Is there gold there, I think there is.

gold, nugget, picker, found

This nugget my wife picked up just walking by the pile of dirt we stage for processing.  There is gold up in them there hills!  Maybe we could get on a TV show, just a small family operation, having to fight nature and breakdowns, no big wallet to fund the operation just two grandparents(Elaine and Antonio),Two Parents(Robert and Teresa), and a three year old(Lyra).  Add in a bit of creative and inventive personalities, some wishful thinking and the fever for gold.  I think it would make a great reality TV show.

Some Science At the Gold Mine!

Grandma and Lyra like to take hikes through the woods up at the mine.  The came across this birds nest(sorry for the out of focus picture).  They found it when there were just eggs in it and they monitored it every weekend we were there until the birds left the nest.  Lyra was very insistent as we were driving to the mine that her and grandma had to check on the birds and make sure they were ok.  She was sad when the birds finally grew up and left the nest.

How could I have done that?

Blacklab, Rottweiler, dog, bear guard
Stella the Dog

So I have left out a very important individual to a mining party, so here is an introduction if you see her in some of the photos.  Her name is Stella, Black Lab, Rottweiler mix.  She is a super good dog and the best bear early warning device you could have around.   She Plays all day with Lyra(she does have to take some breaks to rest).  When we are split up she will run between the groups of us checking in to see if everything is alright.  She rides the 480D tractor with me, and she rides the Kubota by herself.  Just a super good, “mans best friend.”

To Hardrock or Not to Hardrock?

Mining, 4-wheelers, mountian, trail,

View, Mountain, Scenic, mining, claims

Not all of our Stories are at quartz creek.  We had a Partner in a group of claims call the Gilpatric, They were a very historical hard rock play.  I do have a lot of information regarding this claim and the history of the claim that I could put on this blog if anyone is interested.  It is a beautiful area to be mining in, very difficult to get the ore off the mountain.  We never actually processed any of the ore, we did however find a vein of quartz we sent out to be assayed, from very random grab samples and it was very rich with gold.  This mine was really our start into real gold mining, not just hopping from tourist trap to tourist trap panning for gold.  We learned a lot from our mining partner, but in the end we decided that we much more enjoyed the instant gratification of placer mining so we began searching for our own little mine. 

BRING ME A SPOON!!!

dredging, resurrection, resurection, creek, hope, AK, gold, mining

Everyone once and a while our friends will accompany us on our outings.  Well this is my buddy, Dom.  He is playing in the waters of the Resurrection creek in Hope.   This is a little blurb about him and the spot he is in.  We were here for the 4th of July weekend, and as those of you know running a dredge is cold hard work so it is nice to be able to take turns with people.  Well it was Doms turn to run the dredge and the rest of the group is up above him at camp relaxing around the fire when we hear Dom scream, “BRING ME A SPOON, I NEED A SPOON!”  So of course we all go to see what is going on.  Dom was very insistent on needing a spoon and at this point we still did not know why he needed a spoon.  Well the reason Dom was so frantic was, as he was dredging he uncovered a piece of gold about the size of a rice grain,  He could see it from above the water and he wanted a spoon to pick it up with.  He wanted a spoon quick because he thought it would wash away in the current,  well the current in the spot where he was working was not really that swift.  I gave him simple instructions, “Just reach down and pick it up.”  He looked at me kind of skeptically, but did it, I believe that was the first large piece of Gold Dom found.