CountryPlans Forum

Quote... Glenn's been gold panning...

Glenn, do you use a steel pan or one of the new black plastic pans (makes the gold stand out against the black) with a semi rough surface to help hold the gold?  :-?

I've been reading a book about the 49er's. Just googled "gold panning". It would appear that today, as back then, most of the money made prospecting for gold will be made by those merchants selling supplies.  ;D  It should keep him out of trouble though, I suppose.  :-/

BTW, I saw the couple that sold us the mtn. property last week. He asked me if I was aware there was gold on the land. Gold? Tell me more I said. According to him while he was dowsing for water (that I knew about) he also found gold. He told me where. I gotta say I'm not much of a believer in dowsing; "Skeptic" would be prominent in my personality profile.

I've got a black, green and maroon gold pans, Don.  I figure whatever works.  If I had a tin one I would burn it to get rid of the grease and blacken it.  I'm just getting started on this.  Also exploring mines.

If I die doing this -- I don't want any of that philosophical "Well -- at least he died doing what he loved" crap-- I want to see some genuine heart felt emotion. ;D

Just funnin ya-- I'm careful (most of the time).  30 to 40 miles of dirt bike ( Dual Sport 200) riding today -- first time I've been on a bigger bike in 25 years I think - except for a short ride or two.  Didn't even crash and good thing -- we were riding on the edge of the earth most of the day. :)

Last time on a bike was when Sassy and I rode across the desert on that Honda 70 wearing nothing but a....

Well, you piqued my interest Glenn and son-of-a-gun there was gold in NM! And apparently still panable! All I need is another pursuit.  :-/ Maybe I need to take a few days off and go prospecting?

Oh, BTW, the Spanish Queen mine site is sorta visible from the road, but behind or maybe on private property. Nobody was home. From the top down it would be one heck of a hike/scramble, not to mention a rough 4x4 trip most of the way before the hike.  :-/

Sounds cool, Don.  Grab yer pan and get after it.  You already have that prospector look.  Time to make good on it. :)

Spanish Queen sounds interesting.  We went to the Ace in the Hole early today - pretty full of water, and the Feliciana Mountain Mine -- now only a pile of rocks on a very obscure road but it was a blast hunting for it and finding it. :)  Had to follow very tiny road lines on a topo map to find it.  I Google Earthed it and Acme Topo'd it.  We did good because my friends had looked for it before and never found it.  Just a few chunks of quartz amonge the other rock but we positively identified it. :)

Glenn

It is a cool notion to think that you can go panning and get rich... what is your best experience? In terms of spending a day /week or whatever panning...how well does it pay to pan... on average?

I have heard of people quitting their jobs to pan and they make a decent living

what are the rules...can you just go to the river and start panning without a permit or stake claim?

I'd say - don't quit your day job. ;D

To me it's more like fishing.  There are places you can pan and explore mines and places you can't.

I have spent about $60 for diesel on 3 trips in the last week.  I have probably about $.50 in gold flakes and dust. --maybe $3.00 worth.  There is something cool and relaxing just digging and panning sand and gravel thinking that sometime there may be more than a flake(s), dust, or nothing in there.

To me it's more about seeing what it was like to be a miner in 1849.  Most of them went broke.  The store keepers were the ones who made the money selling them mining supplies and food.

Even John C. Fremont had a hard time making a go of it and he had the best claim around - Las Mariposas Grant of which our property was a part.  He finally sold it all.  A very hard way to make a living with only an occasional lucky find.  With government regulation now it is really hard.

Some do OK but not too many.

I understand you can still stake a claim but you can no longer patent the land -- (have the government give it to you).

interesting stuff

Read somewhere about a couple guys out your way that retired to work old claims or a old mine...Seemed they were doing really well...

I know stories of some who did so well that the IRS came after them.  They promptly sold their stuff and shut up.  The ones that do good don't talk a lot.

I know one who stays pretty quiet -- squeeks by but not rich.

I know others like me who just enjoy looking and studying the history.  Find a little but don't expect to get rich.  The old stories tell  many times of companies investing fortunes only to go bust soon or never get started.

Nearly forgot-- this evening's explorations.

I decided to see if I could get close to one of the old mines on some mountain roads with my truck. Most are locked - private etc.  

I took off up this road - following my Google Earth printout.

I located the curves of the road so I'd know where I was.  Didn't print the real locater map so wasn't exactly sure where it was but I was within a 1/4 mile or so.  Followed the road to a no trespassing sign - no place to turn around so continued to the house to turn around.  I saw the lady come out to the yard so I stopped to tell her I was just looking for the old historic Whitlock Mine.  

She was a bit interested as she knew she was on mine property from the old days.  I talked to her a bit and she asked about where I lived -house etc.  She had heard of an Underground Hobbit home she said -- turns out our renter had been there that day to take off a junk car for them.  Small world, eh? She heard about our house from a neighbor also.

She said there was a diggins down the road a few hundred feet and showed it to me -- she thought it was too small to be much -- maybe, but I checked it out and at least it had tracks coming out and an air line running in.  Under more brush was a tailing pile I would estimate at 300 to 500 cu. yds. She told me if I wanted to check it out , to have at it - just don't cave their road in.  :-/

So I got out the axe and started chopping out brush -- wow -- too much like work -- went back to the truck and got out the Ryobi 18 v recip. saw.  There -- that's better.   Still hard work - that brush tangles up and some was about 15 feet tall.


(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000412_edited.jpg)

Here are the bikes from yesterdays outing.  We took the younger guy back and us two old dudes went again and located the Feliciana Mine. :)  I rode the right blue one.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000407_edited.jpg)

We have gold mines all over the place here.  Lately the powers that be have been drilling at about four am each morning then along about 8:30 there is a big BOOM and my dogs wont go outside the rest of the day.  They are closing up the mine shafts so no people get hurt I suspect.  I go out walking quite often over the mountains looking for my horses when they run away and I have come quite close a time or two to falling into one of those air shafts.  The big mine entrances though, you wouldn't fall into one of those they are huge like a big cave.  Back in the early 1900's the railway ran from the mines up on the mountain right past this house. This house is actually the old depot.  I heard that some people can just pan the dust from around the railroad beds to find some gold.  I think I may just go buy me a pan because I could sure use the money and I think the pans are pretty cheap.  They sell them right here in town at the Radio Shack, no kidding.  Where would I get the money for my gold though if I do find some and if I found a lot would I get to keep it or would it be the mines gold?  I think the mines still hold the mineral rights for most of the property in this county.  

That's part of the hard part about it.  It is necessary to get the permission of the person or entity who owns the land to be legal pannning or mining there.  I have never found enough to sell but some people get some nice pieces.  Most of the people I know just do it as a hobby.

There are places on BLM land and some other places you can pan with no trouble.  Many more places to pan that there are to use a big dredge.  I usually go on BLM land here.

It's a bit like the lottery though -- maybe the next one is the big one.

Some jewelers buy and some rock or mineral shops will.  As I mentioned - I haven't had the problem yet. :)

I forgot if you said what area you are from, Tanya.  Sounds like interesting mines - there are potential danger areas though - some real dangerous.

Found another historic mine today - probably started around 1860.  It looked as if no one had been there for years.  Last worked a bit before  1950 then apparently blown shut.  It had produced about $500.000.00 in gold mostly before 1900.  Gold was around $20 an ounce then I think I read.

There was about a 900 foot main shaft and 600 foot adit per the book.

I located it by hiking down hill through brush and poison oak until I found an ancient road that showed on an old map.  About 350 foot elevation drop but twice that or more back to the top. ;D  Doesn't sound like much but it was a heck of a hike for an old fat man. :)

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000418.jpg)

About the only real noticeable thing on many old mines is the tailing pile.  This one appeared to have some decent ore left in it and the mine was said to have been shut down with a lot of good ore in sight.  Transportation and milling costs were too great to keep it operating.  Price of gold is up now but so are costs to do things and regulations.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000423.jpg)

Many times the only indication of a tailing pile is an unnatural hump in the ground.  I get used to spotting them but I even had to look a while for all of this one.

I live in N Central WA in a little mining town that was once a big mining town.  I think the miners took all the gold though.  There doesn't appear to be very many wealthy gold panners here.  I think the gold they get is in the ore and it has to be preocessed to get it out.  To bad the new mine that is going in though, they found a huge vein right on top of the road way back when and ever since then they have been trying to get the permits to open it up, I think now that they moved their tailing ponds off the headwaters of some pretty significant creeks they might actually have a chance.  We need the jobs but not the mess so it is a give and take thing.  The caved in mines are dangerous and that is why they are blasting htem shut but I still think those air ventilation shafts are even more dangerous because you can't see them out walking around.  They are jsut there all ofa sudden and then you are happy you didn't fall in.  I am so much more careful when I go out walking these days.  

I just read sometime in the last week that panning on BLM or Forest Service managed land (I like to be clear on that; it's all public land, our land.) is allowed without permit or other permission requirements as long as you do not utilize machinery.

That is what I seem to see.

Some of the BLM people ad other Public Servants have forgotten their place and are drunk on their own power.  I just talked to a friend who said that they broke into and trashed his cabin and took him to court for squatting on his own private land because they had failed to check even the parcel number or if it was private.  It took him 2 years in court to prove it was his.  Public Servants. >:(

that is when you need a gun and enough nerve to shoot the government employee...

I've had some personal runins with overzealous BLM employees in a couple UT offices. On the other hand, we have a super BLM land manager here in the BLM Socorro office. He's spearheaded a very friendly motorized user recreation area. So they're not all bad, but the bad ones are memorable.

Peter, Nah, I don't want to have my own private room as a permanent guest in a government gray concrete building. (There is still a death penalty in NM, but only one execution since 1976).

But I would very much like to see government employees held accountable, and if guilty of a serious wrongdoing fired or at least demoted.

Don

Be a martyr man! Do it for the rest of us... join the cause!

Come on! Where is your pioneering spirit... Man I was thinking about you this week while trying to get up mountains to look at land to purchase....Dude I found it...my dream spot.... Tennessee is great too...No income tax... the county I was in no building inspector no codes no permits... do what you want....

I made an offer on the property before I came home today...I barely slept last night....

We only have minor elevation here on the east... it is somewhere between 2000 feet and 2400 feet... on top of the mountain...I can buy as little and as much as 240 acres from the guy...I made an offer on 80- acres....  All hardwood trees Oak and Maple..It was selectively cut 23-25 years ago...So half of the trees are mature (bigger than a 5 gallon bucket) and half are the size of a gallon apple juice can...

The real estate guy had a 4x4 so we got up...I took my wife later in the car and we only got half way up the gravel road....The road was gravelled perfectly... the road was just so damned steep... Nice flat wide straight road though to the property..Pretty flat, lays well with slight rolling hills on top of the mountain where the land is...the ascent to it is a bit extreme... I like that though... no nosey neighbors bothering you... unless they have a 4x4..In time the steep hills can be plowed down at the top and the grade can be made more agreeable... In time when I get access to a dozer or excavator

I wonder what hardwood logs are worth? I mean if I cut them let them dry and sawed them into boards for customers or planks or whatever for furniture... I wonder what the market would be for hardwood logs?

If I could selectively cut on the property hardwood logs and saw enough to sell $10,000 a year I would be all set..It is tax free money (legally) I could sell a few cars and do a little repair work....and be all set...with 80 acres of woods I would never log it out not im my lifetime... it would be a totally manageable renewable resource..

we may need to pass the hat around if I buy it...No money to build on it for a while... I figure you or Glenn will come vacation on my land and get me started on sawing some hardwood boards  ;)... or a 20x 24 cabin raising or some such.... My wife has already started asking questions like...What would we live in... she would be upset if I built something like a permanent lean too ::)

I have thought about it...

The house in the City has to go I can see it now...

Quote... 2400 feet... on top of the mountain...

They call that a mountain??     Just funning with ya, Peter.   ;D ;D   You'll need to get the old Scout all fixed up to access the place. Steep grade low traction roads are the nemesis of a front drive car. You should have tried backing up it. Like the old timers with Ford Model T's would do, but that was because reverse was lower geared than first gear forward.

The land and trees sound cool. I know what you mean about not being able to sleep with thinking about it.

So how would ya get one of those trees into a 5 gallon bucket?   :-? :-/ And why?   ;D

We've ear marked a few small Doug Firs that will need to be thinned as they are too close to other trees... potential Christmas Trees. We may try root balling one and then transplanting it.  :-/

We're heading g back up tomorrow with the supplies needed to complete the gazebo (I think I've got it all??). We need is some breaks from the rainy weather in order to do some staining and shingling the roof.

Shooten em just gets you in trouble, Peter.  I like the $5000 day use fee on my no trespassing sign.  I suggested that my friend post them and present the BLM dude with an invoice than go to small claims court and collect.

Also- Peter, steep roads can be a real bother in the winter -- like it could be walking time.  Sliding off of one in a vehicle is no fun and even sliding a ways toward the canyon will make you possibly have to change your underwear.  My road is about 250 feet down to the next slow down point-- make that slam down point. :-/ :o

Glenn

I have had people come here that were long time customers and they ripped me off and owed me money...I took them to small claims court and it was a waste of time

Hard to actually get any money out of them...

Yup -- the court confirms whether they owe you money or not then you still have to try to collect.  Quite a joke, but the possibility is there so may be a deterrent.  You gotta love the system, eh?

Yeah the road is steep.... but it is flat and wide.... no extreme sharp turns....

What I was thinking was to make a few improvements to the road in time... take the edge off the extremely steep hills...Widen the road out a little more...a few places where it is wide enough for 2 vehicles already...Just make it a little easier to get up and down... a little safer for the wife...etc...

thankfully the snows are light here in the south... half a dozen snows a year... it is extremely rare to get a snow of more then 6 inches... usually just a inch or two of powder...

at least in the moderate elevation of east tennessee..I have been checking on the weather and such....3 and 1/2 inches of rain per month usually...good moderate climate... 8-10 degrees cooler in the summer than Columbia South Carolina...WHICH makes me very happy....

Don

Yeah thew scout would love that property... the wife would not drive it being a stick....I have a 67 4x4 long bed 350 v8 350 turbo automatic...She would drive it i suspect...It has power steering and Brakes

no I hate the system...

What I want is a judgement that states I can do whatever I deem necessary to collect the money the court says is owed to me... If that means hanging em upside down and beating their head against the tree hoping money will fall out so be it...

I am self employed and relatively poor...when I get screwed it really hurts
takes me often a month  or more to overcome just one bad exchange

Well, I finally discovered gold.  Yup -- a genuwine never discovered by the old timers discovery of gold in hard rock.  I prospect a bit here and there every couple of nights after work or whenever I see something of interest.

I bought a rock crusher from an old miner and his son to make driveway rock, and since he was willing to share his knowledge I started trying to learn all I could from him.  Each time I get a chance to talk to him he teaches me something new -- tells me something I didn't know about mining, gold , formation of the earth and movement of gold by even our cyanide laced drinking water.  Not enough to hurt anybody -- it's natural -- about 12 PPM he says.  Cyanide dissolves gold and redeposits it under the right conditions.

If you have ever tried to learn about mining you will find that most miners keep it to themselves and knowledge is hard to come by.  If it hadn't been for things he taught me I never would have found it where I did.

The gold I found is just a little gold dust in quartz stringer veins, but still --- it's neat to think that I did something like the miners who rushed out here to settle the west.  Cool.  8-)

Not something to get rich on -- probably cost me $10 to find $.10 worth of gold, but still great fun -- kinda like fishing. :)

Well, at least ya don't have to worry about you getting so rich and becoming high-faluting and forgetting your friends here.  :-/

You may have found more than some of the 49'ers.

 Congrats Glenn  8-) Little victories eh :)

I seriously doubt I'll get rich,  Don but it really is fun. :)  

Yeah, PEG.  After being fruitless for so long it was bound to happen if I kept trying,  I keep thinking it's like fishing -- you don't catch any fish if your line is not in the water. :)  An important thing is to be in a pond that has fish in it.  I live i the middle of it.  So I keep trying -- looking -- sampling --hiking,  crawling on my hands and knees through the poison oak.  Semi-determined - and look at the exercise I'm getting. :-/  John says the 49ers got the easy stuff but they didn't get 10% of what's there.

I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself it was fools gold or something was wrong with the crusher -- I couldn't have found it, but after Harry51 and I spent a few hours fooling around with it, we finally decided it really was real.  It's a really good feeling when you crush up a bunch of dirty rocks and for the first time see color shining in your pan.  I have panned some at the river so do know what I'm looking for.  I just didn't really think i'd ever see it.  It's like stepping back in history to the days of the 49ers. :)

Now -- more testing and sampling required. :)

A great feeling I imagine! Finding that wee bit of gold.  

In a way like the feeling I've had on occasion when finally scaling a theretofore unsurmountable rock "waterfall" with the Jeep. Many many attempts, $1.2K worth of locking diffs, $1.4K worth of underdrive auxiliary gearbox, $1K worth of new sticky gnarly tires, and some luck, and Voila! Up and over the top.  :)

A whole load of fun and a totally legal high!!  

I see I got off easy with the $10 for $.10 of gold. :)

Funny the money those rich foriegners will spend eh Glenn  ;)

So now you REALLY must have gold dust fever eh!

 (http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/timespacetoys_1968_61197139)

 Hey you two look sorta alike  ;D

BTW that Yukon Cornelius.

 

I guess I may have been there with them a time or two.

Yukon Cornelius is a bit wild looking but better than the guy I've seen on the metal detector manual cover.  They show a guy wearing shorts out metal detecting.

In reality that is impractical around here if you think about it -- maybe OK in the wide open lawns etc, but out in the sticks, we crawl through poison oak -- spiny stickery brush, and we have rattlesnakes.  A pair of high top boots and pants could help to keep the snake from sinking his fangs into your shin or leg.

QuoteBTW that Yukon Cornelius.

I must have been living under that rock.  Had no idea who Yukon Cornelius was.   :o

"Yukon Cornelius - a prospector who leads audience to believe that he's searching for either gold or silver, but is actually seeking peppermint..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer_(television_special)

Thanks for rounding out my education, Paul.   :)

QuoteFunny the money those rich foriegners will spend eh Glenn  ;)

Rich guy?  :-?

For my current small project I've been reduced to re-using lumber I originally made into fences and sunshade roofs 15 years ago!  :'(  Knots, splits and all.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/oddsnends/small-IMG_2640.jpg)

I'll have to get a big can of wood filler and a new belt for the sander to make it all look good again.   ;D

I didn't know about the Peppermint, Don and PEG.. but I can't find it on the above Wiki  link.  
//http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer_(television_special)


Don't ask me why but somehow the forum software truncated part of the URL until I put it in URL brackets.  This one should work.

Quote

I didn't know about the Peppermint, Don and PEG.. but I can't find it on the above Wiki  link.  

Just another of the small details the old writers of kids stuff would throw in to see , maybe , if the adults where paying attention , who knows really why they'd do stuff like that?


 And Mtn D a small fortune to climb a rock eh ;D

QuoteI didn't know about the Peppermint, Don and PEG.. but I can't find it on the above Wiki  link.  

quote]

Yukon Cornelius (voiced by Larry D. Mann) - a prospector who leads audience to believe that he's searching for either gold or silver, but is actually seeking peppermint as revealed at the end of the original version of the special. His greedy behavior inspires the song "Silver And Gold", sung by Ives and previously well-known in its own right. Yukon is a blustery but benign character and ends up helping not only Rudolph and Hermey, but an abominable snowman, or "bumble" (Yukon calls abominable snowmen "bumbles" because he has trouble pronouncing "abominable"), as well. Yukon Cornelius can be seen throughout the special tossing his pick ax into the air and tasting the end that contacts the snow or ice. The removal of the scene near the end of the special (for subsequent telecasts) in which Yukon Cornelius discovers a "peppermint mine" by that method near Santa's workshop left audiences assuming that he was attempting to find either silver or gold by taste alone. The scene was returned to the film in 1998 as well.

Link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer_(television_special)

But PEG -- I don't have a TV  (have a small one - don't watch it-- )-- can't pollute my pristine little mind with all that stuff --- but I don't have an excuse for not looking it up.  You caught me not paying attention there. :-/

 So you've never watched Rudolf the Red nosed reindeer????????   That's just  :-[

Nope, but I remember the song sung by some lady from the old days. :)

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose and if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows.   :-?

Gold!


I found yeller gold!!


It was just there beside the road!!


It was there all summer. I just never saw it until today!!


(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/new%20mexico/mini-IMG_2692.jpg)

;D ;D  This is along the highway up to our mountains before the elevation increases and you get into the Pine/Spruce/Fir forest.

(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/new%20mexico/mini-IMG_2698.jpg)

This is what passes for a river in NM. Back home this would be a crick (creek).

(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/new%20mexico/mini-IMG_2714.jpg)

Alongside the road closer to home. Lower elevation.

(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/new%20mexico/mini-IMG_2720.jpg)

Quote

Gold!


I found yeller gold!!

Isn't Glenn / Yukon lookin for peppermint    :-/   :-?  ;D

Nice photo's Mtn. D , pretty spot , in it's own way 8-)

We had cricks in Oregon.   :)  I lived on Widow Crick.

Nice pix, Don.

PEG -- Eureka -- I did find it, PEG.  Don't know how much yet or if there is more.  I rebuilt my little rock crusher the other day so it will make smaller chips.  Gets then to near 1/4 inch now.  Next I need to build something to get them down to powder to free the gold, then settle on a process to collect the gold dust from the powder.  Lugol's Iodine was a great way to do it, but for some reason DHS decided it was not for the public to have anymore.  Don't they know that B o m B-s can be made from gasoline also -- maybe they should take that away from the public too????  Bunch of idiots creating fake terr or.  Not having speeling problems -- they scan every word on the internet and I don't want to scare any of them.

Went prospecting a bit more today.  Looks like we may have found a bit more gold in an old hardrock mine near my place.

Hiked the mountain.  Crawled in the opening after checking for snakes and various other critters.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000623.jpg)

After getting inside  I started checking out the remains of the vein on the mine walls and ceiling.   Quartz veins in porphyry clay similar to my place.

I checked out a dark blob on the side of the wall and it jumped on my hand.

"What the..."

Oh -- it's you, my friend. :)

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000629.jpg)

He said, "Come on in -- the water's fine."

I think I'll pass this time.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000631.jpg)

:)

QuoteI checked out a dark blob on the side of the wall and it jumped on my hand.

That can give you a case of the heeby-jeebys.  :o


All we did was cut more trash trees, about a dozen and a half, plus a few that had to go for the benefit of the rest of the forest, about a half dozen. Gad, I sound like Hillary, "for the common good".  :o And we made the wood pile longer. And added some scrubby stuff, semi rotten deadfall to the burn pit. That's going to be a fine fire when/if we get some snow  :)

At least you had fun doing it. :)

As did you, I'm certain.  :)

Took our friends to the mining museum here in town today.  We have the California State Mineral Exhibit here in town and there is a mining mill model.  This is a number one rated mineral museum - if you ever get the chance to drop by.

Here is a little - rather poor video I took of it running today.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/th_P1000652.jpg) (https://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/?action=view&current=P1000652.flv)

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=588

Went with a friend today to some property owned by his SIL's family.  He got permission, so we drove the jeep to the top of the mountain, wandered around the old mine digs and found a straight vertical shaft about 23 foot or so deep.  

After we tired of metal detecting - found a couple old pick parts - nails etc, I got the urge to see what was down the shaft.  I tied a 20 foot chain to a tree then lowered myself into the shaft while hanging onto the chain like some sort of big dumb monkey. ::)

About 10 feet down was a small horizontal tunnel about 4 feet or so deep.  I went in there and checked out the vein- nothing real exciting.  So - back to climbing the chain down to the bottom.  One tunnel about 8 feet to the right -- One to the left -- went about 20 feet or so.  Tossed in a few rocks to check for rattle snakes etc then slid into the hole -- gathered a few samples  and back out.  

Climbed the chain back to the 10 foot level -- took a rest on the ledge then climbed the rest of the way to the top.  Nothing significant but it was interesting to see if the old fat man could get out of the shaft.  I'm glad it wasn't much deeper. :)  This was about a mile from the above museum.

We got a kick outta that Glenn , yer sorta nuts eh  ;D Anyway Enny and I both got a good laugh outta you climbing the chain. Makes the drive around the lake seem normal  ;D

Be careful out there eh Buddy ,  you'd be hard to replace around the board ;)

Thanks PEG. ;D  Having met me, you are one of the few who know I drag my knuckles when I walk, eh? ;D

I was kinda wishing I had something better than just a chain but Keith, my buddy from down the road was at the top and there was a come-along in the jeep in case he had to hoist me out of there.

I had my little - one or three LED headlight on and it was really fun going into the drift at the bottom to try to find some good ore samples.  I was probably in there 20 minutes digging around. :-/

The way back up the chain was the most interesting.  Pulling myself up with just my arms and trying to get whatever toe or knee hold I could on the side without falling off and ending up at the bottom really made me hold on tight to the chain.  There were no real good steps or ledges other than the drift at 10'.  There may have been about 6 one to 2 inch toe holds up the face of the shaft the chain was on.  Safety devices? Aw - come on - it was only 23' to the bottom. ;D

Maybe I should take a crash course in rock climbing. ::)

Explored some mines this weekend but the most fun was finding a bit of gold on our own property and learning a bit more about the extraction process so I could get the gold out of sulfate ore.  (Pyrite Crystals in quartz).

So yes - pyrite is fools gold but it would be a bigger fool who would throw it away.  The gold appears in and on the pyrite or can be deposited along side it.  Pyrite in quartz indicates that metals are settling out in that area also-- pure white quartz usually has no significant gold but gold bearing quartz can be right next to it.

I found this paper on recovery of gold in sulfite ores
http://66.113.204.26/mining/minproc/gold-in-pyrite.htm so tried a roasting experiment.  Guess what. hmm - It worked. 

I crushed it, panned out the pyrite then roasted it in a stainless pan to drive off the sulfur.  Here's a pix of part of the result. 

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000702-1.jpg)

The little yellow specs in the black - look hard - there has to be enough there to buy a toothpick or something.

I found some gold today as well.  :) Unfortunately it had been deposited by my dentist some 20 years ago and came loose while eating a chicken sandwich.  :(  Tooth 17 I believe. No doubt it's worth more than what you found.  :) :( :-\

No doubt cost more too.  Ouch. :(

Almost makes you want to try some JB's weld.  :-\

I have considered stuff like that.  Unfortunately they will probably need to drill and grind and all that scary stuff.

Put some of those other deleted, no longer available, scary/shocked smilies here .....  :o

(Edit: Per your request - 2 small ones added to the popup, so you can express your feeling about going to the dentist--Glenn)     [shocked][scared]

G'nite

Nothing hurts.  [noidea'

We went prospecting a bit today.  Had a pretty good trip finding several mines on an old road I have been thinking about trying with the Jeep for a while.

Sassy and I went into a very nice old drift - mostly dry with a little spring inside.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000746.jpg)

Nice clear water was flowing out of a crack in the wall.  Gold and other minerals are often found near water. 

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000754.jpg)

They had done a pretty good job of cleaning this one out but I found a few nice samples along with some copper bearing ore that appeared to have gold with it.

The mine was pretty neat - branched out to 3 tunnels - I only went to the end of the one tunnel - probably about 100-150 ft in & then went out to find my son to tell him about it.  He found some other mines across another ravine & up the mountain.  Really cool place.  Would have looked in the mine more, but only had a little flashlight that kept going out & then Glenn was always pointing out the "neat looking spiders"  [scared]

We found a couple small areas where someone had been digging down to the bedrock nearby the mine.  My son dug some of the dirt up on the edge of the dig & panned it out - found several little pieces of gold - he was pretty excited - has been exploring & prospecting for gold this past year.  It was getting late so Glenn dug up a big bucket to bring home. 

It really is amazing how the 49er gold miners & those later on were able to explore the terrain - lots of just about straight up & down mountains, deep ravines, pretty rugged...  the mine we explored must have been picked mostly, all hard rock - they were really determined. 

Looks like fun! Also appears to be chilly.

I think you need to buy new flashlights, a couple per person, if you're going to go exploring things like that.

Sassy forgot her flashlight - or I didn't remind her.  I had 2 but invited her along so gave her one, as this was an easy access very safe mine compared to some I've been in.  It was almost handicap accessible.  :)  Sometimes I take my Ryobi light but forgot it on this trip.

It was warm in the mine compared to outside.  Probably not quite 60 but it felt like it. 

This mine was nearly all horizontal - in the drifts we explored -- I think I had one to go, but it was getting late.  I'll get better prepared for next time -- more lights.  I have a nice headlamp with 1 or 3 leds or flashlight bulb. We hadn't planned on finding more mines but made an unscheduled exploration stop. 

Glenn came home tonight after working down in the valley & asked me if I was ready to go spend the night in the mine - it wouldn't matter if it was dark - we'd bring plenty of lights & a couple coats & we could explore all we wanted to   [crz]  I told him I might have done it but since he showed me all the huge spiders...  n*

Looks pretty neat to find stuff like that. If there had been any gold minimg around here I might give it a whirl but I am in the wrong part of the state. LOL. I have enough on my plate.

Run up to Jerome, desdawg-- the Gold King Mine and interesting copper mining area/tourist trap, Verde Valley, Montezuma's Castle, Montezuma's Well -- lots of cool stuff to take your time and separate you from your money. :)

I know there was a lot of mining here in AZ, just not close to home. I like the idea of being able to roll the quad or the bike out the door and just take off without having to load and haul them somewhere. I keep the quad garaged in the mountains and the bike garaged here in the desert. Neither are street legal at this point. But wherever I am I have something to ride which makes me happy.

Sounds like fun desdawg.

I'm getting ready to build a small trommel - for in the back of the Cherokee I think.  I found a placer gold place I want to check out.  gotta gather junk together.

Free trommel plans.  http://www.geocities.com/fletcher1/plans.html

I enjoy projects like that. Make something usable out of stuff I have laying around. I haven't done one of those lately.

Had the neighbor with me Saturday and Sam, the Wonder Dog.  She loves it when I come by and is ready to jump into the Jeep and go mining.  She looks a bit intimidating here with the glowing eyes.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000764.jpg)

Don, I picked up a couple more good flashlights-- a tripod light with 1 3 or 6 leds turned on and holds 3, 6 or 9 batteries - Stanley I think, and a 3 watt Maglight mini led light w/focused beam that I wear on my belt.  It is worth the extra money but hard to turn loose of the cash when you first think of it.  Intense white light - 2 AA's.

Eyes that glow in the dark could be intimidating if you don't know who's making them.

I love Maglites, have a few AA's and an assortment of D's (2X, 3X, and a 5X)

Glenn with all those batteries I think I would make a trip to Sams and get rechargable batteries.  And from the sound of it you had better get a couple of packs.

Rechargeable batteries are nice. BUT, there is a thing or two I don't like about them. [1] it always seems the hours of use are less and [2] they have a quicker drop off than alkaline. That is, they go from giving full brightness useful light to nothing very quickly. Mind you the same can be said about LED flashlights and I do love them. They give very little warning that they're going to quit. But then they give many more hours of service. I guess that's what spares (lights and batteries) are for.

Oh! [3] NICads lose too much charge sitting there to be practical as emergency lights. And Li-Ion cost a bundle.  :-\ What's a guy to do?

I've never tried NiCads with an LED light. Anyone? Does the NiCads lower voltage have any problem effect?

I have thought about rechargeables, but I'm not always the most organized person in the world and I'm sure I would find myself with dead batteries too often.  So - it's mass purchasing for me - hopefully at some kind of a deal.

Do it Best alkalines are made by a major battery manufacturer so are sometimes a pretty good deal.

We had a bit of rain so I am hitting the prospecting pretty hard right now --

Found a bit of gold yesterday but it is a lot of work.  Not enough to pay for gas yet though.

This is going to follow the pattern of most of the '49ers. The only folks making money are the equipment sellers, etc.   ;D  Just put a high enough price tag on the recreational value you are receiving and you can rationalize the expenses that way, no problem.  ;)

Through the recreational value, everything is paid for -- and while I'm not a health nut, I really get a workout doing this.  Fortunately Suzy is willing to stand guard in case the marijuana growers decide to show up and want their water back. 

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000776.jpg)

I am not as bad as some regarding equipment expenditures.  A friend gave me a sluice off a dredge so I made the top part out of corrugated metal and left over screen.  A few dollars worth of PVC made the spray bars.  Mike loaned me a pump to try out, which I will probably trade work for later.  It is a little Tenaka 1" 2 cycle with a quiet muffler.  Pumps 1900 gph and will build up to about 50 psi -stated 114 feet of head.  I used less than 1 gallon of gas in 8 hours and only needed to run at medium high throttle.. 

Yep... I worked 8 hours for this little three dollars or so worth of gold, but it was fun.  The picture is a bit deceiving.  There is only a good pinch of gold there in the close up, but it is pretty nice looking.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000777_edited.jpg)

It is really interesting to do the same thing the 49ers were doing when this land was settled.  Sped up greatly because of the gold rush.  Yes -- it's true that the merchants made more than most of the 49ers.

The important thing is the 'fun' factor. It's worth a whole lot.

The '49ers weren't doing it for fun.

Such a change of priorities.  :)

So Suzy's one of the four. How old now and how are the others?

Puppy shots killed her brother and gave her seizures occasionally for a while.  She has one brother and one sister left.  Shots got 2 brothers out of 5 total.

Sassy kept the others and takes them back and forth between here and our other place when she goes to work.  They all seem to be doing well now and can create quite a path of destruction when they are all together.  Hopefully they will get over it pretty soon.  Suzy is pretty good almost all of the time .  I'm more of a dictator than
Sassy is but these are very hard headed pups.  Suzy is just getting to mind well enough that she gets to go prospecting. 

They are pretty good little dogs, but sometimes they have a bit too much energy.   As they learn what is allowed and what isn't they are more enjoyable.  They are about 7.5 months now.

While the 49er's and a couple mini rushes found the easy stuff, it is still out there but you have to look where they didn't to find anything.  It's a bit of work but, like you said...the fun ...the thrill of the hunt, makes it worth it.  What better reward could there be for a little success after a lot of hard work, than finding a bit of gold? :)

At the end of a day of hard 4-wheeling all I can hope for is that nothing broke.  ;D  But it's still very much fun.

I get that too-- the place I go is a hard 4 wheel drive road -- I don't think a 2 wd PU would make it out of there without weight in the back.  Sometimes I wonder if I will -- Jeep still runs a bit rough but hasn't stopped yet.

Jeep's been running pretty well lately after fixing a cracked trans cooler line.  I'm glad I was only about 10 miles from a store with fluid and a place by the road to fix it.  I cut a extra long hose and put it over the crack.  4 quarts of fluid and I was back in business.

If I had gone down to the mine, I would have been walking out and hitchhiking.

I have gone high tech.  Found plans on line for a mini trommel.  I call it a rotary high banker as there are no restrictions on high bankers.  We'll see how far that goes.  Likely they will not want to check me out where I go anyway as it is quite a drive in.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000783.jpg)

It is powered by an old drill motor I had but was afraid to use.  It is so big it would tear the arms off two guys and still not stop.  A welding inspector friend sold it to me for $40 a few years ago.  It has a #3 Morse Taper and 10 gear pinion that raised boats at a dry dock.  The end shaft was 1 1/4" solid steel with a groove so I reground the groove to fit a V belt.  The drill low speed was 165 RPM so with the ground in pulley and going around the 8 1/2" rotary screen, I achieved a speed of 24 RPM.  Target speed per the plan was 20 to 30 RPM, so it was perfect.  The designer used chains and had problems with lockups when rocks got in them.  With the belt drive it is totally safe.  The belt works as a clutch if a rock gets stuck.  It will not break the 1" PVC spray bar and would not tear your arm off either.  Simply roll it backward - even with the motor running - clear the jam and let go.  No way to get hurt on it but still it rotates the rocks and washes them fine if there are no jams.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000786.jpg)

Slots are cut in the spray bar with a 1/16" thick metal abrasive blade giving me a double row water spray the length of the screen.  Large rocks are washed and pass straight through and small dirt, sand , rocks and gold  under 3/8 pass through the screen and go through the sluice then out the end of the sluice.  Troughs are made from 8" stove pipe - a 1' and 2' piece.  Thanks to Bill Fletcher for the free plan.

http://www.infowest.com/personal/w/wfletcher/prospecting.html

Having a break down like that could earn you the cowbell award on one of our club runs.  :-\

Lot's of stuff there on that link.  :)

Trommel looks cool. Let us know when you break even.  ;D ;D

I guess you have to haul that in and out all the time. How much weight?

I don't think it weighs over 75 lbs.  The hopper comes off and the spray bar comes off so it fits right behind the back seat of the Cherokee.

I now have about 3 pinches of gold.  Probably a couple dollars a pinch? I'm probably dreaming but it is fun.  I have stayed out until 10 pm shoveling and got home about 11:30 after loading up.  I have a headlight and drop light to run off the generator.  I'm getting a smaller generator.  That is what is heavy now -- Lincoln 3000 watt welder generator - 200 lbs?

Boy was I glad I didn't 4 wheel down to the mine.  What does the cow bell award entail? hmm ;D

I also have a small electric sump pump to pump into a storage tank on site, and the Tenaka 2 cycle pump for the trommel.  Buckets and screens and a plastic cleanout tub -- cords - hoses -- pick - shovel - it's a load and hence why I like to work a long day when I get going.

The first time I read the last post my weary mind interpreted that as 3 ounces of gold.  :o I thought "whoa!" and starting thinking I'd better plan a trip to gold country. Then I read it again and put the plans on hold.

How much power do you need out of the generator?

The cowbell is awarded to the hapless member who has a simple mishap on the trail, or road to the trail, and does not have the spares to effect a repair, temporary or permanent. It's also awarded for doing something amazingly stupid. Once earned it must be worn on the vehicle in an obvious position, and free to swing and rattle as you negotiate the bumps.

Once in your possession the only way to get rid of it is to be on a trail ride when somebody else experiences a qualifying event. I have possession right now.  :-[

How did I earn it? We stopped for lunch in the middle of what we call Tank Trap, a trail through a seldom wet stream bed. It's extremely rocky, nothing but rocks for a half mile or so.  [cool]  After lunch I experienced brain fade and somehow inexplicably managed to get myself high centered.   d*  I backed over a rock, it slipped and/or rolled a little and I found myself just about perfectly balanced to where not even one wheel could get a grip on any of the loose rubble. Not even with both F & R lockers engaged. Sat there liker a bobblehead.  :-[  A two foot pull with a strap had me underway again.

Wanna go on a ride?

Forgot the picture I went outside in the cold and dark to take...

(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/cherokee/cowbell.jpg)

1500 watts would do me.  Mike has one that will do 2000 and is reasonably small.

I ran the inverter first time but the battery - spare lasted only about 4 hours then I had to run the jeep for a while to recharge -- long while.

I made it to the store under my own power - low gear part time - taking it easy.  At least I had tools and made the repair alongside the road.  No tow truck necessary.

Yeah -- only 3 pinches.  Ounces would be nice.

Nice bell by the way.  :)

 rofl  good story, MtnDon!   :)

Well...Suzy and I couldn't wait to get back out prospecting again.  I loaded the car with food, sleeping bag - pad- tarp etc -- made modifications to the trommel, picked up the new generator, gas everything.

I got to the hardware store for a couple more items - single burner propane stove, and a steel gold pan -- I figured I could cook in it to if needed.  I also brought a spare small microwave.  It worked great off the generator.  Had a couple corn dogs and Ramen - cup of noodles.  A steel gold pan needs to be burned on a fire to work properly anyway, so cooking could be good as long as I burn all of the grease out of it.  I got to the store and found my back electric window wouldn't go down.  No problem -- the safety switch wasn't working and no way in from the inside as the Jeep was fully loaded.  I knew it was the switch as I had bypassed it because it was broke and not stocked here.  I put slip in connectors but one was a bit loose.  I tightened it , but the other one came out.  No worries.  This is a miner Jeep.  I took my thin blade cut off saw and cut out a nice little door on the outside - hinged at the top-- redid the wires and it now works great -- just have to be sure to do it at the back to close so I don't break the window.  No problem.

I shoveled for a good 8 hours and was burned out so we made a bed in the back of the jeep.  My feet were wet so I pulled the sleeping bag over me on the pad in the back of the jeep.  Suzy jumped in on top and nailed the bag down to the back of my legs by laying on it.  I couldn't pull enough and she wasn't giving so I finally unzipped it and got coverage that way. 

The night was rather warm and overcast.  The spring peepers were sounding nice and I finally went to sleep...until the rain started.  Drops hit me on the feet and we had to get up -- pan out the gold we had and put everything away.  With the smaller generator it was pretty easy - tons of junk but it packed in the Cherokee quite well.  We 4 wheeled it out of there -- got home -- had a bite and started an nice warm fire.  Still a good day.

Here's a little video of the trommel working.  I put it on high speed today -- works better but hangs up rocks a bit more. 

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/th_P1000798.jpg) (https://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/?action=view&current=P1000798.flv)

Saw a piece on the news tonight about a resurgence in gold prospecting and potential mining in AZ. Near Rye and also in the Quartzite mountains. They had video of club hobby prospectors actually finding small nuggets. Happy guys.  ;D

I have noticed that the media is pushing for another gold rush everywhere.  Article on the gold forum also.  I think they will get everybody to stock up and invest in gold then call a national emergency and use the old law to rip it all off from us. 

That one is from no where else except the inside of my head. d*

On another note-- Suzy and I just returned from another day of prospecting -- rather short as I was making a small dredge this morning for the little seasonal creek I'm near at the mine area.

We didn't get much color so I grabbed a pick hammer and shovel, rousted a sleepy Suzy out of the Cherokee seat and went to check out the other partly closed mine shaft.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000812.jpg)

A bit of shoveling and the hole was large enough for a troglodyte to enter.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000813.jpg)

Suzy went ahead and checked for monsters. 

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000814.jpg)

Inside looking out.  This one was not especially stable -- slabs hanging from the roof made me decide to cut the exploration short, besides I didn't see anything of interest there.

I put some Oxalic acid in my little gold specimen bottles about a week ago.  It is the same thing as Timberwash -- Saver Systems I think.  I didn't know where I would find any then read that on the gold forum -- went out and looked in the trailer and -- sure enough I bought 2 gallons a few years ago.  Now it's really shiny.

See -- it pays to keep junk around.

Found a little gold in the last couple days since the snow is stopped and melting but Suzy beat me.  We were at the mine and she found herself a pair of sunglasses. 

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000815.jpg)

 [cool] dawg

See that little trommel above for washing the rocks and sand and getting the gold out of it?

Now imagine that little trommel on steroids.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000841.jpg)

A friend gave me one.  While I don't care for the design, when I can pick something like this up for barter, I do it.  Modifications can be done.

BTW, I found silver the other day.

How do you tell if it's silver you ask?

Easy.  It comes in the shape of spoons and a fork and has the manufacturer's name on it.  Only silver plate and most of it was gone.  Silver plate was generally put on at the rate of 1 ounce to the square foot of surface area I read.

I traced 2 of them back and found they were made in 1915.  Other similar but no date on the net.

Oxalic acid.  Good to remove dark water marks from furniture as well.

Thanks John.  I have used it on gold, but didn't think of it for the silver -- had 2 gallons of Timberbrite which is Oxalic Acid.  I'll drop them in some, although there is not much silver left on them after being underground for who knows how many years.

I got permission to check out a new -- old historic mine the other day, so I rousted Suzy out of bed to get to work early.

She sometimes sleeps pretty soundly though so had to holler at her a couple times to get up.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000845.jpg)

We took the backhoe to the mine last night after I adjusted the steering brake and clutch on the right side so we were anxious to get it to work today.

At lunch break Suzy and I decided to take a look down the gulch and see if we could find any interesting looking sand bars, or likely places to check for gold.  We were over boulders and trees and through the brush when Suzy spotted something and started barking.

I kept telling her, "Like, Suzy, shut up already," but she would hear nothing of it.

I looked up on the hill about 30 feet away through the brush and rocks and there was a young boxer pup looking at us.  He didn't move -- didn't bark, just sat there in the brush staring at us while Suzy kept barking like crazy.  I figured his owner was walking up the road as there was nothing out in this part of the country for 1/4 mile or more.

I decided to climb the side of the gulch through the brush and poison oak to see what was going on with him.  He let me get close but when I went to pat his head he took a nip at my hand.  Not a mean nip.  It was a scared nip, so I put my hand lower and approached him more slowly.  He didn't move from the spot he was sitting in and this time he allowed me to pet him.  I checked him over and found several cuts on the left but it was not until he turned around that I saw the 1/2 inch x 2 1/2 inch gash in his right shoulder.  I petted him a bit and in a couple of minutes he climbed up in my lap.  I carefully picked him up and carried him up the side of the gulch through the trees and brush, then another 1/8 mile or so to the area where I had my backhoe and jeep at the mine.

No collar, no ID, no ads in the local classifieds and I thought maybe he was attacked by an animal.  After reading up on the breed, I think I know why he had a gash.  I think a breeder brought him out here in the country and shot him and he managed to escape.

QuoteIn the past, breeders often euthanized white puppies at birth; today, most breeders place white puppies in pet homes with spay/neuter agreements. White Boxers are disqualified from conformation showing by the breed standard, and are prohibited from breeding by every national Boxer club in the world. They can compete in non-conformation events such as obedience and agility, and like their colored counterparts do quite well as service and therapy dogs.

I assume from the above that the breeders couldn't sell him so brought him out to a backwoods road to do him in.  Now that I think about it I remember hearing 2 shots nearby last night.  I didn't think anything of it because people are always shooting around here.  Making their vain, means nothing, little rules so they can go to dog shows and pretend that they are cool.

I brought him home and gave him a shower with flea and tick soap so he could stay inside.  Suzy was pretty jealous but I told her she would just have to deal with it.  He was her dog. ::)

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000847.jpg)

Sometimes it's tough being white.

So what's Suzy going to name him?

Does she like "Digger" as in Gold digger.

She called him Spike, -- don't ask me why.  Maybe the Golden Spike. ???

I looked the wound over a bit more and it is a direct line up if he is sitting and someone meant to shoot him in the head from the front.

I was reading up on Boxers a bit when I found the above info...unfortunately it also said that these dogs tend to be a bit overly flatulent.  Unfortunately I guess it is true.  I think Suzy is going to have to get him some Beano.  [crz]

Update on Suzy's dog.

A neighbor lady who is a ranch manager on one of my jobs looked at him today.  She raises Horses and a few dogs.

She said he is an American Bulldog.  Likely was shot because he has a few flaws that would make him unsellable as a show dog-- who knows?  He has one eyelid that has excess skin that a vet needs to Fix. 

She also checked and said he still has his puppy teeth so probably around four months or so old.

It would seem the person who shot Spike has a few flaws themselves. Ditto for the solution.  :o

She said it is usually white trash who do things like this.  She is a retired-CHP officer and knows quite a bit about this kind of thing.

He's a great little guy -- follows me everywhere - often has a funny little whine if Suzy or I get out of sight.

Currently He's sleeping in my lap.  His bullet wound is much better today -- down to about a 1/4 inch wide and healing well.  You can see it from yesterday in the above photo.

American Bulldogs are supposed to be gentle and loving and at the same time fearless when facing down an intruding larger animal or human.

We just had 6 beagle/basset hound (?) pups stay with us for a few weeks. They're gone on to nice adopted homes with kids. I was in love with one of the girls... came close to keeping her.  And one of her brothers. d*   :-\ :-\

.

We had a beagle in 1971 when my first son was born.  She was a good little dog too.

Suzy and Spike were able to go to the job with me today - fixing a 20000 gallon water tank for a former NBA player who bought a vineyard up here in a remote valley.

He also has an ancient mine site on his ranch there.  We are working out a deal to get permission to prospect it possibly tomorrow.

Here are Suzy and Spike resting quietly after eating all the cow pie and road apples their little bellies could hold.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000849.jpg)

Here is an ancient arrastra just below the old mine site.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000855.jpg)

There are old historic walls all over this area from the gold rush days.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000851-1.jpg)y

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
-Mark Twain

Nice pics Glenn.  I have a couple of walls like those at our place.  One is basalt, the other limestone.
Also several mines and tailings piles.  Been wondering if it would be worth it to dig into those prospects?
Would hate to find out I've been literally sitting on enough to pay for my house.

It would pay to check them out. 

In the old days they were going after the easy stuff.  It is estimated that only the easy 5% or so has been found. 

It can be hard to find the harder stuff though, but it is possible to find a years wagesor more in a day sometimes.  I haven't done it but know several who have.

In your area Woods Creek is know to be great for dredging -- if you can get in.

Quote from: glenn kangiser on February 13, 2008, 11:02:45 PM


(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000845.jpg)


(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000847.jpg)

  Ah  inside that gruff Trogulodite beats a heart of gold . Nice  dogs , they "fit" you well  :)

Aw, shucks.  :-[

After a few failures I finally managed to figure out how to put our local mines into a Google Earth database that would be viewable by others.

Here is where the data comes from -- which is a compilation of various mine reports. http://www.mindat.org/lsearch.php?loc=mariposa
Location Search - mariposa

Here is a link to what I have so far.  This is temporary but I will update it from time to time then put in a permanent link when updates slow down. 

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1120471/an/0/page/0/gonew/1#UNREAD

Looks like it is working in Google Maps now too.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=1120561&t=k&om=1

New link

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1119746&page=6&vc=1&PHPSESSID=#Post1119746
Google Earth Community: California Mother Lode - Mines and Information

Today I loaded Sassy into the Bush Hog and we went exploring nearby local mines and points of interest. 

There are several BLM areas around that many times you will not find out about unless you get a map.  Seems most land owners would rather that you assume it is theirs than let you know, but when we got out and asked a bit we found out there were pieces of public land we could go out and enjoy.

Here is the Permit mine - a cool old place we found about 3 miles from the underground complex.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000929.jpg)

Inside the mill.  Some of the equipment is still there.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000923-1.jpg)

Quote from: glenn kangiser on March 10, 2008, 12:23:48 AM

Here is the Permit mine - a cool old place we found about 3 miles from the underground complex.

Inside the mill.  Some of the equipment is still there.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000923-1.jpg)

Humm if it moved realllllllllllly sllllowwwwwwwww they'd never miss it  :)

Gotta love that OSHA approved guard rail / chicken wire system.

   [cool]  Neat place , any more photos of the old posts and beams ??  [cool]

 Yanno look at that old post and beam place right in the heart of earthquake country , still standing. What is it about 35 feet maybe more to the ridge ??

And those post appear to be spliced at the beam lines. Are the stairs still such that it was safe to walk up them ? Or did you try?

How old would you guess the building is ? Any clues??

Beams and post  White / Garry Oak or your type of "Garry/ Live/ White Oak" can't recall the type you have down there! ???

 That Goggle map is scary , :o   taken this past summer I'd guess by MY GARDEN AND GRASS conditions  :o I was home , or at least the company van was in the back by the shop , but car was gone. 

Big brother IS watching  :o

I wanted to get some pix of one area where the beams were rabbeted into other  ones or posts, but couldn't get a good shot due to the chicken wire.  Ill look through my stuff and see what I can find -- I do have more pix and a bit of video.

We have White and Blue oak but much of this seemed to be pine  - some may have been Incense cedar round posts near the top.

The stairs still felt pretty substantial and both Sassy and I went up and down them-- one at a time. d*

Located in 1894 as the Bulldog and Bullpup claims - renamed the permit in 1928.  I am going to guess that the mill building was built around then as I didn't notice a bunch of square nails but the picture in my book shows the same building before 1957 and it looks well established.

I'll recheck my photos for things of interest.

Another level below so all in all probably near 50 feet.

Found your house, eh PEG.  Cool -- yeah --as I keep saying -- there is no hiding from big brother.

Here are a couple more.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000903.jpg)

Splice is obviously a later repair, but effective.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000909.jpg)

A few of the joints show.  This does not look like the quality of work that was in the Princeton Mine pictures but obviously good enough...80 to 100 years should be fine in most cases.  If this building was kept up -- roofing repaired etc. it could have a lot more years.

A few more.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000913.jpg)

Medium small Jaw crusher

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000906.jpg)

I love exploring sites like this. Too bad there are none around my part of NM to speak of.

It's surprising in a way to see so much relatively intact glass.


Is there any effort to keep some of these old structures from the inevitable decay? There are old sites in CO I've visited over the decades and I can see the deterioration over time. A few more boards blown off, or stolen ? ,

My new cabin site is right in the middle of old mining towns with buildings all over the place. Chesaw, was a old town that miners founded. Night Hawk, Bodi, Republic, ect are near me. The new Buckhorn Mountain Gold Mine is being dug with in a few mile of the cabin property. When the weather is nicer I will be able to visit a few. I am glad the trucks going to the new mine are not going by my place cause it will be over 100 trips in a 24 hour period every day when it gets going full blast.  They go down the Pointac Ridge Rd but turn around 3-4 miles away onto the USFS Road to get to it. This does keep the roads clearer during the winter cause of the trafic to the mine. The county and mine owners keeps the roads maintained better. To get to my place I go the back way it is a nicer drive and the same distance and miss all the trafic. Mark
A link to the history of the town;
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/wa/chesaw.html

It is quite common for BLM to go into these places and destroy them.  Maybe some of them are just junk -- I don't know, but I heard that there were 7 on their list  for destruction this year around here.

They say they don't want the liability (heard it through the grapevine) and the people with the claims don't keep their site work or payola current.

This one is off the beaten path a bit.  I wasn't aware it was still there until this last weekend.

To me, it's public historic property.  The above still has a claim owner, but I don't know what the deal is.  It must not be patented or would not show on the BLM map it seems.

Glenn thats not you is it?  Wonder if it is gold that he's looking for? Bet he won't look long.

(https://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/redoverfarm/scenes/country%20plans/mining.jpg)

Hmm...no not me but it looks safe... ???

...lets see -- 4' x 6' x 4' rock --- =96 cu ft @ 165 lbs per cu. ft= 15840 lbs

...a 4" pole and a 3" pole = 12.57 + 7.07= 19.64square inches wood -- so fiber stress is under 1000 psi== should stay there.  [crz]... providing the ground doesn't give way...actually only 1/2 is supported by the poles so that's a great safety factor. ::)

Bonnet Gardens, Bonnet Spring and Bonnet mine.  This is the area of terraced gardens where, in the gold rush days, there was a vegetable garden to help feed the hungry miners.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1010722.jpg)

Bonnet Spring flows right out of the ground from the top wall and has a rounded stone spring box surrounding the opening the same as it was left by the early day miners and farmers.  The Bonnets had a mine also but I haven't found it yet.  I am working in the area and hope to explore more there.

An old oak stands guarding the spring.  The rock walls are all the remain of this once busy farm.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1010724.jpg)

Note that at the top of this page is the Permit mine mill.  It burned in the recent Telegraph Fire.  You are seeing some of the last photos ever taken with it still intact.   BLM says they are maintaining as a burned historic ruin now.

Here is a picture of it I took a few weeks ago.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1010665.jpg)

It's still here ---

Not mine but a good friends from Mariposa county --- this and a bunch more nice pieces. 

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000025.jpg)

of course I can't tell you where ...but yes ...a fresh find.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1000023.jpg)

You mean people still find gold rofl rofl

Yes, Whitlock.  I have been told... well it is rumored, that it is still there if you know where to look..

In fact it is said that more than 90% remains to be found.  Unfortunately it is the hard 90%.  Perhaps someday I will introduce you to a friend who knows how to find it... ::)

Here is a old mine in the high county. Neat place most of it is still there.



(https://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq278/Minermatt/4-7-08129.jpg)


(https://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq278/Minermatt/4-7-08123.jpg)


(https://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq278/Minermatt/4-7-08121.jpg)

Pretty cool, Whitlock!   8)

Wow SO many threads SO little time..Ill share a few Pics  in the morning.....   Old school vs New school......... Great Pics whitlock. Crunching Numbers you posted 1 pics with close to 15 grand worth of antiques in it Keep It under your Hat my friend Or scavengers will work it over hard.

We have enough of a hard time finding junk for us to acquire for ourselves.  I called BLM about the status of the  stuff at the Permit Mine and just because I called and asked rather than stole it, they decided to lock me and the public out of there.  A--holes.

Everything is still at this old mine-ore cars,shaft buckets,jacklegs,slushers,air tuggers,mucking machine,air trimmer,drill steel,jaw crusher,ball mill,flotation cells,winfrey tables,cabins, blacksmith shop with all the tools and even a little gold heh
Too bad it is so remote one could make a museum out of it.

More pictures-(https://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq278/Minermatt/4-7-08130.jpg)



(https://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq278/Minermatt/4-7-08128.jpg)


(https://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq278/Minermatt/4-7-08122.jpg)

i really love these old pics that people are posting. you can almost see the ghosts of the people that worked and lived there. W and Glen and Don, is there any land out in your areas that is still reasonable/ i think MD answered me on this before in another post but they sure are pretty areas.

I really like the following listing; a little over $13K an acre. But they will not break it up to sell and we don't want to get into financing and subdividing to sell 5 or 6 acres plots.  28 acres surrounded on 3 sides by national forest. Trees, meadow...

http://www.jemezproperties.com/secludedac.htm (http://www.jemezproperties.com/secludedac.htm)

(http://www.jemezproperties.com/images/ribera.jpg)

thanx md, still out of my price range but very nice. coming from a cold area, what did you find was the biggest adjustment you had to make? any danger from your lack of familiarity initially?

That place is a beauty, W.  Neat stuff there.

Dan - there is an occasional piece rather far from town - Cheapest I remember was an old rather barren former talc or gypsum? mine claim for $39000 - but really only hunting property-far from town  - no water - fight BLM for access etc.  I passed on it.

speaking or water, out here in the great lakes region we don't think too much about it(other than quality) but in the west/SW i know it is very important. so my question for the forumites who live in those areas is...is water still easily available by conventional means? ie. wells, bodies of water, etc. or does it encompass major lifestyle adjustments?

Come on Glenn sell apaknad a piece of your place. I like him and I think we could turn him into a Mariposan. This could be the start of your commune  [rofl2]

thanx W. if glen sold me some of his property i would have to listen to him complain bout how much he had to lower his asking price to make it affordable to me for the rest of my life. don't know if i could handle that. d*
well, i guess i should do something constructive. i have some gold plating to finish up on in the basement. i would like to post pics on some of the things i have plated but i have never done that here, only e-mail attachments. and for some reason i only have actual physical pics. so it would be a pic of a pic. any suggestions?

Quote from: apaknad on November 20, 2008, 12:44:00 PM
coming from a cold area, what did you find was the biggest adjustment you had to make? any danger from your lack of familiarity initially?

If I understand you correctly and to make it clear to readers who may have jumped in the middle... I moved from Western Canada (784 ft elevation) to NM. Home is in high desert country (5500 feet), the cabin in a forested mountain area (8800 ft).

The elevation change also meant an adjustment in endurance until the body acclimatized. Going to the mountains and working was an adjustment in that respect as well. Going back and forth, spending time up there, now means no problems with that.

The need to drink more water, to drink water before one feels thirsty as it's so dry you don't feel yourself sweat unless really doing hard work was a big adjustment. And that is a big danger to visitors unfamiliar with the potential for serious problems. I had a bout with dehydration myself about 30 years ago when we visited UT in July. Since then I have been smarter. On a 4WD trip near Moab, UT one summer my fellow 4 wheelers and I came across 2 mountain bikers who were near death from lack of water. They were from NJ and had set out with 2 typical bike bottles of water each. One was nearly unconscious. One of my travel buddies is a doctor. We revived them, fed them oranges, duct taped some 2 liter soda bottles of water (our emergency water to share) to their bikes and pointed them in the right direction. Checked with them later that night when back in town and they were ok. (We told them they had to call us or we'd send the sheriff after them)

One has to adjust to a reduced power output from any naturally aspirated internal combustion engine as well. The old Suzuki 4x4 absolutely sucked at 7500+. High mountains are one place turbo diesels really shine.

There was also a cultural adjustment. Everything in NM is mañana.  I got a lot of work from just showing up when I said I would.

Mariposa a long long time ago looking east I have tons of old pictures like this most I inherited.

(https://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq278/Minermatt/4-7-08024.jpg)

This is a picture of the Bagby rail station The railroad went from Yosemite to Merced falls

(https://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq278/Minermatt/4-7-08034.jpg)

Here is a picture of the town of Mormon Bar all that is there know is a field full of cows

(https://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq278/Minermatt/4-7-08023.jpg)

Some affluant person needs to restore an old town as it was in early times and turn it into something that would show what life was like back then.  But someone would probably ruin the concept because it didn't have handicap bars in the bathroom or something.  Around here most is like that already.  I mean the old way it was because alot of it still is.  ;D   Where else can you go through the complete county of 942 sq miles and only have 3 stop lights. And they are within 2 blocks of themselves.  But we do have the largest movable object in the world.

thanx MD,
i always try to learn from others experience. i asked in case i decide to visit the area or move there.BTW, loved the pic of the jeep goin' up the mountain a few days back. don't think my F-150 could do that. ;D

Quote from: Redoverfarm on November 20, 2008, 03:14:28 PM
But we do have the largest movable object in the world.

I bite. ?

The telescope at the National Radio Observatory at Greenbank.  The dish is approximately 300 ft dia.  That is what they claim.  It can rotate 360 deg and not deviate more than the thickness of a piece of paper.

http://www.gb.nrao.edu/

Quote from: apaknad on November 20, 2008, 04:43:08 PM
thanx MD,
I asked in case I decide to visit the area or move there.

Spring or fall are best time to visit the SW IMO. Summer too hot and winter sometimes unpredictable.

Quote from: Whitlock on November 20, 2008, 01:05:29 PM
Come on Glenn sell apaknad a piece of your place. I like him and I think we could turn him into a Mariposan. This could be the start of your commune  [rofl2]

I'm in a 20 acre minimum area but even at that each piece only has about a couple acres that are relatively flat and relatively easy to use.   Not that I don't like neighbors but they may have to cover their eyes if I have to run out to the generator au naturale.

Glen, what makes you think anyone would want to look? [scared]

I'm such a fine example of perfection, I guess... ::)

Nice

Glen I been reading thru and Noticed your like to Prospect a tad bit. well remeber Old tunnels and such aint all that safe....this coming from a guy that spent More time chisng thru old tunnels than most people do walking down main street.... anyway ya know gold Is exteemely heavy My brothers and I  have been known to take a shop vac in and vacumm the floor then pan it out.... can turn some nice color. their are plans on the net  for a gas powered shopvac built with a leaf blower might be handy for someone stumbling around in the dark.LOL
anyway when ya get stuff like in volume and its say 1940 what do ya do?
(https://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/NVWolfer/100_1352chrisgold.jpg)


here is an answer i have found at an old mining site i have posted pic of in another thread tak a gander and see if ya can throw and idea what it is ill explain it in a few days
(https://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/NVWolfer/Mill.jpg)
(https://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/NVWolfer/mill2.jpg)
im sure ya can figure it out if ya were standing next to it But give it a whirl it shows the how some old timers use there heads. and No im not calling ya old

OK -- taking a stab at what I can see.....

It looks like a hammer mill to crush the ore, then a conveyor up,  to drop into some kind of home made centrifugal separator.  Maybe swirling water - heavys settle to the bottom and lighter waste goes out over the rim at the spout?

If anybody recognizes this tin box let me know.  I found 3 of them in an old mining site.

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/tinboxes.jpg)

They measure about 3"x 3 1/4" x 5/16" when closed and have 6 holes in the back - one in the center and 5 evenly spaced in about a 1 inch dia circle.  The hinges still work and all were closed and under a few inches of soil.

Haven't a clue Glenn.  Maybe it is to let that old moldy money breath ;D

Quote from: Wolfer on November 23, 2008, 04:32:46 AM
Nice

Glen I been reading thru and Noticed your like to Prospect a tad bit. well remeber Old tunnels and such aint all that safe....this coming from a guy that spent More time chisng thru old tunnels than most people do walking down main street.... anyway ya know gold Is exteemely heavy My brothers and I  have been known to take a shop vac in and vacumm the floor then pan it out.... can turn some nice color. their are plans on the net  for a gas powered shopvac built with a leaf blower might be handy for someone stumbling around in the dark.LOL
anyway when ya get stuff like in volume and its say 1940 what do ya do?
(https://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/NVWolfer/100_1352chrisgold.jpg)


here is an answer i have found at an old mining site i have posted pic of in another thread tak a gander and see if ya can throw and idea what it is ill explain it in a few days
(https://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/NVWolfer/Mill.jpg)
(https://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/NVWolfer/mill2.jpg)
im sure ya can figure it out if ya were standing next to it But give it a whirl it shows the how some old timers use there heads. and No im not calling ya old

Wolfer anyting gas powered underground will kill you.Not a good idea my friend.
:)nice pictures

Good catch, W.  I missed that and think of it each time I get a wild mining idea -- wouldn't do it but didn't catch it.  d*

We have 3 dead guys near here from running a generator just inside a mine.  CO overpowered all of them one after the other. 

good catch  the gas vaccum is designed for crevasing and such nvr even thought about co2 :o, when we used generator and shop vacs we always left the gens in the trk and ran lots of extension cord, glad someone was lookin out for us.


good eye glen   it driven by a set of duels off the sterling in the  cabin pic. Material is fed into the hopper  and into the mill portion thru gravity. It then is picked up my the elevator and dropped inthe pan...... notice the pan is hanging by chain there is reason,  chain carries vibration and allows for free movement..   the pan hangs at angle to the ground and has a small mercury contianment pool right below the lip. it is then used like a giant gold pan.

as for the tins...... They look Like cap tins seen'm round and seen'm square but the holes r different

ok, here's my guess. it's a dollar bill ;D yay, i win. hmmm, no wait. i didn't answer the question. well, could it be a cigarette case for after you rolled your own? ???

We thought about the cigarette tins, Dan - roll your own could be possible but they would be pretty skinny.  Maybe 1/4 inside depth.

We also considered the idea they may be blasting cap tins, Kyle and that one is still in as a possibility.  No identifiable marks on the cans.  The ones you saw had holes also? so that could be it.  Holes to vent moisture I assume.  I just didn't find a size match on the net. 

Found one on ebay that looks like it but is embossed.

It sold for 195.40   :o

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/blastingcaptin.jpg)

Some of the mining stuff remaining in the country from back then is simply astonishing.  A few years ago we visited Warren Id where there are remains of a massive gold dredge, which kept going upriver till it ran out of river.

picture here:
http://idahohistory.cdmhost.com/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/p265501coll1&CISOPTR=332&REC=11 (http://idahohistory.cdmhost.com/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/p265501coll1&CISOPTR=332&REC=11)

Warren is close to nothing.  Dirt road in to this day.  The entire dredge, piece by piece was brought in by mule or ox teams pulling wagons.  How many  dredge buckets would fit on a wagon?  And the dredge chain, the boiler, and engine?  All assembled in the sticks.

Dang, these people WORKED!

We had one nearby - I understand a lot of it went back to work in Canada IIRC.

Tuolumne Gold Dredge

(http://www.hmdb.org/Photos/22/Photo22100.jpg)

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=7323
   
By Richard Wisehart, April 19, 2008   
   
1. Tuolumne Gold Dredge Marker

Inscription. Behind this monument rests the historic Tuolumne Gold Dredge which started operation at Patricksville, just east of this location, on June 15, 1938. A Walter Johnson No. 52 Model, it floated on a self-created pond of water. It was larger than a football field, weighed over 2500 tons, and cost $543,148 to construct. The dredge used electricity to drive 120 4000 lb. buckets 70 ft. deep to recover gold. It ceased operation in July 1951. The total amount of gold recovered is unknown.

Erected 1998 by Estanislao Chapter No. 58, E Clampus Vitus.

It is hard to imagine how they got this equipment into the places they got it.  Some machines were made in small enough pieces to pack in, but many were not and still they got them into the locations they wanted,

holy tamales batman...now that's what i call a dredge! glen, you got one of those? [cool]

It is about an hour drive or less away.  Not mine though.  I was at it one time years ago before the owner sold part of it.  Bummer - More info I read closer.  Australia - not Canada it appears got the parts.

"Regarding Tuolumne Gold Dredge. The dredge is listed in the National Register of Historical Places as Structure #71000208. It is located on private property and in the 1980's the owner of the property sold a portion of the dredge to a buyer who moved that portion to Australia."

Wish I could find a good old pix of it.

There are miles and miles of tailings from that dredge.  Snelling is a giant rock pile all around where this thing was floated on its own lake.-- power lines followed it across the valley.

Here is one that was in Sacramento area - http://www.museumca.org/goldrush/qtvr-dredge.html

Click on the picture and hold---- on the linked page - not this one - slide the mouse to look at the panorama.

More info this page is linked from.

http://www.museumca.org/goldrush/fever19-dr.html

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/yubadredge.jpg)

This one is similar to the way the La Grange one looked when I first saw it.

Glenn I was watching a show in which they said there were 47,000 abandoned mines in CA.  Sad part is that they are going around sealing them up. :(

Yup - the Forestry and BLM and environmental wackos are destroying history as fast as they can.  You have some good stuff in your area, John.  I don't know how far.  Ever check it?

No I never have glenn.  The only thing I know of at the bottom or the back of a shaft is Coal.  The price  is not high enough to go digging for it by hand.

The fun is in the hunt and the historical exploration. :)