Popular Post mn90403 Posted July 22, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted July 22, 2020 Last night I wanted to go out and see the Comet so I needed to go to a dark sky. I know a couple of very dark sky places where I have hunted nuggets in the past. I had checked the weather and it said it was going to be 106 for a high and still at 100 at sunset but it was a pleasant 88 when I got there. I left the coast at 4 PM and the trip was just awful with traffic. It took 4.5 hours for a 3 hour trip. I got to the viewing area at a good time and couldn't see anything because the sky was still too bright because the sun had just set. Before I could get my boots on a couple of the red ants had already stung me. While I was waiting I started to detect. I was getting some little bbs and some trash so I was in an area that had not been completely worked. Meanwhile the sky is getting dark and then I see a faint glimpse of the Comet. I tried to take some pictures but I don't have those skills so I'll show a sunset picture. I could see the Comet well with the unaided eye but it is not possible to see details. It has quite a long tail against the dark sky. I was detecting with a light and checking back against the sky until it became too difficult for my eyes to adjust from lighted ground to sky. I concentrated on my detecting as the Big Dipper rotated and the Comet got too close to the horizon. At midnight I had no nugget and I wanted to make a short move. As you can see the moon is a sliver and it set so the desert is a very dark place. I think I would be there until sunrise if I didn't use the GPS on 7000. The car gets lost after a 100 plus yards or so. I had two detectors with me but I was determined to use the 15x10 Xcoil and find its first nugget. About an hour at the new location and several hot rocks later I got an almost 'ghost sound' and decided to scrape. The signal got better and it wasn't surface trash but I had dug hot rocks this deep already. When I got down 6-7 inches the target was out. I knew it wasn't big but I could see a little hot rock and I captured it with the magnet. I waved over the spot and the response was still there. Could it really be an end to the skunk? The last time I detected for gold was April 3. I had been out 3 other times this year with no result. I had dug bullet pieces tonight that I was 'wishing' were golden in color but all were dull gray. I separated the scoop material and heard a little thunk and saw a glimmer of gold. It was time to relax. This was a .4g nugget. I've found larger nuggets, smaller nuggets and more nuggets than this night but I had accomplished my goal. I had seen the Comet and gotten a nugget. It was time to get back safely and not fall asleep on the 3 hour drive. I got back at 5 AM before the traffic this time. Mitchel 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Good photos Mitchel. I love the look of the country you get to detect in over there. I read about that comet but we don`t get to see this one in the southern hemisphere 😞 and well done getting a bit of gold. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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