Up Ta Camp

[rvpopeye]

34 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

Those carnival/fair sites have got to be loaded, if they haven't been cleaned out by others.  Loaded, with trash, sure.  But money is flying in and out of pockets like there's no tomorrow at those get-togethers.  Food, drinks, rides, sideshows, and contests of all kinds.  Attendees plan on coming home with empty pockets and sometimes that means drops for us, decades later.  Stay on the good side of the custodians and you've got a hunting site for life.

Fer sure ! I will be doing that but probably head back to the SW in the next few years . 

Think I might have lizard blood , the cold kills me more every year.🙄

[F350Platinum]

16 hours ago, rvpopeye said:

They would probably be a bit unhappy if I dug everything that beeps here

This reminds me of a campground I worked over last summer, RVP. Lotsa beeps, mitigated some of it by lifting and the rest by ID. What didn't pass the smell test turned out to be a silver dime, a ton of change, and a few rings, one of them gold. Oh, and a plastic rooster. 😀

One day I forced myself to use kac's Park Probe as my only tool, and did well. I recommend that thing but a screwdriver or Hori knife would do just as well. A little rain will cover your tracks anyway. I hoped most targets that I wanted were within reach of my pinpointer, sometimes if they weren't I moved on. 🤔

The only time anyone got nervous (GM) was when he saw me with my Barracuda, I don't bring the Ranger to a public area. 🤣 Showed him how I dig, and he said carry on. 👍

[rvpopeye]

After reading the reviews here a Park Probe made it to popeye's most wanted list👍

Currently using a brad puller , a larger version used on automotive interiors  , a big straight slot screwdriver , and the hori  to cut "surgical"slots. An all plastic trowel . and a larger metal bladed one . The small garden spade and the small T-REX.  But not all at the same time !😄 Usually just carry the plastic trowel  pinpointer, auto tool  and the hori.

T-REX , the plastic trowel and pinpointer at a beach.

Barracuda sounds dangerous like the song.

 

I  also carry a heavy 8?mil square yard of plastic in my back pocket to flop the plug on the edge and then put the dirt from the hole and just fold it and pour the dirt back in the hole before stomping the  plug flap home.

If needed I also have a bag of grass clippings (the grass is all dead now and they are  raked up here so a perfect match ! 👁️‍🗨️ ) I'm using to camo what if any evidence of my digging remains ., I usually just use whatever is already on the ground in the immediate area  .If the plug is dry I use my hydration pack to moisten ..  (It happens faster than I just took to type it though.)

I look up as I demonstrate to landowners and lots of times they are standing there with their mouth open😍.. arrrrrrrrrrrr ,got 'em 'ooked  I did  !  

" I'll treat it as if I was you, if you see me doing something you don't like tell me and I'll do it differently."....

But like I said ,,,,they have livestock on this patch of grass I'm on right now 🤪 not too worried.

Cold and windy today , and I wimped out . Found a new digging tool bag at Goodwill $5 and loaded 'er up  plus found a container for my silver.and some little spray bottles for foo water there too.  

Only 34 with 25kt wind today but there is less sno* tonight !

 

 

 

.    

[rvpopeye]

The latest from uptah camp ,  oooie !

I've been out swinging coils on the fairgrounds a few more times , maybe 20 hours total since I moved here last fall on the 800 . 

Still in factory park1  w/sens at 16  , 50 tone and I switched out the 6 for the 15x12 yesterday... re did some of the areas the 6 had already gone over too.  I'm finding hot spots where the vendors were set up  (one was right in front of my rig parked over in the winter storage area by the road ). Been running on solar only since the snow started up in mid december...

A crap ton of screws , bolts and  nails  (1 old square one ) with  many times that of various pieces of rusty ferrous, maybe a dozen pop top tabs and beaver tails. together and separate .  Only a few bottle caps.  About two bucks of clad .

And added another silver in the form of a 925 earring with an "emerald"? yesterday and a child sized ring  today.

Everything is pretty shallow , the earring was almost on the surface !  But the ring was down about 10" (250mm). The ground is sandy everywhere except where they added about 6" of nice topsoil for the lawn areas. There is another 4" of sand where the individual vendors have added their booths because the topsoil gets super muddy in the rain...    

I'm saving it up so I can post one of those massive hunt shots like some here find in one day with labels  , circles and arrows Including a nice close up of the shinies !

Getting a lot of practice leaving no trace and if I don't , I employ camo tactics. 👍

Doing the roadsides too  (That's where I found the earring ! ) where I just dig and fill then use a little kid sized dollar store plastic rake  to smooth out my boot prints from packing it down. 

There is a constant stream of residents of the huge retirement community next door walking by and just imagine this ....not one has asked if I found anything good !  I must be in the Twilight Zone or something ?

But I have scored more than a few dog kisses being down on their level a lot. 🥸

 

 

 

[rvpopeye]

I haven't been weighing things due to my pocket digital scale being a rusted hulk! 

This morning I remembered I had an old tone arm scale from my record playing days....not super accurate but better than my guessing ..

So. On my recent finds. (With air TIDs / Nox 800  , 15x12)

Sister Pendant 2 grams , TID : 26-27

Earring :  0.8?g , TID : 18

Ring : 1.5 g  , TID : 17

I was surprised to find a 925 on fairground bling ! 

A new acid kit soon.

I haven't been keeping track of my hours too much till recently but estimate I'm around 70 on the NOX..and my warranty is up this month or next .. but adding up fast now that I'm living on my permission!!👍👍🤪and don't have drive times cutting into my free time.

Of course the rig restoration is still on winter hold . 🙄 

 

[rvpopeye]

  

Oh AYUH   It's today's update form Uptah Camp ! 

 Yesterday I was detecting under some bleachers on an old football practice field over in one corner of the fairgrounds,, nobody anywhere to be seen ...but then there it was . From right behind me ! 😳 "Didja find anything good ?"

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh  (then my hand stopped reaching for the bear spray.)

And I showed him a racetrack pull tab instead..,but my finds pouch was full of clad !

Then asked him "What's your definition of good?" my new standard answer...skuh kuh kuh kuh kuh. (He said "rings")

I'm going back today and just dig negative #s for shits and grins..

Wish me luck , I'm goin' in !   ( but today I'm using a zig zag pattern to keep 'em from zeroing in on me ! ) 

Oh -- 6 quarters , 1 dime , 4 nickels , 4 memorials , 6 zincolns , ~a half dozen pulltabs , the end of a fluorescent tube bulb , and a few screws and nails . One incredibly tiny piece if wire (Mr. 800 is tuned !) , and no, nothing good ! 🖖 

There were a LOT of ID #1 , I dug a few and it was a foil back bubble pack like cough drops/etc come in sometimes.  Stay Tuned.

 

[rvpopeye]

Blowy out I guess ! 60kt gusts ,20+' waves, detecting cancelled but hoo boy  erosion  !🤯 

 

 

 

 

 

[rvpopeye]

 

SOHNox

I worked all day yesterday writing my summer finds post and  my unfinished draft vaporized overnight . 🙄  

So here's the cliff notes.

I found a lot of stuff. And I'm going back out now.So it's not finished.

 

[rvpopeye]

 HERE SHE BE YA BUNCHA SCALLYWAGS ! DONE.🏴‍☠️

2023 wrap up of fairground diggings... and YES ! I'm gonna dig trash ! (I filled most of a 5 gal bucket) 

(The Full Monty Finds Posting) 

JAN-Mid APRIL 

Posted some above already but the full story here.  

800/12x15 , Park1 ,sens 21, recovery 4,,switched to the 6" when it thawed out completely and upped recovery to 6. 

 First target is a pearl earring  .Nox ID# 9-10  t'was bling. (This one was actually in '22.)

#1 in '23 was a RING !Nox ID# 22-23  AND it's something I've wanted since I was 13 ! A Playboy Bunny Ring ! ,,,,,(of bling.) I shall now be the most interesting man in the world !     NO ? arrrrrgh!  OK , I'll just toss it in with the fake pearl then ...

The Hall of Bling 

Next target was finally "something good"ID# 26  👍 a pendant of 925  !   The word SISTER on the front and a glorious 925 on the back ....Silver #1  yup . yup .

Soon followed by another 925 in the form of an emerald earring with a celtic knot design.ID# 18    That's  #2 and in the 925 slot in my tackle tray box !  Yeah , had to get something eventually.. and not much later came #3 ! A tiny 925 RING that ALSO had the celtic knot  ID# 17  !  ALL in the thawed out area around my rig that I had kept shoveled off letting the orb do the dirt thawing work. A job absolutely worth doing now  !

The class of 925 freshman class  pic. That's the Finger Tiara and the rosie from the beach/camp in September for scale.

 

The bracelet. it had grungy Jethro's Grandma (of Pearl) so I dug it out and plan on mixing some crushed turquoise in clear epoxy to fill the depressions.......

A generous collection of the usual suspects of the junk variety has begun accumulating since hard ground mode.  MAKE NO MISTAKE . Junk Happens. It might take more than one !   

 

 Just the bottle caps.

  A few of the pull tabs and some giant nails

Mid APRIL-JUNE

Moved to camping area.

800/Park1 , sens 20 , recovery 6

First day I swung over the empty campsites finding a string of led lights under the leaves. I wrapped it around the power post and plugged it in  so the owner could see it when they returned (they didn't so I have a new outdoor light . )  AND then a key that fit my rig ! LOL (there's only two unless a locksmith is involved).

The football bleachers and sidelines were the first big area I covered.. Got a pocket of clad and some good invisidigging  practice,  but no luck finding the golden trophy ...will try again later.

The main parking field is up next ~2 acres. 

First target, and a GIANT beep (forgot the ID and it got tossed when I moved back to the storage lot.) turned out to be half of a trailer? leaf spring . (Too narrow to make a pick out of ,,,a good thing too , it was 1/2" thick !) Anything good you may ask ? 

You bet ! on the second day a garbled beep with bouncy ID#s 19-36 but it was shallow so investigating the source , I pop a bracelet  , it was opened and kinda bent explaining the iffy reaction .( ID# still bouncy after I bent it back and clipped it together)  A 925 on the inside  so #4 on the scoreboard , oooie   

 

Plenty of parking field still to go but I found out the carney arrival to their camp/ride staging area behind me was imminent so I moved back there ....

 Carney camp:

Lots of pennies everywhere ! A few clad quarters and dimes . Then I got a jumpy ID again . and LOUD ,  pinpoint found it quick, (must be close to the surface) , just use the hori....

~8" down and it still not out ! the hori isn't getting there , hole too small . I  pull out the spade and move back a few inches  , push and CLICK ! TOO close !  , It was a knife ! Folding Buck clone and totally roached in rust,   the click was the shovel hitting the open blade and butterflying the end of the handle popping the rivet ! Oh well ,it was roached anyway.... ,but on the way back to my site I spotted a nice hatchet at the base of a big oak with two chunks of bark laying next to it ! ???     I tossed it in the trunk next to the knife after I put a nice edge on the old tree thrower ! And nobody claimed it all summer . I gave it to a friend who you'll learn more about in September..

The knife and just the edge of the hatchet...  

JULY 

Nada, ,,,mom was in hospice and passed so no time and didn't get detecting much at all . Took care of business and realized I needed to get going on the rig restore now or I'd be stuck here.  Don't remember much else. But the rig is almost done .On the inside . On autopilot.  

Still got stuck here though , and I hatesk ta shovelsk snowsk  !  (I wrote a song but I'll spare ya ,,,this time.)

 Oh , I did find a gold coin !  I almost croaked but no biggie LOL it was "nordic gold" a modern 10 cent euro from Greece .   ID#20

10 euro cent GOLD ! and my hippie van.

AUGUST 

Got a few more things done in the rig and finally got back to a regular detector schedule . The finds were more clad and a sight found Milwaukee USB C cable over by the football field parking area for the first 2 weeks , but next was......  

Fair Week: I was up by the info booth and grabbed a schedule and whaddayaknow ? One of my old bandmates from the late 90s was doing a solo in the second spot on opening day!     I found his website and got his contact #  and pushed the buttons. 10am !   Good show ! He got better over the years !..

I got up early and decided to just go over and detect handicapped parking while the gate booth was moved across the entrance road.  STOTD second target of the day following a clad dime was a very LOUD ID# 34-36              6" down.. A HUGE coin ! Brushing the dirt off I could make out words around what looked like an old home built side by side ??

WATCH OUT FOR WOLFMAN  , SCRAM YOU OLD GOAT ! 

I knew right away where it was !   Clark's Trading Post  over on the other end of the Kancamagus Hwy. in New Hampster !   I went there on my free pass book I got as a perk on my pirate gig ! 

The obverse had a pic of a steam train going into a covered bridge and wording White Mountain Central Railroad  , White Mountains New Hampshire     A token  !   Oh Ayuh yup yup !  

After showing it to the crew setting up I went over to the main stage where the first act was setting up, a 3 piece all girl grunge band ! , I just started detecting out in the audience area. , Soon I noticed some frantic musicians and swung my way up to the stairs. 

"I'm not THE sound guy but I'm A sound guy , what's the issue ?",,," We can't find the power cord for the left sub and we have 5 minutes !!!" ,,,,, "Is it 3 prong or 2?",,,,"3" ,,I have one on my guitar amp , I'll be right back" .... and when I got back the sound contractor was there and it was all running !  So , of course we sat around exchanging all the secret words , he said "whoah , I'm actually a squint (lighting director)would you mind riding along?" ,,  And there I was . 

Employed ! 

But now I had all access and the 800 was in the back of the golf cart.........OOOOie !  

Now it starts getting good..... 

Later around dusk I was supervising band # ?? maybe 12. and detecting when another cart rolls up  "What are you doing?" uhhh , not the sound cart,,a lady was driving. hmmm .

"I'm looking for lost history" ,,,, I knew what was coming next so added "I have permission from the camping manager and the fair prez ."

.(the King  right?  well , guess what? ) 

She says "I wish you wouldn't !"  ,,,

"OK , who should I say told me ?"  

Yeaaaah , I was talking to  the QUEEN ! arrrrgh.

"Why haven't I met you before? I understand all about monkey see , monkey do and I can wait till after closing , I'm gonna be busy with the sound anyway."    

Permission Rule # 17B Always make sure the queen is on board with hubby letting you dig anywhere ! 

Back to that token . Two weeks later there was a coin show in the exhibition hall so I go in with my token and find a table  covered with tokens.  "Can you tell me anything about this one? " ,,,, "I've never seen one of these before." ,,,,,  "Really ? so ,it's rare? " (YES!)    ,,,NO,  "I've seen just about all of them ,,,it means it's probably new"

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh ! LOL  

 SEPT

The BEACH chapter.

I decided to go look up an old workamper I hired many years ago at a different campground  and give him one of my old amps for his kid ..and that hatchet got thrown in. Before they closed down . 

 I brought 2 detectors , ya know just cuz.  He works at a local campground/festival compound . I showed him the token and a few of the other "good" things and asked him to introduce me to the owner .  "Not here "   so  he suggested going to the beach anyway , "the boss will say yes"  and to the beach we went !

I go right and he goes left.  I'm looking at about 75'x2' of flat sand between the water and the dune going up 45* about 15' to the field above. Beach 2 , take all prisoners ! 

A pull tab , meh.   Then a 25 ID# a foot out in the water . T-rex  splashed and swallowed a mouthfull of sand ,jiggle jiggle and there it was,,,,,,,,,my first silver coin , a 1954 rosie !    Oh yeah ! #5.

My friend returns from the left end skunked. So I show the dime and say "lets go up by the stage." A couple of clad targets later he wants to quit so back to his site we went.

But going back the next day to meet the owner.

When I arrived I'm told we should go right away as he knew the boss was in the barn  . Introductions .   I shook his hand and said "' Great to meet you!   I did the sound here a few years back at a bluegrass festival  , sorry to hear about your mom passing. So , it's all yours now huh ? cool .  Would you mind if we metal detected around the place?" ..."Sure , but the tide is high and there's not much beach." ,,,"Thanks ! I'll leave it the way I found it, you won't be able to tell I was ever there!" So we head back to the stage area. More clad and then  I get a solid target ID# 29-30 ,,,another clad quarter?

NOPE , A RING  ,,, a finger tiara  , and it's GOLD ! 🤯  After a quick brush I look for a mark,🥸  "Rats with wings , it's 925 and plated !!!"   But silver #6 is in the pouch , and zipped in !

My friend had disappeared and the extra machine was sitting in my trunk. Keep digging dummy , it will be dark soon.  And a half hour later a jeep with Mass plates stops beside me and I hear........yup , you guessed it "What are you doing?"  arrrrrr , here we go again ! So , I tell her the owner gave me permission and could I help her find him ? She grumbles something about "it's not right in a "performance venue" and she drove off. 

Geeze sorry lady if I ruined your camping trip  ......

15 minutes later my friend shows up and tells me he was in the barn with the boss and the lady comes in  and mega reams him about my detecting ,,,to which he sheepishly said "well , maybe I shouldn't have?" and  now , I had to stop.

Turns out she was the gate lady and he was used to mommy telling him what to do  is the best I could figure ??  The new queen or so it seemed !  It still WAS a good hunt ! 

OCT

800 , Park 2  sens 18 (EMI) , recovery 5 , 11" coil back on  

Back out in storage and I'm hitting the carney/vendor areas I scoped out during the fair week. 1st up, a 3 token spill by the info booth  Adventure Landing. A bit smaller than a quarter sized tokens from a pair? of parks , one in NY and the main one in Jacksonville IIRC the webpage....

Hotspots of clad here and there .Including an 8 quarter spill near the ticket booth.

Got another tackle tray for the coins. Up to about $30 ,not counting the zincolns , ~5#  of them....

NOV-DEC 

More clad and lots of it , and a hook bracelet 

Freezing up now. The big root slayer just bounced or slid on the ice layer !  I was digging for a #20 and ended up cutting 2 pieces off the edge of a zincoln , I put 'em in with the Canadian coins , It's almost empty. 

Then came the "Not a hurricane" and thawed it all out again  ,,, and tonight it freezes back up ! so here I YAM !

 Lead and casings ?  of course it's Maine !

And KEYS ! With a very interesting one that I'll be asking for ideas on .

The one on the bottom right has no "teeth" ???

 

Adventure Landing tokens and wheaties

Buttons and buckles.. fuses and other odd bits

 

One more trash, there's lots more but seriously , enough pics of it !

I still haven't swung over half of this place ....stay tuned for the exciting conclusion when I leave .

(over 200 hours on the NoxClock now)

 As Kevin said  "Merry Christmas , you animals" !  

And as mom used to say  "And a Crappy New Year."

 

 

[rvpopeye]

The 23 wrap up is all pictured up ! ARRRRRRGH  See it above ^🖖😎

  The pics are all taken with the selfie cam built into a crummy chromebook ,,,0.9 megapixel  so definition is sad. My apologies for Goggle  ! Arrrrgh   crab bait !