Post by rollingstone on Oct 7, 2012 3:12:23 GMT -5
It's been about a year since I posted anything on this forum, and several years since I was an active poster, but that doesn't mean I've ignored rocks entirely during that time. The tumblers have been quiet almost all of that time, but I still hit the local river a few times a year just to see if any treasures need discovering ;D
So here's my photo-story of a local trip on a warm Sept. 30 day, to "Prospector's Point", a public-access place on the North Saskatchewan River, about 30 miles from where I live in central Alberta. I went there to look for petrified wood and other interesting rocks in the extensive gravel flats, most people go there to have a BBQ, to walk their dog, or perhaps to sluice some gold.
There is flour gold in this river -- gold that is super-fine and never forms nuggets. But it is gold all the same, and is fun to see in a pan. I have a gold pan but am pretty green with it... still, I have panned a couple times on this and other rivers in central Alberta, and while the few flakes in my pan aren't worth much, it is still a rush to see that golden colour sitting in a pan of black sand.
Here's a shot of Prospector's Point, looking upstream. The people right down by the water are after gold, the others are fisherman, families on an outing, dog-walkers, whatever.
Here's one guy after gold:
And here's another couple guys with what seems a fancier setup:
The exposed gravel continues for at least half a mile, with sporadic pock marks from amateur gold seekers, like this shot from near the far end of the gravel bar:
The gravel disappears and the river takes a bend, but from the far end of my walk that day it seems that sand bars continue upstream, and you can even see people working this sandbar in the distance:
But I'm no prospector, I'm just someone looking for rocks to tumble. So I wade up the river's shallow, smooth water, looking for rocks as I go. On this day, Sept. 30, the water was definitely cooling with autumn setting in, but it was still fine to wade in sandals. Fall colours were nice...
As for the rocks, the smooth and shallow flow of the river here made underwater rocks stand out in sharp relief:
I was after petrified wood, which has been pretty much picked over by late September, but there's still some to be found:
Here's a closer look in case my putting it in the center of the last photo hasn't already given it away. Petrified wood stands out from the other rocks only because of the fact that it is brittle so breaks in an irregular fashion while it tumbles down the river, whereas most other rocks get rounded:
And my take after almost an hour's searching. I found about the same amount again on my way back to my car.
A pleasant way to spend a warm autumn day!
Don
So here's my photo-story of a local trip on a warm Sept. 30 day, to "Prospector's Point", a public-access place on the North Saskatchewan River, about 30 miles from where I live in central Alberta. I went there to look for petrified wood and other interesting rocks in the extensive gravel flats, most people go there to have a BBQ, to walk their dog, or perhaps to sluice some gold.
There is flour gold in this river -- gold that is super-fine and never forms nuggets. But it is gold all the same, and is fun to see in a pan. I have a gold pan but am pretty green with it... still, I have panned a couple times on this and other rivers in central Alberta, and while the few flakes in my pan aren't worth much, it is still a rush to see that golden colour sitting in a pan of black sand.
Here's a shot of Prospector's Point, looking upstream. The people right down by the water are after gold, the others are fisherman, families on an outing, dog-walkers, whatever.
Here's one guy after gold:
And here's another couple guys with what seems a fancier setup:
The exposed gravel continues for at least half a mile, with sporadic pock marks from amateur gold seekers, like this shot from near the far end of the gravel bar:
The gravel disappears and the river takes a bend, but from the far end of my walk that day it seems that sand bars continue upstream, and you can even see people working this sandbar in the distance:
But I'm no prospector, I'm just someone looking for rocks to tumble. So I wade up the river's shallow, smooth water, looking for rocks as I go. On this day, Sept. 30, the water was definitely cooling with autumn setting in, but it was still fine to wade in sandals. Fall colours were nice...
As for the rocks, the smooth and shallow flow of the river here made underwater rocks stand out in sharp relief:
I was after petrified wood, which has been pretty much picked over by late September, but there's still some to be found:
Here's a closer look in case my putting it in the center of the last photo hasn't already given it away. Petrified wood stands out from the other rocks only because of the fact that it is brittle so breaks in an irregular fashion while it tumbles down the river, whereas most other rocks get rounded:
And my take after almost an hour's searching. I found about the same amount again on my way back to my car.
A pleasant way to spend a warm autumn day!
Don