IdahoPeg

Very nice! And you are doing fantastic considering only your second year at it! ?⛏?

That’s an amazing 10 months of fun you’ve got there! Congrats!

Nice way to end the year! Happy New Year to you too!

Howdy! Welcome to the forum! ?

Some nice looking gold you got there!?

Glad you got out for a hunt! Nice little nuggie!??

On 12/1/2018 at 9:25 AM, Swampstomper Al said:

Nice summer's play-day for you, Peg.. ?

Guess you'll be rolling in soon down this-a-way.. Fortunately you missed the red tide issue we had 2nd half of Oct.. Caught a ride over on the gulf stream from the still-going-strong mess in SW FL.. Lucky for here there was rapid dissipation following a moderate fish kill; ocean locally back to normal bacteria count since early-mid Nov -- meaning it's safe once again to breath the air and get wet beachside..

Can't remember if you have the addy for area surf cams, so here it is: https://www.surfguru.com/ I live far enough from the shore these days I check 'em before heading over; you may not need to do so..

Swamp

Soooo glad the red tide is gone from our coast! Hope the lagoon is better too...I like to standup paddleboard when I’m not detecting, or biking, or beachcombing, or jogging etc etc....can’t wait to get down there! ? There’s more than a foot of snow up at my cabin now....one more appt this next week, then I’m outta here! Bye bye❄️?, Hello ?☀️?

What a nice snack that “cookie” is!? Congrats on a great find! 

1 hour ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Peg, You are an inspiration to all prospectors.  Not only are you one of the most Successful Lady Gold Diggers I know of (besides Sue Sallee), your outgoing outdoor personality is tops.  You were one of my favorite early customers to train and you still make me proud.  I just wish there were more ladies out there sharing the stories, success and golden photos.  Enjoy your winter in FL and if I get down there, we'll go bug Gary Drayton for a few days together.

 

Thanks for the kind words Gerry, and thank YOU for getting me started in this great hobby of ours! Yeah, come on down to FL....treasure or jewelry, I know you’ll find it!?

Very nice haul there! Glad you could enjoy some “golden” times with your son! ?

8 hours ago, Jim Hemmingway said:

Hello Peg…the distant photo looks to me to be more wolf than coyote, but that is only an impression. It is possible that it could be a hybrid despite that in natural environments historically we observe that wolves do attack and kill coyotes. But here in Ontario a highly unusual phenomenon has occurred in recent natural history.

The Grey Wolf of Algonquin Park has mated with our traditional Eastern Coyote to produce a new species classified as the Coywolf. These animals reproduce and grow to approximately double the size of the Eastern Coyote. The adult male Coywolf generally tips the scale at about 80 lbs. Barking, howling and yipping is typical nightly Coywolf behavior, particularly as the summer season advances to autumn.

Field studies indicate that these animals exhibit typical coyote behavioral patterns, and have quickly migrated across the eastern part of the continent to the Atlantic coast. The last article I reviewed a few years ago was about the Coywolf population in Chicago, so indications are that this animal is able to migrate and adjust to different habitats similar to coyote populations. At the moment I have no idea how far west Coywolf populations have been established. The link below briefly overviews the Coywolf activity in Ottawa, Ontario. 
 
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/residents-wary-afraid-increased-coyote-activity-1.4158127

On a different note, congratulations on a successful season Peg, your gold looks just dandy and your claim looks like a bit of heaven. All the very best to you over the winter in Florida, and let’s hope that you can find some of that elusive Spanish Gold!!! 

Jim.
 

Jim, thanks for the fascinating info on the Coywolf....possibly what my guy is? Either way, cool looking canine....and you should’ve seen how he was was eyeing my pup! She was like Velcro on me as we were walking by, smart little girl.

I’d be tickled pink to even find a silver piece of eight....maybe this year! Thanks?

2 minutes ago, vanursepaul said:

I always heard wolves hated coyotes and would kill him

Definitely! Any canine is at risk....that’s why I’m pretty sure this is a coyote, as I hear them a lot here, wolves very rarely. Some folks say large dogs and wild wolves have bred, though I’ve only seen dogs getting killed by them. But who knows? Maybe love is blind and this one I’ve seen is a mix!

1 hour ago, oneguy said:

Nice gold....!!!!!  Looks like you've got a kick-ass claim also!!!!  Hard to tell from the phone pics but the size of that snout on the "yote" looks TO ME like you may have a wolf on cam and not a yote. (jmo)…..

Yes, he does look a lot like a wolf, however I heard barking and yipping before I saw him...definitely sounded like a coyote. I used to see quite a few wolves at my previous cabin which was in more remote higher country....and this yote does resemble them, had me confused a bit.

Thanks for the nice comments guys!?

kiwijw...yes, it got up to 40*F that afternoon...still able to move some loose ground.

phrunt...yep, life is pretty darn good! Had a plan: wanted a place in the hills and one at the beach when I retired...stuck with it, and it worked out! Considered Arizona for the winter, but since LUNK goes there every year, knew there’d be no gold left for me to find lol?

Well we’ve had some snow and cold temps up at the cabin....here’s my thermometer for my morning walk the other day:

Hadn’t made it to my little claim in well over a month, so decided to give it one more visit when it warmed up in the afternoon. Roamed over the handstackings and found a promising spot to clear and detect a bit:

Nice little nuggies found both near the surface, and some better ones in some depressions in the bedrock...here they are in the canister cap. Was afraid with my cold hands I’d knock them off the Monster’s coil if I displayed them spread out! :

Did a final weigh-in of the gold found on the claim....used the Monster mainly, and some drywashing till it started to crap out on me mid season(a big shout out to Chet for fixing it better than new for next year!) My goal was to just find enough to at least pay for my claim fees and corner posts....ended up with 12.85grams, so did a bit better than that lol! Here’s the pic of it all....looks like a tiny micro version of Lunk’s killer Rye Patch finds that he posted about recently?

It was great fun to have my own special place to play this summer....looking forward to continuing moving rock etc on the claim next year! I am so grateful that I have my cabin in the hills and pines, and am able to enjoy the wilderness and the critters in it. Here’s a couple recent pics taken while on my walks...not the best quality on my phone, though I think you can make out Mrs Moose(Mr had stepped out of view by the time I took pic), and a huge coyote that hung around for a couple weeks. 

I’ll be heading to FL for the winter soon....so will be switching to beach hunting....wish me luck! ?

Wow, great job Lunk! I think you dethroned Lucky Lundy as King of the Patch this season lol!

Woo hoo! Glad you got out to play and found some nuggies to boot!??

What great gold, beautiful scenery, and amazing wildlife shots! I’ve yet to see a mountain lion...seen their tracks etc and “felt” them nearby while out; your cam pic sure caught their wildness!

That’s some nice gold! ? 

What a beauty! Congrats to your buddy....hope there’s more where that came from!

Wow. What a  trip.....thanks for taking us along on the great Alaska adventure! 

Thoroughly enjoying your pictures and narrative! Thank you for taking the time to share these memories!?

Congrats! Great detecting?

I’d call that a GREAT weekend! Thanks for sharing!

You’ve had a heck of an adventure! Thanks for taking us along. ?⛏