tvanwho

I might need to consider that carrier for my 2010 Forester. But I didn't get the factory roof rack and Subaru wants like $ 600 + for that rack alone + installation cost. Isn't that pod about $400+? Need to deal with a rattling catalytic converter heat shield first tho..

Tboykin, I went thru 2 Astro AWD Vans. They could carry a ton of gold digging gear and the kitchen sink, especially once I removed the rear bench seats. Gas mpg was 15/18 with P215 R15 all season tires. Even with just street tires, I never could get the things stuck. Ground clearance maybe 7 inches. Heck, the front tires might spin 1 time in deep snow and then off I'd go. Bad thing was, BAD sloppy steering on the 1st one, never shoulda got that one. The 2nd one broke down constantly, $4000 in repairs in just 2 years. I always thought extended warranties were worthless until I had this van. I got my $1800 worth and the Chevy dealer got the shaft !!! I even looked at Overland Vans for an Astro 4 inch suspension lift as they are up in Michigan, not so far to go. I can only carry 1/2 the stuff now in my Forester but get almost 50% better MPG and thrice the reliability. ....oh well....have always had the itch to get a 4wd reg cab Toyota Tacoma truck with automatic and the factory 10 x31.50 tires. I had a 5speed version but concluded stick shift is for kids and it got no better mpg than the V6 version. Sure could handle tight corners and parking lots real good with 34 foot turn radius. I would like to know why Toyota has frame rust out problems on 1996-2005 Tacos and Tundras? Truck frames should last forever. The 4 runners in those years seem to have solid frames, why not the trucks?

Just wondering why I see/hear of so many Tacos and Tundras with rusted out frames or frames replaced under warranty from about 1996-2006 ? Since when does a truck frame rust out after 5-10 years? They usually last about forever I thought. The 4 Runners don't seem to have this issue tho. -Tom V.

My friend had to use electrolysis to clean the crud off the coin plus a bath in Limeaway. It can't be 1813 as the seated coins were not around back then and it can't be 1913 as that would be a Barber dime. That only leaves 1873 as our best guess. Another coin we got sure looks like gold but my coin dealer says it is copper even tho it sure looks yellow. I will try the Limeaway on it this week. A 2nd silver dime and a tiny padlock/locket ( not sure which) were in another bedrock crevice plus a bunch of nails. Just glad I had a tetanus shot booster a few years ago as I got stabbed in the fingertip by a nail.

My 1st silver coin in 10 years and found with an ancient Detector Pro Headhunter Diver VLF detector in a bedrock bottom river in Indiana. My friend pinpointed it with the Whites TRW waterproof pinpointer in a small divot in the bedrock. He had to use electrolysis and Limeaway to get the crud off. We are pretty sure its an 1873 Seated dime. Hmm, my photo seems to have disappeared??

So Chuck/Clay, if there is a mineral deposit under this land I am looking at, does that mean I can acquire it separate from the surface land owner and they have to let me on the surface land to dig? Do I contact the county surveyors office to see a copy of the deed and ask about the mineral rights? Guess I could see if there are any quarries in my area and ask to see the deeds on those and the mineral rights info ,perhaps....I've discovered something called GIS mapping that some counties have where you can check for landowners ,property boundaries, taxes paid, property values, etc online It definitely beats a trip to every out of state courthouse and expensive Plat map books Clay,I did a search on that BLM GLO website for the property but nothing came up.I printed out a copy of a form for a BLM eastern states/Indiana land records search, will cost around $20. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

yes, and DUST was a bit too volatile for me so I sold and took my lumps today. Oh well. And Clay, do you know anything about mineral rights on private property in Indiana or Ilinois? Does the landowner own the mineral rights or the state and how does one find out? Thanks-Tom

Well ,the smaller nugget theory is rather sobering guys....I took the plunge and bought some DUST shares today, showing a small profit already. Gold price only went down a few bucks but this ETF went up 15%....supposedly it amplifies downward gold moves by 3x, dunno how....I won't stay in long, maybe a week or 10 days. Need to find me a 12 month Gold price chart vs the stock prices of Gold stocks and ETF's...who might have that? $1,350 top end of gold range, whats the lower end these days?

Clay, I tried to PM you a month ago? Hopefully you will see this message. Thanks, -Tom V.

I stumbled across this Gold ETF fund and need advice before I invest my hard earned moola. Supposedly, this thing is up over 500% for 2016 .They just had a 5 for 1 stock split last month. What exactly is an ETF vs a mutual fund or stock? I know they have a big position in Van Eck Gold mines. Does one have to pay taxes on gains in an ETF before cashing out? I heard mutual funds with gains are subject to income tax at year end even if you don't cash out. That could be rather painful vs buy and hold with an individual stock. Getting less than 1/2 % interest in the bank just isn't very appealing lately. Heck, some banks are charging people a FEE for their Saving Accounts now. -Tom

Wonder how big the man eating clam was?

I was wondering where the gold covered barbecue grill was? Never knew it had something to do with dental work? I found one of those years ago myself and was told it was worthless.If that's the case, why do dentists save old crowns? So, what are your tips on finding all these nice heavy gold rings? Dig it all as Steve keeps telling us? I also have a TDi , the original version. What park settings could I try using for rings/coins and what coil in black dirt, no minerals? Thanks.-Tom

I need to get on some private properties to look for placer gold and was wondering what tips you guys might have? Is it better to meet the owner in person, send email, send a snail mail,use the phone, ask a friend of the owner? I got turned down a few weeks ago, but only cause the owner said he had relatives who want to look for gold in his creek. Another party I need to contact, the only contact info i could find was a Facebook mention. Not sure how to handle this approach Since they don't have a clue who I am unless they accept my friend request and see my profile. Also, need to know how to find who owns the mineral rights on private property and how to acquire them , for Indiana and Illinois in particular )? This could be a problem in a smaller town where everybody knows everybody and I want to keep my inquiry inconspicuous. Sure would be nice to have a few acres on a gold bearing creek and a shack to camp in/ land to putz around on/ retire to in my old age.

I actually saw my first ever Perseid meteor last night on the way home from work at 12: 30 am. For 14 years, it has always been too cloudy to see anything. I only saw one, but it was a fireball. Caught a glimpse of a bright object at the top edge of my windshield, looked closer and saw a bright white ball of fire with a white tail arc over my car. I had the car window down this time, but heard no sonic booms.....5th one I have seen in last 5 years now..Wonder if a dashboard camera would catch these events? The first one I ever saw was on the Interstate coming home from an Indiana Gold prospecting trip. I thought it was a low flying airplane until I looked closer, again at the top edge of my windshield, and saw it was a Green ball of light with a short green tail, like the size of the sun. It freaked me out so bad I had to sit in a gas station for 1/2 hour to calm down. Dunno why the first fireball was green in color and the other 4 were white ?

Hmm, nice to know I am not the only one with a TRX instability issue...4 inches of depth is pretty darn good for a pinpointer which is one reason why I bought the unit plus its waterproof and my buddy said could use either AA batteries or 9 volts. AA's are a good bit cheaper than 9 volts. I'll give it a 2nd chance here . So, I just push the button quickly for this Ground Grab thing vs push and Hold? Might help to read the instruction book a 3rd time while out coin hunting with it too...is the Sens set at 4 out of the box? How do I turn it down? Does it remember settings at Poweroff?

Thanks tboykin. I also found a slightly used Garret Carrot pinpointer today for $109 shipped, so its coming too. Then I will keep the pinpointer I like the most. Personally, I just like a turn on and go pinpointer to keep it simple and being waterproof, can use it to hunt for placer gold/coins in creeks too.

didn't they still have mastodons back then? Hmm, I thought we were sposed to be in the stone age 6,000 years ago too, barely able to feed ourselves much less making gold jewelry out of pretty yellow rocks...something just doesn't add up with our history books..?

I got a new Whites waterproof pinpointer last week. Dunno if its operator error or bad unit? I am using the AA batteries it came with. When I turn it on to pinpoint a coin, it is stable for about 10 seconds, but then it starts to sound off on every dirt clod within a foot diameter of the hole . If I can pinpoint the target quickly, its ok, if not? Well then I start cussing/screaming at it. The book says something about the Ground Grab thing but this is all black dirt, and hardly any ground minerals. Before I send it back and get the orange Garret Carrot Propointer, I thought I'd ask for advice on the Forum? Am using it with my old Tesoro Lobo ST detector with 3 x 7 coil. If the pinpointer is within a foot of the LST coil, it goes crazy too. Never had these issues with my old Garrett Propointer? -Tom V.

Yes, I've only almost got stuck once and that was in an unplowed Hilton Hotel parking lot. We had over 2 feet of snow on the ground that day. No road traffic at all that day, the whole plant called in sick!! This car just floats over mudholes, never digs in like 4x4 trucks do. Glad I had my General Altimax Arctic tires on the Forester as the stock Desert Dueler tires are useless in snow. Sounds like your 2014 is doing better than my 2010 in mpg.I average 26 around town on summer gas,maybe 28 on the hiway with the old 4 speed automatic. Sounds like you had quite the adventure out west.

Great stories , just was wondering how your Subaru held up in the mountains and deserts? Is that a Forester like my 2010? Gas mpg? I can sleep in back of mine but have to have a thick foam pad under my hips and sleep diagonally with the seats down. -Tom V.

Thanks Jim, I learnt a lot about critters from your explanations. Incidentally, I have found gold flakes behind glacial boulders in the stream running parallel to this gravel road, out in the woods along the road in the photo. The flakes were small, like 1/4 x 1/4 inch, but shaped like snowflakes vs being water worn and rounded edges like most Indiana gold. Dunno if this means a nearby lode deposit like my map dowsing is indicating or not? The Indiana geology reports I've seen say there are no metals deposits in the state besides glacial gold. This particular meandering stream is only 5-10 feet wide and has a gravel bottom with a current. But where my map dowsing likes for the lode gold deposit, the creek goes by a rocky ridge and then thru a hairpin turn and becomes a deep V bedrock creekbed , BUT the water disappears !!! I wonder if it flows underground at that point or what? I seem to recall Steve said something about looking for mineral deposits where the geology of the land suddenly changes? Dunno why the eagles seem to like this area too but ok by me... -Tom

How do birds/rabbits/etc see the world around them anyway vs humans with binocular vision? Always wondered how they seem to land on tree branches with no problems even tho they can't see the landing spot? Hmm, just realized owls have binocular vision too like us 2 legged critters. Maybe Mr Hemingway can tell us about these mysteries being a biologist at one time? Birds don't associate themselves with mineralized ground like some plants, do they?

Was out on a backroad looking at some potential gold creek property, noticed a big bird overhead. Almost thought it might be an eagle vs a vulture. Heck, it was 2 Bald Eagles !!! I attempted to take 7 photos and a few worked from my moving car. The eagles would fly a hundred feet back into the trees. I would drive ahead and they would fly again, another hundred feet. We did Eagle/Subaru hopscotch about 5 times. Amazing I got both birds in 1 photo and fairly crisp shot. Was using my Canon SX50 on Autofocus. I had to enlarge this photo on my pc to 200%. Hope it works here...both birds are just a bit above the tree line, bottom center of photo. ( Windows has a Zoom control on upper right corner of your pc screen.It is shaped like a gear sprocket for up to 400% zoom if needed.) -Tom V.

What's a kilo anyway? Speaking of which ,why do we have all these different weight measuring systems in use today instead of just one? Troy, Av, metric, carats, etc? Gets me all confused.