Cache Creek Update Summer 2013

I have been in camp for three days, now, while Larry is in Cripple Creek at the Colorado State Gold Panning Championships. It has been a nice time for some much needed rest and decompression.  The only thing slightly in the way and of annoyance is the fact that the water main broke two days ago and I have been without water since then.

Now, ordinarily, one would hop in the vehicle and go to the nearest town to pick up 5 gallons, but, remember, Larry is in Cripple Creek for the weekend.... with the truck.  That means whatever water I have here is all I have.  As luck would have it, I was planning on catching up with dishes just before the main blew and had filled bowls and pans with water for a soak before I heated up the water to get them washed.  Hence, I was fortunate to have had about three gallons of grey water for toilet uses, etc. 

On top of that, a friend stopped by and left me a gallon of fresh water for coffee this morning, and as it is looking, possibly tomorrow as well.  Under other circumstances, I would be hiking to the stream or the lake to get more grey water tomorrow, but Larry and the truck will be back some time this evening.  Always fun at my house.  

I started this post yesterday before the water issue came up, about what is happening at Cache Creek this summer.  We were in there earlier this last week and I got some pictures of the road and the water flow, along with the big hole that the BLM filled up.  Almost all the trees are now marked with orange and you are supposed to stay 10 feet away from them.  As you would expect, everyone is complying....NOT.  I have pictures to prove it, too.  They were also told, but did not even stop digging to reply much of anything. 

Here is what the road in looks like now with the by-passed bog.  They left the road going down in there so you can still use the camping spots, but the other side has been bulldozed shut and marked.

Stream flow right now is reasonably good, but the new owner above is threatening to shut off the diversion.

Here is one side of the big hole, and the rest of it looks the same. I had to stand too far away to get the whole thing in, and then you could not tell what it was.  The BLM was not pleased with the type of work done in there this winter/early spring. Several 6 foot tunnels had been excavated, that they did away with. 

Here are three more shots of the big hole area.  The guy in the first shot with the yellow buckets is undermining the trees, while the other man had just talked to him about staying away from them.  It's depressing how little some people care about whether this area stays open or not.  We stayed for a bit and did some panning.  Brought out a nice little string for a couple of hours work.  

We have had some rain in the last few days, which is good for the fires still burning in Colorado and for the forests in general.  The West Fork complex in southwestern Colorado is expected to burn for another couple of months.

Gold is up a bit right now at $1235.50, and silver as well at $19.67.  Everyone is pretty much bearish on gold for now, which means we are near a bottom for it.  I expect a rally by October.  The announcement by the Feds last week did exactly what they wanted it to do....make everyone take a deep breath and hold it for a while.  LOL!  Check out www.vistaminingadventures.com and talk with Phil Sr. if you are looking for a place to play in the water on the Arkansas River between BV and Leadville, learning how to pan for gold or do a little dredging, so you can find some of that Colorado Gold.  As always......

Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
hookedongold@gmail.com

                      Mid June, and the Arkansas is Running Bedrock to Bedrock

WOW did it take a lot of time and energy to finish the front yard at the main house! Once started, of course, you can't just run off and leave it. Naturally, we had lots of things come up that were unexpected and had to be fixed, but now it will take care of itself til we go back in the Fall and my Mom will not have to worry with it.

So, gold, huh?  It's still a little depressed with a close on Friday of a little over $1391, but silver is still around $22.00.  A long way from $40!  They will both probably jump around this region most of the summer.  There may not be a lot out there to bump it up till Fall.  Then again, there is the unforeseen that can always put all bets off.

Since getting into our summer digs we have been on the run trying to catch up.  We spent a couple of days with Brian and Yolanda Busse discussing plans for this year's jewelry and what will be happening up at the Thank You Lord Mine on Mt. Antero.  We should get to help with some rock mitigation and exploration there this summer.  (Yes, THOSE Brian and Yolanda Busse. We have known them for many years.)

We also visited with friends in BV while grabbing ice cream for the old man and lettuce and broccoli for me.  Thursday and Friday we were on the Arkansas River with Phil Martinez, a very long time friend, at his river claims, also known as Vista Mining Adventures.  His dredge and cleanup Neffco bowl set up is sweet, and he has been prospecting for gold in Colorado most of his life.

If you are interested in the bowl, he is the sole distributor/dealer.  It will handle around 25 tons a day.  Contact him at www.vistaminingadventures.com, also, if you are interested in learning, panning, sluicing, dredging, but NO HIGHBANKING! The River is bank to bank right now, so he will not take new people or children until the shore paths are safer.

In between we visited Leadville to see what was going on and took a day to settle into the summer trailer.  Took the ATV out for a short spin and it is in major trouble which means expensive to fix.

The word on Cache Creek is that the bog has been by-passed and they bulldozed all the material, filling in all holes and overturning much of the area.  Apparently, the BLM was NOT happy with the group/groups who tunneled into the banks this winter.  Besides that, the new owner of the private property the diversion comes off of is threatening to close it off.

Last, I am receiving many requests for a form that was discontinued three years ago.  PLEASE, PLEASE, let me know where you find this.  I cannot, for the life of me, figure out where it is.  Send me the url in an email so I can eliminate it.  I get no information to send it to, so I have no idea who is sending it to me.

That's it for this week.  Be safe out there, and have a wonderfully eventful season. As Always...

Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
hookedongold@gmail.com

Yes, It's that time of year again! The gate to the Cache Creek parking lot should be open! Summer is finally here.

Happy Memorial Day to you!  We are remembering all those who are serving, have served, and have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms, along with their families.  Thank you for your service!

May has gone by lickity split! We had so much snow in April and on into early May, that no yard work could be done before then.  Perennials sat parked inside waiting for weather to clear enough to be planted, and then waited on the patio to harden off a bit.  Now, we are frantically trying to get everything ready at home to begin our summer gold and gemstone hunting season here in Colorado.

River and stream waters are rising quickly, we noticed, as we made a run to camp to bring in the batteries, get filters changed, and basic set up accomplished before we are ready to make the jump to mountain fun sometime next week.  

On our way back to Denver this evening, we will stop in Bailey to attend the finale party at the Rustic Station for Ice Cold Gold, on Animal Planet.  It sounds like the Weather Channel will begin filming another series of shows for the Prospectors series, soon. We are hoping Animal Planet or their parent Discovery Channel wants to film another round for the Ice Cold Gold series, too, this summer.  It has been wonderful to support these two groups, and a lot of fun to join in their celebrations.

Gold closed last Friday at $1387.20, and the NY market is closed today for Memorial Day, however, the London market was up this afternoon at about $1394. Reports are that the 'smart money' is turning bullish on gold, so I think we might be looking at a rise in the price just as our gold season begins, which is good news for this year's gold prospectors who will be looking to sell their gold later in the summer.  Everyone is waiting for gold stocks to find a bottom, but they usually trade far behind gold prices. Prices need to rise before more production can commence.

We will be visiting with friends next week as well as Vista Mining Adventures to see the new dredge addition Phil Martinez sr. has going.  It includes a new bowl separation system and some secret additions we aren't allowed to know about.....yet.  We will probably make a visit to Cache Creek for some fun with the monster sluice box, too.  Can't wait to begin!  It looks to be a very nice summer for us.  Now that buying a home, moving, selling the old home and fixing the new one's yard are over, we can concentrate on what is most important...AND share that with you. 

As Always...

Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
hookedongold@gmail.com

A Summer's Worth of Finding Gold in Colorado

Summer is winding down, and with it gold prospecting season here in Colorado. While many will continue to search for gold, most of us will be settling in for the coming of the holidays and winter.


The price of gold has been on a wild ride this summer, sitting at around $1860 now, and pricing it for sale has been tricky.  If anyone has been on the store site, you will notice that it is disappearing and I am not sure I will continue to offer it, as the high price is pricing me out of the market, requiring a substantial investment in it to continue to offer smaller gold.


We have had a busy, busy summer, and, yes, I continue to get comments on the lack of blog posts.  But to tell the truth, there is so much to report, it is hard for me to decide what to tell you.  That, and the lack of time, has kept me from sharing more information.


I hear that Cache Creek is a complete zoo this year with over a hundred workers there on some days.  We have had camp hosts who have been charging for lessons and help, selling their contraptions in the parking lot, cutting down trees, digging huge holes, people who continue to abuse the site, and threats from BLM to close it down.  We have avoided it like the plague and have still been pulled into the drama.  

GPOC needs to be more careful who they put in there, and the lack of real concern over who the hosts are or how long they are there has been a real concern for all members.  Board members have not been kept up to date with what is going on there, not allowed to see the regulations for the area unless they go to Cache Creek and get their own copies.  If GPOC is to continue this relationship with BLM, the quality of hosts needs to be addressed.  If it is too hard to find volunteers for this, then we need to sever this relationship instead of putting people in there who have already shown themselves to be unreliable in their conduct, or to have them push the envelope until they are removed from the site and/or lose their club membership.  It seems our camp hosts are no longer there to help the public, but for personal gain.


I am also hearing that the Forest Service may be overstepping their bounds in regard to the Arkansas River area around BV.  We have heard they are riding herd over BLM area as well as Forest Service, and have heard that they are issuing tickets, but I don't know that for sure.  They were not supposed to be doing that until all the signs were in place, and then only on Forest Service land.  BLM should be taking care of the land they manage.  The drama there continues as well.


Meanwhile, we have been happily looking for gold in other places, here in Colorado, and enjoying the peace and tranquility of South Park near Trout Creek Pass.  Hopefully, your gold prospecting season has been as pleasant as ours, and that you have found gold to put in your bottle.  We have found enough to make it worth our time finding gold in Colorado.  Until next time...


Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
hookedongold@gmail.com

Hooked on Gold Gazette 11/20/09

HOOKED ON GOLD GAZETTE
· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $1150.90
· Spot price last Gazette : $1096.90
________________

Calendar of Events

NOVEMBER

· 3rd Election Day
· 11th GPOC Meeting
· 13th-15th Gem Show at Merchandise Mart
· 26th Thanksgiving

DECEMBER

· 9th GPOC Christmas Party…Remember your unwrapped toys for children. Our Marine friends will be there to pick them up. You may also make cash donations.
· 24th Christmas Eve
· 25th Christmas Day
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NEWS

As with all good intentions that fail, things this past week have gotten in the way of my getting back to you before now. Our friend Pedro, from Colombia, S.A., had some extra time in Denver this week, so we spent our week with him. We don’t get these chances often, so we take them when we can. We visited the Denver Museum and the Garden of the Gods, and even though we had snow last weekend, the days we were out were very nice, indeed. Beautiful blue skies and warm weather made for a very enjoyable time together.

I’ll be working on internal linking to Gold ‘N’ Store as I am sure the text links go to the wrong page. I thought about that this past weekend and realized that I still have more work to do on the store, too. I’ll be putting up more page links and getting some more gold listed, as well as working on meta tags and descriptions. Check back on Cyber Monday to see what I have that is new.

Cache Creek still had gold prospectors in and out as of a couple of weeks ago, even with 4 inches of snow still on the ground. The Game and Fish Dept. has been watching for hunters in the area, too. As a conservation area, it is closed to hunting, and there have been several hunters in there this season.

Hope you have been watching gold jump up and down this past week. It touched $1170 before falling back again. Still, a nice run up in the metal. Everyone at the Gem Show was talking about the healthcare bill and the state of the economy around the world. All news bodes well for gold, but silver may be the story of note after all is said and done. It closed today at $18.51.

Looking for some extra cash? You might want to ‘get your teeth’ into selling gold. Read about it here: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/19/business/main5711640.shtml . And, is you are interested in buying or have bought gold ingot bars, you might want to check into this article about how some of them may be filled with tungsten http://www.businessinsider.com/the-tungsten-filled-gold-bar-conspiracy-gets-discussed-on-cnbc-2009-11 .

There is probably a ton of other news out there that I missed while I was gallivanting around Colorado. With the holidays beginning next week, we are looking forward to a quiet weekend before the Thanksgiving Holiday and the mad rush to Christmas begins. This also means that there will be no Gazette next Friday as we spend time with our extended families. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, and a Holiday Season that is filled with Joy, and remember to visit Gold ‘N’ Store for your prospecting gifts.

(Links to our affiliates. Good deals, and GREAT folks)
You can find Panning Kits
Monthly Prospecting Equipment Specials
Basic Prospecting Equipment

Until next week…….

Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley (MQS)
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World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com . If the links do not work, copy and paste them into your browser.
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now CLOSED TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT until MARCH 1st.
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