Trips this Summer?

Well who's got some trips planned for this Summer ? where ,what are you planning ? Any new equipment or have you built anything over the Winter ??? I'm hoping to get out to Indiana this Spring / Summer with Dick.B and finally get to try out my 2 inch dredge . I wanted to use my 4 inch Keene dredge but I'm getting to old to move it around and I sadly sold it! latter this Summer I'd like to meet up with my ole friend Leonard Leeper and head out to his claim at Douglas Creek Wyoming OR to Buna Vista Colorado OR time will tell if I'm up to any of it!

Well my first thing I'm doing is buying a nicer trailer. It is a used 29 foot Keystone Ultra-lite with all the do dads. My wife has a problem going out in my 16x7 enclosed trailer W/O ANY DO DADS ! Now I have to clean out my enclosed trailer and find a place to store it (somewhere) or sell it off alone with the enclosed trailer....... The 2 inch dredge will fit nicely with this setup! I made a small hand cart to haul this dredge awhile back. Good thing I did ! And  NO ATV for my trips anymore! My 5 inch subie dredge is on hold / possibly ended  because I sold the engine I wanted to use on it. it was to heavy for me to move the engine around by myself anyway! I'm NOT getting any younger!! After I get the 16x7 trailer cleaned out I'll have to decide what I'm going to do with all of the extra equipment I have. Maybe just set it up in my back garage and do all the clean ups out there to minimize my equipment that I used to haul all over the place.

That would be a monster to try and get it in at CT. But you may enjoy rv'ing with the wife even better than Leonards cooking. HA HA Leonard.
Get a picture up so we can see it. I'm going to get my topper for the truck tomorrow. Cut the grass yesterday for the first time. I guess Spring has arrived here in Iowa.

Looks like good times are ahead you and the wife. Mine is retiring in June so looks like some traveling this year.

Happy trails Russ.

Dickb

Dick is the CT you are referring to the place in Indiana that you mentioned about going to?

Yes CT= Cottonwood Trails in Indiana. Just got back with the topper and now I have to get the camper out of mothballs. Lots of little things to get it back in shape. HA

Dickb

Will be headed back to CA for a few months and then will head to OK. to see my sister and then to LA. to see some good freinds and then back to AR. for the winter .

Man - o - man your getting around this year! have fun and be safe!

I'll be traipsing around CO prospecting areas this summer in my new 25' travel trailer. Hope to run into some of you along the way!

I ended up selling my 16 x 7 foot cargo trailer and put that $$$ into the new (to me) trailer.

Well on Mon, I'm going to run over to Lucky Strike and buy me some expensive sand bag to help stop the flooding at home. We were out on the boat today soaking in some sun and getting a little liquid refreshment. Always good to be together with family. Have fun in that snow Randy, it's swim suit weather down here and that ain't bad.

Dickb

Dick I hope that "sand bag" is really heavy one and it puts a big smile on your face!

ALCON,

Sounds like "you all" have some great plans!

My plan is to keep fighting BLM to "save" Cache Creek....to get out as much as I can.....look forward to maybe dredging some more on the Ark whenever it drops low enough to safely get back on the water.

A bit of a wet, rainy morning here... Only 37F out, so cool too.

The Arks' running 937 CFS at the Granite gauge right now, down from 1,100 a few days back...........BUT, it WILL start surging soon. Hopefully, it will move some sand & gravel and layer in a LOT of gold for me to get!

Randy C-17A

Well my trip to Colorado just got cancelled due to the heat in Misery and in Kansas......Maybe this fall when the temps are lower! I don't like traveling in the upper 90's with my wife and dog onboard! If it were just me , I would just drive the 13 hours straight through and be done with it ! Until then the trailer is my "yard art"! OR should I say "driveway art"!

Russ,

BUMMER!  

Nice and cool here still...  Surprisingly, a brisk 36F this morning at 6 AM. Should get into the upper 60s today here in BV.

A cool, cloudless, blue sky day here.....with the snow melting fast off the 14ers now.

The Ark hit 2,400 CFS recently at Granite, but oddly is down now to about 1,600...

Hey, even though it's HOT outside the vehicle, don;t they make air conditioning these days to keep everyone cool INSIDE?

Randy  C-17A  

Hi Russ:

Here is some footage to make you drool a little. Enjoy!

Sorry to here you staying put in MO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGGtvCn8co8

Dickb

Randy my problem with the heat is in Kansas when I would need to pull over for the night and NO 120vac power for the A/C in the trailer. My wife gets a little testy when it's hot out and nowhere to cool off AND she hates the 13 hour jaunts without stopping EXCEPT for "pit stops" and fuel! I learned the hard way about western KS. in the heat (95+ to over 100 and blowing 5 tires)...Dick I thought you said my trailer wouldn't make it into CWT........The video had ne in there. BUT all my equipment that's for sale is on my 4 x 8 utility trailer and that's what I need to bring to a outing to sell. I'd put a tarp up over that utility trailer for the weekend to sleep.

Well, I hope to get things improved enough with my wife's medical problems to get out a few times. Maybe just metro Denver creeks or Cache Creek or GPOC claims above Fairplay; just have to wait and see.

Dave,

IF you decided to go to Fairplay............be aware the greedy City Council jacked UP the gold panning permit there...

Used to be $5 a week for people over 12 years or $35 for a year.

Now? Ha. $10 a day for people over 12 years and $100 a year!

Guess the Hoffman's mining operation has been getting Fairplay a lot more notariety, business....and the town is out to "mine the miners" and tourists all they can... Figures.

Randy C-17A

I simply wont go there ! California is the other ! Some other states are bordering my displeasure also!

Admin wrote:Dave,

IF you decided to go to Fairplay............be aware the greedy City Council jacked UP the gold panning permit there...

Used to be $5 a week for people over 12 years or $35 for a year.

Now?  Ha.  $10 a day for people over 12 years and $100 a year!

Guess the Hoffman's mining operation has been getting Fairplay a lot more notariety, business....and the town is out to "mine the miners" and tourists all they can...  Figures.

Randy  C-17A  

Years ago, it was free. That was before it was "refurbished." There were areas with unworked dirt there, which has been piled up to form the original pond for the dredge. Back then, you could get $50 of gold a day (gold was $300/oz) if you worked hard. You had to haul dirt quite a way to wash it. I don't recall anyone using any powered equipment, just shovel, buckets and sluice (and pans. of course).

All the unworked areas disappeared with the rework of the area, and the fees started.

Dave,

Ha. Well.............seems the "good old days" are long gone today...

I read on the internet that the Fairplay bucket line dredge, one of the biggest Yuba Class boats, with like 131 buckets could process up to 15,000 yards a DAY...........on a good day.

History says that mined over 80,000 ounces in 7 1/2 years of ops from 1939 thru like 1952 with the 5 WW II years shut down.

Back then gold was $35 an ounce.

Today with gold about $1,250 an ounce, that's a whopping $100,000,000!

Wish I could process 15,000 yards a day!

Randy C-17A

Admin wrote:Dave,

Ha.  Well.............seems  the "good old days" are long gone today...  

I read on the internet that the Fairplay bucket line dredge, one of the biggest Yuba Class boats, with like 131 buckets could process up to 15,000 yards a DAY...........on a good day.

History says that mined over 80,000 ounces in 7 1/2 years of ops from 1939 thru like 1952 with the 5 WW II years shut down.

Back then gold was $35 an ounce.

Today with gold about $1,250 an ounce, that's a whopping $100,000,000!

Wish I could process 15,000 yards a day!

Randy  C-17A  

Shoot, I would be happy with just 15 yards a day!!

Dave,

At my age, I am happy to process like 15 or so buckets a day!

Randy C-17A