Lanny

This is a fun little post. On a different note, looking at all of the picks in the photo (plus the pristine pick head in the first photo) reminds me of the cost in labor and freight to get those picks to the goldfields, and how sometimes, perfectly good picks were left behind. Sometimes by prospectors that had gone bust and just wanted to get out of the goldfields without having to pack out the extra weight (with guns occasionally left behind for the same reason), and probably some that were simply lost. (I lost my favorite pick once, got out in a hurry to show my wife some nuggets I'd found, but left the pick behind at the workings. Years later saw a local no-good with it at his claim--law of salvage I guess.) I found a cache of tools once while detecting in Montana. They were buried under the dirt, with the large, oblong hole underneath covered by a piece of sheet iron, all resting beneath a huge tree. All of the tools' (picks and shovels) wooden handles had long since disappeared due to time. A case of someone thinking they'd return later? Thanks for fuelling some memories, and all the best, Lanny

Doc, hope you had a wonderful Christmas. It was way warmer here in Vegas for Christmas than what I'm used to. All the best, Lanny

Really enjoyed the pictures and the story--nice finds! Thanks for taking the time to put it all together. All the best, Lanny

Allen, great pictures and cool story. You and I get to do the same kinds of detecting--quite the select experience checking the ground after the big equipment has finished working the bedrock, lots of fun to be had, and quite a few surprises too. Glad to see you're still at it, and congratulations on your pick find--the way it's weathered, it looks like very old steel too. All the best, Lanny

Gerry, hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and many thanks for your kind words. All the best, Lanny

Really appreciate your kindness Ceril, and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well. All the best, Lanny

Annual Christmas Poetry Sometimes Sal Sometimes Sal, a scheming gal, Was not a pleasant Ma’am; She pestered folks for Christmas funds But it was just a scam. She told the town her festive drive Would help the lowest down, But deep inside she stewed and planned To fleece that mining town. She gathered cash, and nuggets fat From those with some to give. While saying that she’d nourish those Who needed it to live. But deep inside her bankrupt soul, Sal’s only driving need, Was how to scratch the constant itch To satisfy her greed. She cached the dough, and nuggets too, Well hidden in a pack, So she could make a getaway Along a mountain track. On Christmas eve, when all was clam, She saddled up her mule, And rode him quickly up that route For Sal, she weren’t no fool. She knew that when on Christmas day Folks found she’d skipped the town, A posse mad would gather quick To ride old Sally down. The night was clear, with starlight bright, The mule rode surely on. The trail rose, quite sharply there, And soon they would be gone. A forlorn ridge, Miss Sal she crossed, And there, what did she see? A sorry camp with starving folks Beneath a blighted tree. She tried to skirt that wretched camp But something in her broke, And made her dismount from her mule To help those needy folk. She nursed and tended with great care. She fed and comforted. A newfound warmth soon filled her soul, Thus changed, she relented. With things set right beneath that tree Miss Sal knew what to do. She got back on her trusty mule And off to town they flew. Before the dawn, she’d made it back, And ‘round the town she rushed To drop off cash and nuggets fat While all was still and hushed. That glorious morn, the downcast woke To wonder everywhere. For Sometimes Sal had wrought much good With Christmas morning care. Sal’s selfless deeds had forged a change Down deep within her soul. The good she’d done had rescued her, And purged her cankered soul. In mining towns throughout the West The story still is told Of Sometimes Sal, a wondrous gal With heart of solid gold. Merry Christmas, and all the best, Lanny

Best Thanksgiving gold pan celebration setup ever! Looks like you had a fantastic season. All the best, Lanny

What a fantastic haul Gerry! Thanks for all of the pictures too, so great to see someone hitting the good stuff. All the best, Lanny

The best kind of crack problem ever to have! Way to get that sassy gold!! All the best, Lanny

Such a great article to read; you've done a masterful job. A lot of crossover in the article for our shallow to bedrock gravel deposits up here in the Great White North. I have had success in locating some good placer deposits that we then worked with trommels, etc. after locating the pay with the detectors using the dig and detect method you've outlined. I've found some nice gold in areas of glacial blowouts from ice dams as well, but those were very shallow deposits, but they held coarse gold. All the best, and thanks again for the great job of writing up the article as it applied to your trip to the far north, Lanny

MIke, sorry to hear of the passing of your friend. We go through life and don't truly get a lot of real friends--sorry for your loss. All the best, Lanny

Great article Steve, your rationale really makes a lot of sense, and I think I'll start getting rid of other detectors soon as well--too many that don't get used often enough. I picked up some great tips from your article as well. I too appreciate all of the write-ups you've done about new detector models over the years, very enlightening, and your recommended detector models have always been spot on. Thanks again for all you do; you sure are great at making a lot of information in the detector field genuinely understandable. All the best, Lanny

Really appreciate everything you do Steve, and keeping the spammers away is a great idea too. Thanks for your unending hard work to create and maintain such a great forum. All the best, Lanny

Simon, very interesting thread on the Sphinx: you really do a great investigation on prospecting items, and you do a great job of following up with helpful information as you use the item as well. Thanks for your time and effort and specific details. All the best, Lanny

I've had lots of contact (electronic messaging) and phone calls with Jim over the years--a truly great guy. His body was just not letting him get out into gold country and do what he loved to do anymore, but it's sad that he's gone. Always a good guy to answer questions and to provide help and feedback. He really will be missed. Thanks for the pictures and the write-up, and all the best, Lanny

Such beautiful gold! Thanks for the pictures. I got out last fall in Nevada and found some nice nuggets, but nothing like the large ones you've found. Nicely done, and all the best, Lanny

Scott truly was a great guy. I've been off the forums for a while, but so glad that Simon floated this post to the top so I could see it. It's great to see the gold Scott told me in phone calls he'd found, and he truly was one of the good ones--I heartily agree! All the best, Lanny

Jerry, nice write-up on the outing. Sounds like it was a good time, and I'd love to listen to some of those presenters! Glad it was worthwhile. All the best, Lanny

Good luck on your desert recon outing--hope it leads to something great. All the best, Lanny

Chuck, I'm out of reactions for the day, so thought I'd respond with a message. Good to hear your tale of the Alaskan that had to get away from the black bears--they can be a real nuisance and a genuine danger at times as well. That's an amazing number of miles you went while completing that one trip! Nice to hear from you, and all the best, Lanny

In all my time in the wilds, I've seen far more black bear than grizzly. Black bear cause most of the trouble in our mountains, and they're very unpredictable. Sometimes you bang a shovel on the ground, yell, chuck some rocks, etc. and off they go. You know you're in trouble when they keep coming at you! (Been there, done that--a fat zero on the fun scale.) Plus, if a black bear attacks you (unless protecting a cub) it's because you're seen as a source of food, and so you're supposed to fight back with everything you've got to stay off the menu. Grizzlies usually attack to show dominance (once again, cub encounters excepted)--swat you down, stomp some, maybe chew on you a little (that'd be a tough undertaking to outlast), then they'll leave, supposedly. They are after all the apex predator in our mountains, so they can write their own rules, I guess. Had a double grizzly encounter one day, a couple of three-year-olds, ones just kicked off their momma's milk wagon. We were washing pay with a trommel, and the two grizzlies wanted to see what we were up to. So they got right close, then stood up. (As my dad used to say, "If you think a bear is big on the ground, just wait until it stands up!") Had a dumb idea to hop on the Honda Quad and gun the engine so they'd run away--only they came closer. Shut that Quad off right quick, and the grizzly twins dropped back to the ground and wandered away--they'd seen what they wanted to see, turned their backs on us and sauntered off. (I had a 12-gauge defender shotgun to-hand with buckshot as the first chambered round followed by four one-ounce rifled-slugs for backup, but I'm glad to this day that last resort that was never used--would have been a terrible jackpot of trouble with two grizzlies that close. I've seen other grizzlies as well, but usually at some distance--those are the grizzly sightings I enjoy the most. All the best, Lanny

Sweet find Gerry, and thanks for the video of the find--fun to watch and great to hear your excitement as well. Nicely done, and all the best, Lanny

Now I know why I could no longer get Scott on the phone. . . . Thanks for the heads-up about his passing. He sure was a great guy to talk to, lots of interesting stories, and he really learned how to use his detectors to find gold (loved the Goldmonster)--had great success with finding nuggets when he found his connection to get himself on good ground. He was easy to talk to, but it's going to be hard missing him--a genuine kindred spirit that loved chasing the gold. All the best, Lanny

CAPPHD, great job of tracking down the owner, nicely done! All the best, Lanny