tvanwho

Hmm, that could be an issue, but better than 30 seconds with the 1960's rocket belt...guess we better stick to the ground. I understand these flying machines have no parachute for backup...flying over water is about useless for prospecting...

Thanks Lunk. I personally saw a huge green fireball soar over my truck some years back down by Streator, Illinois, on my way home from an Indiana gold hunting trip. I never heard any explosions ,just saw the light go out all of a sudden, had to pull over and sit in a Shell gas station for 30 minutes , anxiety got a hold of me. Looked like a giant size Roman candle green ball of fire with a short tail. I never heard anything on the news about that one. But I did make a mental note of where I was and what direction the green ball of fire seemed to be heading in. My landmark was the Mazon river bridge by Streator on i55 north, fireball heading northwest.. Not that it matters now.

thanks, your article seems to give a clue as to where the rocks landed...buts its snow on the ground there and 300 miles away so I guess somebody from Michigan will strike it rich on space rocks instead of me...

Heard the news lately? Today a fireball exploded over SE Michigan and registered a 2.0 earthquake. Now, since we know the rock exploded, how to find the meteorites on the ground ,if they made it that far? I always heard that when the meteorite light goes out, the rock can still be 5 miles high? So, how would you trace it to where the rocks fell to earth exactly? It was seen in 6 states and Canada. -Tom

Is that a dredge and a boat? Great engineering for home made !! -Tom

I dunno, Vermont is pretty bad. They INSIST that HAND panning means to literally use your hands to scoop up gravels from the stream, no trowels or shovels allowed !! They don't mention sucker sticks or using gloves on your hands tho? Dunno if they enforce this or not? Maybe find a Vermont GPAA chapter to ask and get back to us? I'd sure like to know too? -Tom

I totally got rid of the grizzly bars and put in perforated steel sheet with 3/4 inch square holes. It does mean I have to rake rocks out by hand a LOT more, but I won't lose bigger gold or other stuff out the back so much, like coins, copper nuggets, arrowheads, jewelry, etc. I also squeezed in 4 x 1 inch diameter spray bars so it pounds the gravel better from all 4 sides. I hardly lost any small pea size gravel and sands out the back like I used to with the grizzly bars. I would guess 95% under 3/4 inch size went into the sluice. In my sluice I have a foot of bare metal under the hopper, then 8 inch of Keene Miracle mat, then 16 inch of raised expanded aluminum over carpet and moss and just a few stream riffles. It works better now than ever before, nice smooth water flow and no clogged riffles. I am just using a Honda WX15 pump and 70- gpm , might try my Keene P90 pump this year and 2 inch dredge nozzle and hose. And I have the rear end mounted on 16 inch wheelbarrow floatation tires to make it easy to move. Had to weld an aluminum tube axle under the approx. center of gravity spot. I can also mount the engine/pump on top of the sluice just in front of the hopper if needed. Vibration to settle out the heavies? -Tom

I dunno Jim, I read some of Dave McCrackens stories about Bigfoots in California causing landslides at night. Of course the prospectors that told Dave the stories had no proof or video, just stories of rocks falling constantly in the night near their camps and despite being well armed they were still scared to death. Heck, I had a 90 foot tall tree shake near me some years back like Paul Bunyan was trying to uproot a giant carrot. I watched it swing back and forth about 30-40 feet this way and that.No other trees moving at all ,just that one. I had just been taking Polaroid photos of some depressions in the woods. Something didn't like my flash apparently??? Even tho the tree in question was at least 100 feet away. I was in process of hiking over to the tree as I was looking for treasure at the time and figgered I was being called over to the shaking tree. But the more I thought about it , I realized I was alone, no weapons, and nobody knew I was out there, so I just stood and watched at that point. Better to be safe than sorry...I've been there a couple times since , took the exact same photos, and nothing happened...and the spot is within 1000 feet of 2 busy highways. -T

Ha, you are a great story teller Jim, altho I seem to recall this same tale of yours being told on Steves old AMDS forum .Guess I am not the only 60 year old who repeats himself these days...oh well...glad to hear you have had possible Bigfoot encounters too...at least you have photos to embellish your tale unlike me...too bad we cannot use our built in memory banks to recall and project what we saw to others. I was just admiring some silver specimens you sent me years ago too, thanks again... Heck, we need a Prospectors book of short stories and tales of high adventure from members of this forum before we ferget them !! Now if old Lanny would just give us some tall tales to ponder over...? -Tom

Cool, but I always did wonder what pushing the plunger did to make things go Boom?

found a 4 foot long , 12 volt, mini conveyor for a measly $400 + shipping from Montana by the people who make the Goldfox mini trommel. https://www.goldfoxusa.com/_p/prd1/1116169701/product/12v-dc-conveyor-belt

I am pretty sure this is the Wild Ammonoosuc river at Twin Rivers campground in New Hampshire. I could barely get any color while panning along the bank edge.( Gold dredging up to 4 inch nozzle is legal in NH with a $50 permit.) This campground is rather expensive as I recall, 40 bucks to tent camp overnite but they do have a small prospecting shop and over a mile of river frontage where you can mine right next to a paved road. I guess the dredgers get the big gold?

I think my bonafide deepest coin was a green wheatie detected in a state park in Wisconsin way back when the Tesoro Tejon had just come out. I had my whole Lesche digger in the hole, handle and all, close to a foot deep in fairly hard dirt mid summer. I woulda kept that detector but it did not have the VCO audio so would beep the same loudness no matter if shallow or deep plus it loved deep iron. I was on a club hunt that day in late summer. Most coins seem to be in the surface to 7 inch range.

I have the same shyness issue in Midwest gold hunting as most land is private. I keep running into little old ladies who own hundreds of acres of land with potential gold creeks. Seems most of these older women are widows and they do NOT want outsiders from their family on the land even if they are unable to get out and enjoy the land due to old age issues. Older men are more apt to let you on the property I have found. It helps if you can find somebody who knows the landowner and have them call ahead for you. I tried the real estate agent approach this last time. Found a listing for land with a creek in an area I want to prospect in and the female real estate agent told me she had listed and shown an old Victorian house I had mentioned. She told me she would run down to that county and make some in person land owner inquiries for me to get into their creeks. Still waiting to hear back. Heck, maybe she can help me get to do some yard detecting too. -Tom

Got a website address? Not that I need yet another screen but I kinda do to fit into a 2 gallon white bucket. I can't handle 5 gallon buckets anymore, too darn heavy when full. http://www.pyrodirect.com/Item/027-2004, and this place is here in USA in Pennsylvania. Yes, they are 12 bucks each, thanks for the money saving info. -Tom

Are you gonna drag a backhoe along with you?

Its all private property so can't just hike in plus its 150 miles away. Plus its deer hunting season so kinda dangerous to be out prospecting for now. I need to get my butt off my chair and go check a creek I map dowsed about 60 miles away. Sure would be nice if it is a gold creek and so close to home. About a dozen farm ditches come together right before there and the resulting creek is like 40 feet wide with fast water, gravel, and bedrock areas. But there are 4 land owners to deal with. It is an old coal mining area and world famous iron concretion fossils just 20 miles away where Joe Public is allowed to collect but NOT dig for these things. Sposed to be ferns, amphibians, and such in these concretions mainly at Pit number 11 of the old strip mining area I hear. I did get a few colors in a creek 5 miles away. I just got a new triangular shaped alluvial sluice from a seller in Surprise,Arizona to try out too.

Does anybody know why a gravel bar in a creek on Google Earth would show as Pink instead of black and white? This is in central Indiana, not much in colored rocks or mineral deposits in the area. It is a glacial gold area and with copper nuggets but they don't show up on aerial maps. I did spot a large gray clay stream bank on another creek which had alternating layers of red and gray just above the creek line like an ice cream cake. Too bad its owned by the state and they refuse to let us prospect there. It is a known gold creek too. It cannot be seen without Google Earth and a Historical Imagery view of the woods taken March 30 ,2005, otherwise tree cover blocks the view on both of these creeks. What's the best color laser printer for around $300 for aerial map prints? -Tom V.

Hmm, so that's how mad scientists go mad? I noticed his shirt says Newmont? Is that for Newmont Gold Mining company?

I like the Prospectors Lounge , might have to wander over there and visit. They even have some good laughs over there....

I guess it depends on what off Topic means? I have no interest in seeing bashing and insults . I am just glad you have some other forums we can post on already besides just metal detecting for gold. As in Jewelry hunting and gold dredging, etc..

Has anybody used one of Keenes 12 volt battery electric hookah units? Might be another option to consider. -Tom