunlight reflects and makes it easier to find. Yahhhh! I just found a penny. Not much in the way of monetary value, but at least its a find. IF it's a real GOOD day...You MIGHT find a quarter??? Never know what you will find..AND it's good excercise. Nothing spectacular, but an adventure, none the less...

How did it get where it's at...

When I go to my drywashing spot, indicated in the photo, I have found several pickers(ones you're able to pick up with your fingers), But last trip I moved on up the wash farther to see what else I could find. I had assumed that IF the gold moved from the top of the wash(downhill) to where I found the pickers, I would, most likely, find something bigger farther up. Guess again! For some strange reason there seem to be even less farther up the wash??? Huh?? How in the world did it get where it is, IF it came down that hill? Makes me wonder if maybe it didn't come in from a different direction? Since this all happened, probably, a million years ago, I guess we never know for sure. One thing that is for sure is that Gold is WHERE you find it, NOT where it SHOULD be...

My new Gold Buddy(Dry Washer)...

After I moved to Arizona and learned what a dry washer was and that, here, it's the only way to go, to find gold, I have been using my PUFFER type dry washer. While the puffer is a very light-weight machine and easy to get around with, it is slow and just does not handle enough gravel(which is to say, GOLD). I thought long and hard about it and finally I gave in and bought the larger model of Gold Buddy dry washers. I managed to get a few good days in before the desert heated up too much and I couldn't believe how fast and how much dirt this new machine will run in such a short time. This Gold Buddy(listed as Vibro static concentrator)can run, shake and concentrate the gravel as fast as I can shovel it. It runs off a leaf blower motor and keeps things going and is almost a two man operation. One to shovel in and one to keep shoveling away the tailings pile. I am happy to report that my new machine has already paid for itself. Oh Man! Do I love the feeling and the sight of all those little pieces of gold when I pan my concentrates...

Our desert, at night...

As scheduled by the Creator, the Arizona desert is once again much too hot to be wandering around and looking for gold. The gold is still there, but so are a lot of other things that one doesn't want to meet in the middle of the night...Like Rattlesnakes, with a bad temper and very toxic venom. If I should venture out during the day(usually very early in morning)I always watch where I am walking but once it's hot snakes and other little critters will find a shady spot under a rock or in a hole, but when the sun goes down and the air cools, they come out to hunt and whatever...It is not a good idea to be wandering around out there at night, even if it is cooler and there might just be a full moon. A mistake like that can easily prove fatal. For now, we, like the snakes, find a shady spot(in town), polish up our equipment and wait a couple more months go scoop up the yeller gold...

Next week-end...

The Winter, here in Kingman, Arizona, has been too wet to do much drywashing(since the sand needs to be dry), so I have decided to dig out my Old Buddy(GOLD BUDDY) again and just recirculate till the water runs out, or gets too dirty. The unit runs off a car battery, BUT, if ever your battery runs down it also works quite well, just hand feeding the water from the tub(like an old Rocker Box) Although, it is a hassle hauling large containers of water out to the claim, I won't have to be concerned that the ground is wet. This way, the wetter the better...
Some of the guys have been finding little pieces of gold, but about 10 inches down. Once I get set up I just run everything from the top down. Never know when a little piece might have gotten trapped in the top layers. Run it all. Somewhere, down there is gold, and THIS WEEK-END I am going to find it...Yehhh!

Gold is where you find it...

For years, I lived in Michigan but went prospecting in many states, but never Michigan. I'd never heard of gold being found there. Guess what? I was wrong.
I was sitting in a truckstop(somewhere?) and ran across an article entitled...Gold in Michigan! It seems gold had been discover in various places in Michigan, but had never heard of it in Isabella/Midland counties(area where I had lived). Next time I was back there, a buddy of mine had dug a new pond and I noticed a streak of black sand(magnetite) running down the bank, so what the heck...I got out my pan.
I panned out a couple of pans and lo and behold...No! I don't believe it! I found a small piece of gold in the bottom of my pan. Bright and shiny, and small, but nevertheless, gold.
I showed my buddy and we were both shocked, because there was no record of any gold in this area.
Next time I was back to Michigan I decided to try another spot, since my buddy said no to me making his pond a LOT bigger. I decided, instead, to go to the nearby Chippewa river.
At the time I had an old rocker box(primitive, but very effective) and I was hand feeding gravel(from the Chippewa) and water through it, when along comes the Game warden. When asked what I was doing there and what was this box thing I had? I explained, but was told: "No gold around here!" You should have seen the look on his face when I pointed out a couple of very small pieces I had just washed out. Nope! He couldn't believe it either. He just shook his head and wished me good luck. Guess he didn't check for prospecting licenses? Hehe!
To make a long story short, DON'T EVER assume there is not gold, even in your own back yard, just because it has never been found there before.It may just being waiting...for YOU to discover it. Check it out!

Better weather, BUT...

Although, the weather, here in Kingman, Arizona is better than(maybe Siberia?)some, it has still been too wet to do much> A little bit of rain(cold rain), a little bit of snow(not much here in town), but can't drywash because the sand is too wet and not enough water to have a running stream to use my sluice. If it were not for my GOLD BUDDY(recirculating and inside where it's warm-Yeh!), I wouldn't be doing much except looking out the window.
I realized many winters ago there is nothing worse than a avid GOLD PROSPECTOR being trapped inside all winter long. Can't sleep nights coz all you can think of is the big nuggets out there..just waiting. But you can't get to them. TERRIBLE!
Well, in any case, I run out on the weekends and bring back a few buckets of gravel and run them through my Recirculating sluice(Gold Buddy) and sometimes, find little pieces shining up at me. Ah Yes! Now, I am happy!