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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 4, 2013 22:12:15 GMT -5
Last weekend's trip to drywash for gold near the American Girl Mine, off Ogilby road north of I-8 (Southern California). The event was put on by the owner of a local prospecting equipment shop. Sunrise Saturday morning.  A guy in our prospecting club. Lots of drywashers, many of them Keenes.  She's also in our club, another Keene.  This is ours, an old Keene that we just pieced back together. This was the first time we tried it. It seemed to do the job.  Most of these work by using a blower, which spins a fan with a counterweight. That shakes the dirt down into the riffles. We had a large Craftsman vacuum clear, and ran a generator carried in the truck bed.  A good turnout of folks. I heard there was 100 people for the BBQ Saturday night.  Lots of dust!  Another Keene.  An interesting set-up, like a dry trommel. It was hand cranked. Did I mention that it was dusty??  Despite having a soft place to lay and shade set up, Lucy preferred laying in the dirt and sun. Stupid pit bull...  Another one. This one had a 12 volt motor attached to a battery to turn it and shake it.  The holes we dug near the washes edge. Metal pole is upright for EZ-Up, 1" square tube. Holes at least a couple feet deep.  Just one of the tailings piles from the American Girl Mine.  Virga (rain falling but evaporating before it hits the ground) falling from the clouds when we got back to camp.  Some of the prospectors panning their concentrates.  It had clouded up a bit. Almost sun set.  An awesome sunset to end a great day!  Why I don't wash and wax truck very often...  Two weeks of hard work, wasted. Now have to at least wash it again.  Sunday, nugget shooting the tailings piles out by the mine. Our club has a claim at this location.  Urban assault vehicle. (James, the rope is for towing.)  Quartz veins shooting through the mountain.  Didn't see any deer, but evidence of them.  Picture window.   Rock stackers rearranging the desert. Truck in photo for scale, this was a big rock! Made me think of offerings to the gods on an altar. Or maybe it's just art.  And finally, heading home, west, into the setting sun. This is the All American Canal by Buttercup.  Some pretty good sized dunes...  complete with razorbacks. I have riden these dunes before, and tumbled off a razorback. I don't like these dunes anymore.  Okay, that's it. Hope you liked the photos. Jean |
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Post by Pat on Nov 5, 2013 1:11:48 GMT -5
Thanks, Jean. I never heard of dry gold prospecting/panning before. Interesting. Pretty scenery, too.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723 
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Post by Fossilman on Nov 5, 2013 1:31:06 GMT -5
Great pics,with a great story...Thanks Jean
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Post by orrum on Nov 5, 2013 8:47:00 GMT -5
Great pics but did I miss the one of all your gold....and nuggets? Seriously..... Did many find gold? Anybody get a bunch?
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Post by mohs on Nov 5, 2013 9:14:06 GMT -5
Fabulous pictures,Jean what a process what a club! serious quartz veined mountains never seen/noticed that before enjoyE  |
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Post by nowyo on Nov 5, 2013 9:56:16 GMT -5
Now that right there looks like a whole lot of fun. Thanks for the pictures.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 5, 2013 10:11:20 GMT -5
Thanks, Pat. Before joining the prospecting club, I didn't know the difference between a dry washer and a highbanker. And what the heck is a blue bowl? Well, I'm learning.
Glad you liked it, Mike.
Orrum, no you didn't miss pics of the finds. We haven't yet panned out the concentrates, a lot of black sand there. I'll see if I can spread it out in a pan and get a look. There was one guy I was aware of that found a small nugget with his metal detector.
Ed and nowyo, thanks for the comments. Ed, I understand that there is a sister club of the SPMA (Southwestern Prospectors and Miners Association) in the Yuma area. Didn't know that until this weekend. And the GPAA (Gold Prospectors Association of America) is a national group. Prospectors are everywhere, they just like to keep a low profile.
We had a great time, only one problem - two days just wasn't long enough.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Nov 5, 2013 11:36:22 GMT -5
You guys have all the fun. Those deer pellets looked delicious. Did y'all have a contest to see who could spit them the furthest? I saw that on Wild Boy's except the do do was from a Ku Du. Get it- ku du do do hahah What are razorbacks-hogs??? Are they a threat ? Seemed dusty  I want Lucy |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 5, 2013 11:54:50 GMT -5
James, I did not sample the deer pellets, sorry. It kind of surprised me when I saw them, it's not a very hospitable place for deer to live. Since I did not have a metal detector, I just climbed a hill, took some photos of the goings on, then wandered away down a wash. Nobody was with me to have a spitting contest with, lol. Did ya like the sunglasses for size reference? Took a page out of your book.
Razorbacks - no, not hogs. Dangerous? They can be when you ride off of them. A razorback is the downwind side of the dune, where the sand grains slip off over the top edge. The back sides can be very steep. The very first trip I made to Glamis with my IT175 (for New Years eve 1979), I found out that if you don't know about them, you'd best just keep your ass in camp and ride a chair! Most everyone else on the ride had three wheelers, so could sit atop these dunes. I didn't even have a paddle on my bike. Crested the first one I came to, and sailed right off it, down the back side. Was somehow able to maintain, and landed about 2/3 of the way down the 50 foot dune. That made me feel a little overconfident, so I powered up the next dune, and this one I took a tumble down the backside of it. No broken bones, only damaged pride. I got over it. But I don't like those dunes anymore.
Yes, it was very dusty. You may have noticed that the smart people were wearing dust masks. I did not, and had to use a shovel to clear my nose out throughout the day.
Lucy would probably love you, James. She is a sweetheart.
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garock
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by garock on Nov 5, 2013 16:35:55 GMT -5
Beautiful sunset photo ! ! Love the color !
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Post by 150FromFundy on Nov 5, 2013 17:05:24 GMT -5
This was a really interesting story. You have shattered all my illusions of gold mining along river banks and images of sluice boxes and wild rapids. I've watched far too many episodes of Gold Rush Alaska and Bearing Sea Gold, but I don't think anyone has covered the dry wash process yet. It looks absolutely miserable and would be great fodder for another reality TV show.
I'd be curious to know what the yields are. The boys on Gold Rush Alaska are searching for $10 to $15 per yard pay dirt. That would be a whole lot of dust by the dry wash process.
Beautiful photos, even if most of the gold was in the sunset colours.
Darryl.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 5, 2013 17:27:58 GMT -5
Thanks, Frankie and Darryl. Agreed, the real gold was in the sunset. Jean
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2013 18:14:52 GMT -5
Damn, starting over again. I must have missed the post button the last time.
Awesome photo story. Looks like I should trade in my sluice for a high banker so I will be right at home when I get there. I am thinking that I would prefer to haul a tank of water and recycle it round and round through my sluice. I have a 12 volt pump for my blue bowl that also works great as a recycle pump. Way less dust.
Looks like you did the back breaking work that is necessary for the hobby. It is amazing that we will do that kind of work for fun and bitch like hell if we have to do it for work.
Thanks for taking the time to share with us.
Jim
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 5, 2013 18:51:38 GMT -5
Jim, sluice boxes are good for Northern California, where they get some rain and have some rivers. Places some of our club members go to are the Bear River, and also the Yuba River. That's where you use the sluices. No flowing water, no sluice box.
It was work digging the dirt free from around the larger rocks. Supposedly the bedrock was three feet down underneath this wash (one of the guys dowsed it earlier), so we were trying for that. Don't think we quite got there. I was okay with digging all day, no sore muscles later. But I didn't like that dust!!
You're welcome for the share, glad you enjoyed it.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Nov 5, 2013 19:05:19 GMT -5
James, I did not sample the deer pellets, sorry. It kind of surprised me when I saw them, it's not a very hospitable place for deer to live. Since I did not have a metal detector, I just climbed a hill, took some photos of the goings on, then wandered away down a wash. Nobody was with me to have a spitting contest with, lol. Did ya like the sunglasses for size reference? Took a page out of your book. Razorbacks - no, not hogs. Dangerous? They can be when you ride off of them. A razorback is the downwind side of the dune, where the sand grains slip off over the top edge. The back sides can be very steep. The very first trip I made to Glamis with my IT175 (for New Years eve 1979), I found out that if you don't know about them, you'd best just keep your ass in camp and ride a chair! Most everyone else on the ride had three wheelers, so could sit atop these dunes. I didn't even have a paddle on my bike. Crested the first one I came to, and sailed right off it, down the back side. Was somehow able to maintain, and landed about 2/3 of the way down the 50 foot dune. That made me feel a little overconfident, so I powered up the next dune, and this one I took a tumble down the backside of it. No broken bones, only damaged pride. I got over it. But I don't like those dunes anymore. Yes, it was very dusty. You may have noticed that the smart people were wearing dust masks. I did not, and had to use a shovel to clear my nose out throughout the day. Lucy would probably love you, James. She is a sweetheart. The deer pellet subject tickles me. Sunglasses did well. Hey,they are close by and all about the same size. I just can't see to focus the camera haha. I used to have several baja VW's and put big cylinders/carbs on them. Rode them on Florida dunes before it was out lawed. Know exactly what razors are. Ours not that big. Wow. i would be in heaven. On a 3 wheeler. Not a 2 wheeler so much. A rail buggy would be so cool on those monster dunes. 50 feet- better stick to the rail buggy on that one. That dog looks sweet as sugar. Thanks for sharing that trip. Good to see a group into geology. Does not happen like that scale here. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2013 19:11:45 GMT -5
I need to set up my sluice with a double tub to show you how I recycle the water. I use a double tub (one inside the other) and the dirt and water coming out of the sluice dump into the inside tub. The water flows over the top of the inside tub into the larger tub where the pump is and the pump sends the water back up to the top of the sluice and flows down again. When the inside tub gets full of dirt and gravel I pour off as much water as possible and dump the gravel. I loose a little water in the dumping but not a lot. 15 to 20 gallons of water will go a long way. I am surprised that nobody was doing that. If you have to carry your equipment a long ways the water thing is definitely out. I have not done any dry washing so I may be all wet. lol
Jim
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 5, 2013 19:19:16 GMT -5
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Nov 6, 2013 8:58:34 GMT -5
Water will go a long way. When we have our common forest fires the low fire is put out w/5 gallon back pack sprayers.
I think they should mist Jean and let the dust coat her. Imagine that. LOL.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 6, 2013 9:54:22 GMT -5
James, how could you even think of such a thing? If I'm working hard (which I do sometimes  ), I'm sweating and the dirt is already sticking to me. I don't need to be misted. But seriously, I'm more concerned with the dirt I'm breathing in, than what is sticking to the outside of me. And just for that comment, I'm going to spoon feed you some of those deer pellets, LOL ! And Lucy doesn't love you anymore... She is a momma's girl. |
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Nov 6, 2013 11:11:17 GMT -5
That alkali soil burns my acid loving skin off. At least in Texas it did. Thought i had nougahyde for an epidermis till caliche dissolved my outer layer.
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), I'm sweating and the dirt is already sticking to me. I don't need to be misted. But seriously, I'm more concerned with the dirt I'm breathing in, than what is sticking to the outside of me.
