Gold Panning Championships

Colorado State Gold Panning Champions: Center 1st place - Sue Drewes, Right 2nd place - Isaac Beaty, Left 3rd place - Patricia Vesterby.



Ah, home and rest! What a week. The Colorado State Gold Panning Championships went very well, with many new contestants, and many new winners. We had people from all over the U.S., and a great time was had by all. Many thanks to Breckenridge for being so generous in their efforts to make the championships happen each year the first weekend in August.

After the championships were over, we headed for camp and four days of semi rest and prospecting. We met up with friends from Oklahoma and spent several days dredging and prospecting. A very nice restful and enjoyable week. We did not have our grandsons this week, as we usually do, as the oldest one starts high school and had to be back home to register the 9th. We sure did miss them!!!!! The baby is now 5 months old, and after two days of wearing a GPOC tie, he actually tried to put it on over his head when we gave it to him. Adorable! Except for the projectile vomiting he produced the last morning we were in Breckenridge, he took to the outdoors and all the people like a duck to water.

Buena Vista's Gold Rush Days were very nice, with the GPOC troughs filled both days until the wind came up of Sunday afternoon so hard we were chasing t-shirts, and fliers, and magazines. Needless to say, we shut down about an hour early when it didn't stop. We were on the edge of a pretty big thundercloud to the south of us, that produced all the wind. The Cotin Tail gem and mineral show at the fairgrounds was well attended, but many complained that there was too much jewelry, petrified wood, rough for cutting, and not enough specimen material. We bought aquamarine, petrified dinosaur bone, and pieces that are formed when lightening hits sand. There is some very exciting news about one of the big claim owners on Mt. Antero who is looking to open an area of his claim for public searching. Hooked on Gold will be involved with this in a minor capacity and we will let you know about what is happening this next year. That should wrap up the report on this past week. Catch yo in the funny papers later.

P.S. There is scuttle in the markets that the selling of gold by some countries to deflate the price of gold is about to end. Watch for gold to spike when that happens.