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As almost a followup to the last blog post, this one is along the same vein.  (Pun intended.)  After running into a real life Gold Miner, Steve Hunt, we decided there might be something to all the stories about the gold in this area.  I mean why else would someone spend hours a day, days out of the month, month after month for years prospecting or working a claim? So, we joined a metal detecting club and purchased a Gold Monster 1000 detector to join in what looks to be fun.  Wait, did I say day after day, month after month, year after year is fun?   Hahahaha.

We have been members of the GPAA, Gold Prospectors Association of America, for some time now because back east it was good to get out in the forest, camp, play in the streams and in general enjoy time together in nature.  But WOW this is different!  Just as I’m excited to learn about desert survival, we’re also looking forward to learning the tricks of the trade when it comes to desert prospecting.

We went exploring today, looking for the claims that belong to the metal detecting club that we joined. We were hoping that it would be a good place to “wet our feet” in this desert. The first thing we learned was that the claims are marked, well sort of….

We found a claim we were OK to work on in an area where modern-day “claim jumpers” are really frowned upon.  Anyone caught working someone else’s claim is subject to fine,  imprisonment,  and forfeiture of ALL equipment.  If one is caught by the authorities, that is to say we are where the old-west rules may still apply.   😉

We ran into several people working their own  claims within the club boundaries.  This spurred us on to ride a little further.  We learned the “PUSH” had not yet been done, but that did not deter us.  You see, the club was hiring someone with a backhoe to “push” the top layer of dirt over to expose new dirt.  The significance of this is that it will expose new dirt to the metal detectors hunting for GOLD!  The gold will be most likely laying on the bedrock in most places.  In some places the bedrock can be several feet deep in a layer of other small rock and sand.  Still this rock and sand may still contain gold in small nuggets or flakes or even real fine “flour gold”.  And that’s why everyone gets excited about the push.

The people that came here in the “gold rush” left behind piles of dirt removed from mines they were digging in search of that big lode or vein of gold running sometimes deep in the mountains.

Having started this blog post several days ago I’ve since been out twice on my own and once with the Temeccula Valley Prospectors Club.  These guys know how to do it right!

After a visit to the GOLD EYE MINE they had a potluck spread that was outrageous.  Who says you can’t eat good in the desert.

I also panned some “pay-dirt” from another location and FOUND GOLD!  Now while I could just about bet there was some in that dirt it was still exciting to see the color come up in the pan.  And this is what drives most of the prospectors today, the thrill of the hunt.  Don’t forget if you do find a good nugget the price of gold just might make it worth it.  If you’re curious check out the current price here GOLDPRICE.ORG

That’s it for now.  You see I went out yesterday and I’ve got some paydirt to process.

So as always, “Be Safe, Get Out, and Go Adventure”