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

Cache Creek Updates and Links to BLM Information Pages

                                                         Pouring a Gold Bar

WOW! Are we getting excited about the swings in gold? LOL! $1422 at the close today.

I saw, after my last post, that I still have some links for  you concerning Cache Creek and a link to the new BLM forms for the Arkansas.
http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo/minerals/locatable_minerals/placer_mining/cache_creek.html
and

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/co/field_offices/royal_gorge_field/Minerals/locatable_minerals/documents.Par.36939.File.dat/2013%20Notification%20for%20Placer%20Ops.pdf 

Regs for Cache Creek are the same as for 2012.  

This next link is to the BLM's General Usage guide to locatable minerals and placer mining.


 http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo/minerals/locatable_minerals/placer_mining/standard_guidance.html

They have also launched a new interactive page on minerals that you may find helpful.

http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Information/newsroom/2013/blm_launches_interactive1.html

Both of the new series about prospecting for gold and gemstones have had good reviews and comments, btw.

It is snowing here again, but it looks like we will be turning the corner towards spring by this weekend.  That means gold prospecting season in Colorado is just around the corner and lower elevations will be more accessible.  Hope you are ready.  I know we are.  

Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
hookedongold@gmail.com

 

Summer Gold Prospecting in Colorado

Happy end of summer to you all! It has been a long summer for us in many ways, and yet it has gone by quickly at the same time.  I am trying out a new format for the blog that seems to be working out well.  I have made several posts to it and it is easier to use than blogger, so I will be working on embedding it into the site later this Fall.  

Gold closed yesterday at $1615.80, which is up a bit since the beginning of summer.  Predictions are that it could go to $2500, but I think that is too optimistic before the elections.  December....well, I will have to wait and see.

We have been very busy with helping a parent with health issues this Spring and half the Summer.  A back surgery and kidney issues, as well as other family obligations, has kept me away from the blog for too long.  I even wrote one and then did not have the time to post it!

We have made connections with an old friend, Phil Martinez, who runs Vista Mining Adventures, and has started providing a pay for use area on his claims on the Arkansas River.  We have enjoyed our time there this summer dredging and pulling the fine gold we find there out of the river.  It is a peaceful place where you wave at, talk to and enjoy the rafters and fishermen in the area.  

We have also spent a few days in the Cache Creek area.  While there are some ongoing problems, the BLM, Forest Service and Camp Hosts are doing a good job of keeping things under control and the riff raff out.  We heard of a coordinated effort recently to clean up the area of a group who had come in, mined at night, dug out the banks, overstayed their time in the camping areas, and in general left a mess.  They were fined, run out, and were made to clean up the camps.  I hear they were even raked!  We had to head home right after this report, but we will check it out as soon as were are back at camp.

The miners on Antero have had a rash of claim jumpers with pistols and big threats.  One woman who owns a claim there, was run off her claim by a guy with a gun and a threat that someone was on the ridge with her in his sites, and that she was to vacate the area before she got hurt.  I heard a similar story last year.  Most probably the same guy.

Well, that's all for now.  Hope your gold prospecting summer has been a good one.  I have a report of snow on Mt Bross a day or so ago, so Fall is descending on the high country.  Still plenty of time to find gold in Colorado, but we are reminded that our play time there is coming to an end.  As Always,

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley

www.hookedongold.com

hookedongold@gmail.com

Gold at the Tucson Show

    What does 52 POUNDS of Australian gold look like?  Came with it's own guard, too.

So how do you like that really big piece of gold in the picture?  Gold spot price is sitting at $1423.30 this morning and silver at $34.37.  They have both been holding at pretty high levels most of February.

How has your winter been going? Ours seems to be going by at a faster pace than usual, and we attribute that to a winter get away to Tucson and Arizona in general. The above nugget recently found in Australia, was one of the highlights of the Convention Show in Tucson the last weekend of the two week show there, where you can find almost anything you want in the way of fossils, gemstones, and rocks.

This is where you can have your pick of giant sized specimens from around the world, and it takes most of the two weeks to see it all.  We were there for 4 days and saw most of 5 shows.  We passed up gemstone shows this year in favor of more rocks and gold.  :>D

Much has been going on this past month and friends on FB have heard a lot of it, but I will share more details with you here than on the wall.  Thanks to all who have an interest in this site.  Updates will be forthcoming and I would appreciate anyone who finds a broken link to let me know where they find them so I can fix the problem.

The site is large enough that I often do not find all my interlinks, so please do let me know if you find one and what page it was on.  hookedongold@gmail is the way to tell me about those, and thank you for letting me know.

No word yet on Arkansas River BLM  gold prospecting changes in Colorado.  GeoCommunicator is on again and off again.  Seems like they are trying to get it back online, but occasionally it isn't there.  Gald to see it is making a comeback.  LOL!

Back at cha in a few days. Spring is definetely in the air and we are looking forward to the Summer gold prospecting season.  Get that equipment in shape now so you are ready to get out when the weather permits.  That could be any time now for those who are hardier than I am.  That wind off the snow to the west of Denver is C*O*L*D!

Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley
http://www.hookedongold.com/
hookedongold@gmail.com

Hooked on Gold Gazette 11/20/2010

                                          Summer Camp in CORA at the end of the year

HOOKED ON GOLD GAZETTE


• Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $1354.50

• Spot price last Gazette : Somewhere around $1230.00

________________

Gold ‘N’ Store

_________________________________

NEWS

Well, well. So, I am wondering this last week how I am ever going to get everyone caught up with all the news and info, and I remember the Gazette was one of the vehicles I use to do that. Funny, when you don’t use your tools for a while, how rusty they can become.

As usual, the price of gold is up more than it has been down. The last Gazette published in May shows it was over $1200 and now we see lots of days with the price over $1400.

As I have reported, the claims and open areas north of Buena Vista are closed to gold prospecting until the BLM has put into place a new plan for the area. In addition to this, the BLM is looking to require claim owners on all of the Arkansas River to self police their claims and leave BLM out of the enforcement of those areas. This isn’t a final on this issue, but they are strongly leaning to that side and GPOC is grappling now with how that would impact them and their liability on their Arkansas River claims.

In South Park, mine and claim owners are also having an ongoing issue with the U.S. Forest Service head. It seems that the attitude there is that if you don’t get the reports done, no one will fight you on it and you can shut down mining in the area very effectively. That department may find it a more difficult to do than they anticipated. There is word around that not just the small claim owners are unhappy.

The next order of business concerns the dredge piles on open space property in Breckenridge. We were finally able to meet with the open space people, and their decision on this matter was not to allow prospecting for gold,digging, panning, sluicing, or removal of material in the area. We have advised that they add signs to their already existing signs that address this issue so there is no confusion in the future.

With the Thanksgiving Holiday just around the corner, I’m going to keep this Gazette short. Getting back into the habit of sending this out each weekend is what was most important right now. We do hope you enjoy a wonderful Holiday Season and that you don’t fall asleep at the wheel driving home after all that pie and turkey. For those of you who do not celebrate Thanksgiving, we also wish you Happy Holidays and that this season finds you and yours happy and well.
As a last note, yesterday was our 39th wedding anniversary. Yes, friends, that means that Larry has put up with me for more than 40 years. I must have SOME redeeming qualities after all.

Have a great weekend. That’s it for me.

Until Next Week…..

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley (MQS)

Google has begun running third party ads and is requiring adsense sites to include information about this change on their websites. You can read about this on our Privacy Policy page.

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.

www.hookedongold.com

hookedongold@gmail.com contact us

PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. Please read our Privacy Policy to see how this affects you and what you might want to do to prevent cookies being used to track you.

Local and National Governments take stand on Gold Prospecting in Colorado

Golden Aspen's changing near Fairplay, Colorado

October has come and gone, and there were so many things to catch up on before the Holidays begin, I have not taken time to chat with you.  There is so much information to share, I am having trouble knowing where to begin!  LOL!

With the mid term elections over with, perhaps we can, once again, learn how not to use the mute button on the remote while trying to watch the part of the news or any other program without it.  Many things we had decided simply not to watch so that we didn't have to constantly have a finger on the mute button.  I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way.

Have you been watching gold rise most of the Fall?  It sits at $1333.40 as I write.  Will it make $1500 before the end of the year?  My crystal ball isn't sure, but it is highly likely that it will.

November 3rd, and here in Denver we are still waiting for our first snow fall.  We did finally get a killing freeze a little before Halloween, and so, are now enjoying Indian Summer, and what a post season summer it has been!  Highs are in the 70's at least two days a week, and we should be looking at mid 50's and low 60's.  You know how much I LOVE summer, so I am happy that the good weather in holding.

News on gold prospecting in Colorado was not good at the end of the season.  The BLM, Washington Department of the Interior, has given orders to the Canyon City office to close all mining claims on the Arkansas in the Buena Vista area that are tied to the old dam project.  In fact, ALL prospecting in that area is forbidden until a new plan for the area can be worked out.  This will probably take most of the winter to accomplish, so we are looking at Spring before we will know any word on even the public areas. 

They will be confiscating equipment and no motorized vehicles will be allowed down the road.  It is strictly for hiking, biking and walking.  No camping is allowed in that area, either, until further notice.  Residents in the area have been up in arms over the claims and camping going on there for some time.  Apparently Washington's head of the Interior Department, has decided to uphold the old dam site claim from the 1890's and keep everyone out, thus ensuring the residents that they will continue to have their private hiking trails and river walks.  Funny thing, though.....that dam site area apparently was originally for hydraulic mining, and not water storage or hydroelectric power. 

We had an opportunity to meet with the Breckenridge Open Space people in October to open discussion about getting limited prospecting allowed on the dredge piles in the open space owned by both Breckenridge and Summit County.  The meeting was short and there was some discussion and questions about commercial mining or selling the gold found back to open space, but the committee decided to talk about their ability to monitor the activities if they were permitted.  A couple of weeks later we were contacted and informed that they would not be allowing this activity on the old dredge piles within the open space area.  We suggested that they put up signage letting people know that the activity is not being allowed and that they risk confiscation or ticketing if they come into the area for prospecting of any kind.  That also means rocks, people.  No rock hounding is ever allowed on open space anywhere unless specified by the group in control. 

Ok, that's enough for now.  New camp is closed for the winter and everything was put to bed about 4 weeks ago.  There have been three pesky bears breaking into campers on the upper mesa, but everything else has been pretty quiet.  We are settling into the holiday/winter routines and waiting for Spring and time to dig again.   Hope your Fall has been as nice as ours.  I'll have to be back to tell you about the last trip to Mt. Antero and our fossil dig at a friend's place east of Trinidad. 

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

Gold Prospecting Season is in Full Swing....for Some of Us

Colorado State Gold Panning Championship Winners - Ladies Division Right to Left, 1st Shirley Weilnau, 2nd Sue Drewes, and 3rd Linda Jent

A lot has happened since I last chatted with you. We have been very busy with all sorts of things, not all related to gold or gold prospecting here in Colorado. Since I last blogged, we have attended Burro Days, the Colorado State Gold Panning Championships have been held, a visit from our oldest son and his family, moving Tin Pan Prospector, RAIN, painting the shed and various other activities with friends. Little of this has had anything to do with sleep, and we spent most of last week trying to catch up on everything.

Burro Days in Fairplay had more people attend it than I have ever seen before. The roads were parked full some 5 blocks away from the Library. It looked like most people were having a lot of fun and, of course, I bought books from the library sale.

Three days were spent in Breckenridge at the Colorado State Gold Panning Championships, where we took a total of 8 medals. I brought home 5 (Firsts in Team, Women’s and Dry, Second in Old Timers, Third in State) and Larry, 3 ( Firsts in National Style and Team, and a third in Men’s).

Our two youngest grandchildren came to stay for a few days at camp along with their parents right after that, and we hiked them around and they went swimming twice. They were pretty worn out by the time they went home. LOL!

Tin Pan Prospector moved from their spot above Alma, across the road. We are still getting dirt moved around and the signs up in the right spots, but everything seems to be working out well.

We hear that things at Cache Creek are good. We also hear that some of the regulations are changing a bit in the prospector’s favor. They may be allowing people with hand equipment to come in and work over the 14 days for a $5.00 per day fee.  That was what highbankers paid to stay past their 14 days with a second permit.  I don't know if they have applied this to sluice boxes, recircs and gold pans or not. 

Next Monday we will be attending the Breckenridge Open Space meeting to introduce what equipment and activities prospectors engage in to the committee, to begin the process of possibly opening up some of the old dredge piles above the Country Boy mine to recreational gold prospecting. The process will probably take most of the winter, as we also must get the items through the Summit County Open Space which controls the open space with Breckenridge. There are several on the committee who would like to see it opened, so we have a good chance of getting this through. We DO need help from any prospectors out there that live in Breckenridge or Summit County to lend a hand. We are commuting more than an hour and a half one way to attend meetings, and weather and highway conditions have been hampering our ability to get to these meetings.

Rain has been a BIG factor in our prospecting these past three weeks. Camp has had close to 5 inches and it has rained every day or night. Alma has had 7 or 8 inches. We are hoping everything doesn’t float away on us one of these days, and we are looking forward to some drier weather. We did get one coat of paint on the shed yesterday before it rained, and we would like to get the second on some time this week.

Other than those things, we have been enjoying our camp in CORA. Even when it is raining, it is peaceful, but the summer is going way too fast. We are hoping we have weather good enough to stay until October. Clouds are already forming over Mt. Bross, but they are white puffy ones, so far.

I have a review on the new blue Keene/Pioneer pan ready to post along with pictures. I’ll post that later this week so watch for it. Love my Safari sluice box!

Until later this week, I am hoping you are having one of the best seasons for finding gold you have ever had.

Good Prospecting to You

Memorial Day in Colorado Gold Country

Opening Day for Tin Pan Prospector

Memorial Day. Remember and thank all who served or gave their lives in service to this country. I am truly grateful for their dedication and sacrifices for my freedom. This weekend we remember it twice. Yesterday which was the actual day, and today which is the observed day. You have all been in my thoughts this weekend.

Well, I’m sure all of you are wondering what I have been up to since the Gazette missed it’s deadline. You probably know we opened up camp a week ago, and since then we have been unpacking, stuffing everything into nooks and crannies in the camper, having a bit of fun and working our tails off trying to get to Alma by 9 and help Tin Pan get started for the season.

Chad has his summer operation located north of Alma, 1 ½ miles from the South Park Saloon, just past mile marker 72 on the east side of the road. There’s a bit of a dip getting off, so be careful. There is plenty of parking area, and panning is at the back near the old bridge. He plans to crib the back of it up to make it look more like a mine entrance. Should be good for some photo ops, and he has some good areas for prospecting for gold, gold panning, dredging, and highbanking in Colorado.

We have had several highbankers and sluicers in to try it out, as well as panners out for a lesson. The weather has been really good, with mornings cool and afternoons quite warm and sunny. We are seeing a lot of fines and some larger flakes coming out of the top of the bank, and more fines and flakes out of the stream. The dirt and gravel are all loose and part of moraine slump, so volume is going to be the name of the game. Gold in the stream runs all the way through the loose gravel with the biggest being located on bedrock about 20 feet down.

Snow around the Orphan Boy mine should be about melted, and we should be able to get in there and prove that stream soon. The mine dumps are showing some very interested waste rock. You can go and pick up a few for a $10.00 fee per day, as well as the usual highbanking, dredging and metal detecting fees posted on his website. Drop by if you are around and say that you read about it here. We like to know where people hear about Tin Pan.

Other than working to get all this started, we haven’t had much time for anything else. Gold is looking like it has found a resting place for now and closed Friday for the weekend at $1219.40. You will find an abbreviated store on the website for the summer as lugging everything around and shipping is a problem. eMail me if you saw something you wanted and it isn’t there right now. I can always ship when we go home for family stuff and pick up supplies.

Have a great gold finding season.
Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley
http://www.hookedongold.com/
hookedongold@gmail.com

A Windy Start to Our Gold Prospectign Season

I wish I had a picture to go along with the awful ride we had on Saturday to B.V. from Elbert, Colorado! We got waylaid for three hours in Colorado Springs after fighting 60+ mph winds for two hours towing the UTV from its storage place at a friend's home. We broke a tie down strap and almost ruined the doors before we stopped to take them off and tie them down, and then stopped at another friend's house to wait out the wind.

We pulled into camp about 7:45 p.m. and still had to do the basic unpacking before we could fall into bed and tackle the rest of the unpacking the next morning.  After we had accomplished that, we took a rest and headed down to GPOC's  Prospector III for some river time with the gold pans. 

There were several other members there dredging, sluicing and panning for gold as the river has not come up all the way yet.  Snow is still locked up in the mountains and the water is under ice on the lakes, but with this wind and the dirt being blown in from the desert, it will soon melt ice on the lakes enough to open the reservoir gates and send water down to Pueblo.  When that happens, the run off will begin on the Arkansas River and it could rise 2 feet rather suddenly.

We decided to make our trip home today as the weather is still windy and the temps are falling, too.  Not much we can (or want to) do in all this wind!  Since I missed the Gazette deadline, I thought I would send you a report today while I have some time.

The gate at Cache Creek should be open this weekend, if not sooner, and the area below Prospector III has been designated as an area for panning and sluicing only by the BLM.  One dredger has already been sited for violations in this area this spring, so if you think there isn't anyone watching, you would be wrong.

Tin Pan Prospector Outfitters has decided to open the pay for use public panning area at a spot north of Alma on highway 9 on the east side of the road.  (I'll get you a mile marker later this week when I know what it is.  It will be located about a mile north of Alma, though.) Anyone who is interested in additional gold panning, sluicing, highbanking or dredging will be directed from there.  There will be a building, signs and parking, as well as your friendly gold prospector to greet you. You will be able to giver 'er a try starting Memorial Day weekend. 

All in all, we are looking forward to a GREAT gold prospecting season here in Colorado.  Hopefully, we will see some of you here this summer, and remember to be careful around the water until July with all the water coming down out of the mountains. Those streams are sometimes deeper than you think and the currents are strong and swift along their downhill race to the sea. 

Also be mindful of the altitude you will be at if you are coming from much lower elevations.  Altitude sickness can put you flat on your back if you aren't careful with alcohol and salt intake.  A couple of easy days is always recommended until you get acclimated.  Have fun out there, obey the rules and regulations, fill in your holes, and be respectful of all others.  And above all, remember this is MY home!  Take care of it!

Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley
http://www.hookedongold.com/
hookedongold@gmail.com

New BLM regulations for Arkansas River Drainage in Colorado for 2010

 

Cache Creek gate sign at the entrance to the area

Information concerning this year's gold prospecting season in Colorado at Cache Creek and Point Bar Recreational area is coming out as the BLM gets a handle on the huge volume of calls concerning the areas for this summer.  Many calls are coming out of California this year as dredging has been discontinued there and their prospectors look for other places to find gold.

Stephanie Carter, from the BLM office in Canyon City, was the speaker at last night's GPOC meeting in Colorado Springs and talked at length about Cache Creek and the Point Bar Recreational Area.  Point Bar had the entire area that was claimable claimed last summer.  The claims involved include almost all of the river frontage and there is a question as to whether prospectors digging in the pit area will have access to the water. 

The pit, as it is known, is not in a claimable area, and is still open to the public.  BLM will research whether those digging in the pit still have a right to wash their dirt in the river located on claimed areas.  The claims have also been overfiled and the new claimants are wanting BLM to police the area.  Once an area is claimed, it is up to the claimants to police the claims and not the BLM.  This area is a large State Recreational area and many people use the area on a regular basis.  Controlling that area is the major reason GPOC did not claim it many years ago.  They had worked with BLM to make the area more usable to prospectors, and effectively do the reclamation needed to keep the area up.  Those responsibilities now lie with the claimants.

Cache Creek was heavily discussed as the number of people expected to be using the area will double this year, if not more.  As such, many limitations are being imposed so that people have access to the area in a more orderly manor than last year, and the abuses of the area that took place will not be repeated this year.  

First on their list is to hire a summer time employee who will be in charge of monitoring both the Arkansas River areas and Cache Creek.  Everyone using Cache Creek will be required to fill out a day use pass each day they are there, placing half of it into a receptacle and keeping the other half on their person.  These will be collected by the BLM personnel and checked for proper documentation of everyone in the area as well as  what type of equipment being used.  The number of days you are using Cache Creek will be counted and enforced.  

Everyone will be limited to 14 days of use PER SEASON.  That means you will be allowed to access Cache Creek for the purpose of prospecting for a total of 14 days this year.  Not 14 days a month, or 14 days in and 14 out, or any other combination you can come up with.  Your days will be counted by the BLM and enforced.  People who came into the area last year and stayed all of last season will have their activities curtailed regardless of what equipment they are using.  Highbankers will have their allowed days increased to 14 with a $30.00 charge but with no additional extension. NO DREDGING WILL BE ALLOWED AT CACHE CREEK.

Much more is going on, but I will save that for another day.  If you have not been on the BLM website lately you should check them out.  Stephanie has been working hard to revise it, integrating the geocommunicator and the LR2000 more effectively.  You can access those sites at http://www.geocommunicator.gov/ , http://www.blm.gov/lr2000 ,  http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo.html (This link goes to the Royal Gorge Field page. Click on the first link entitled 2010 Placer Maps and Information) and the http://www.blm.gov/ site that you can click through to the state, then the field office and find most of these links from there.  More this weekend after the Gazette comes out tomorrow.

Good Prospecting to You

hookedongold.com 

questions?

hookedongold@gmail.com

Hooked on Gold Gazette 1/29/10

One case of gold at the Tucson Show in '06


· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $1083.70
· Spot price last Gazette : $1093.10
________________
Gold ‘N’ Store
(Links to our affiliates. Good deals, and GREAT folks)
You can find Panning Kits
Monthly Prospecting Equipment Specials
Basic Prospecting Equipment

Calendar of Events
JANUARY
· 1st New Year’s Day
· 13th GPOC Members Meeting 7:00 p.m.
FEBRUARY
· Tucson Show in Tucson, Arizona
· 2nd Groundhog Day
· 4th Heritage Lecture at the Western Mining Museum SOLD OUT
· 7th Super Bowl Sunday
· 12th Lincoln’s Birthday
· 10th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Sprgs.
· 14th Valentine’s Day
· 15th Presidents Day
· 22nd Washington’s Birthday
· 26th – 28th Gem and Mineral Guild Spring Show – Jefferson County Fairgrounds
_______________________________________
NEWS

ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE!? Pro Bowl this weekend and super bowl next with some of the best commercials you will see all year. Yeah, I know this doesn’t have anything to do with gold prospecting, but, let’s face it, most of you won’t be out on those days anyway. LOL! Gridiron face offs, that’s what you’re waiting for and you know it. The clash of the Titans, the roar of the crowd. Tailgate parties in your basement (Gotta get THAT cleaned up) or favorite sports bar with your closest friends over beer and hot dogs or your favorite three alarm chili. Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout. Gold and prospecting will take a back seat to the excitement on your widescreen TV the next two weekends.

After all the ‘wars’ have been won and lost, and you are back to whatever normal is for you, you might want to mosey on over to the ning site, if you’re a member, and check out a new forum post called ‘auto sluice feeder’ about ideas on how to use a spreader to get material to your sluice box faster and with more volume. Interesting idea, but we could use some more input into the idea. Lots of obstacles to overcome, too.

Tucson Show is beginning this weekend, too, and should run for about three weeks or so into February. Hopefully the weather has cleared up for them some down south or it could be a mite wet this year. Any reports from any of you headed that direction would be welcome.

As you can see, February is a very busy, short month. March 1st opens up the Arkansas River to motorized equipment and warmer days for gold prospecting in Colorado. Everyone is antsy by February and so there are lots of things going on to help you pass the time. You could even get started on repairing all your equipment instead of waiting until May, again this year.

Fun stuff for you to read this week include a report out of China about some miners there that don’t know when to come in out of the cold http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFTOE60N00B20100124 Melman on gold in ICMJ http://www.icmj.com/article.php?id=767&keywords=Melman_on_Gold_&_Silver
This video from Australia will make you sick http://goldrevenue.com/gold-digging-prospecting-nugget-hunting/5-ounce-gold-nugget-found-sunbaking-while-prospecting-for-gold
And, with that one I’ll give it a rest.

Until next week…….

Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley (MQS)
Google has begun running third party ads and is requiring adsense sites to include information about this change on their websites. You can read about this on our Privacy Policy page.
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.
_______________________________________
www.hookedongold.com
www.hookedongoldprospecting.ning.com A prospecting forum and social posting community
hookedongold@gmail.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. Please read our Privacy Policy to see how this affects you and what you might want to do to prevent cookies being used to track you.

Cache Creek Gold Prospecting

Building from days long ago

Ok, Ok, it's been a while since I have had time to enter a blog post on this site, but we have been SUPER busy. Twitter helps with info, but it just isn't the same, is it? Weather has not been with us so far, but it should be getting better as June turns into July.

We have begun the Camp Host program at Cache Creek and begun trying to address some of the problems in the area. Undercutting of trees is still going on and everyone needs to remember that you need to stay 10 feet from the trees leaving their main roots alone. Cutting of trees is prohibited and the digging of straight down pits is dangerous. Anyone doing that needs to fill those in completely. It is NOT the Camp Hosts job to clean up your mess.

Another item that came to our attention is the claims at the bottom of the valley near the highway and below the cemetery. Those are now active and everyone needs to respect that and stay out of there.

The Porta Potty has been a big hit, so much so that GPOC is looking into having it pumped either twice a week or putting in a second one if funds permit from the grant money. All for now.

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

HookedonGold Gazette 4/24/09

Yeah! That's What I'm Talkin' About!

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $913.00
· Spot price last Gazette: $868.70
________________

Calendar of Events

APRIL
· 1st April Fools Day, Motorized Equipment Opening Day on Arkansas River
· 10th Good Friday
· 12th Easter
· 24-26 Denver Spring Mineral and Fossil Show

MAY
· 2-3 GPAA Denver Show
· 5th Cinco de Mayo
· 8, 9, & 10th Let’s Go Gold Panning Days at Point Bar Recreational Area
· 23rd -25th Memorial Day Weekend Observed
· 30th Memorial Day
_______________________________________
NEWS

NEW! Prospecting Community Network! We have great group started with several already blogging and getting involved. You will be able to view the main page when you pull the site up to decide if it is a place you would like to hang out at.

SOOOO nice to have sunshine again! While we will have rain this weekend, it at least will not be solid for most of us. Spring rains are welcome here and in the high country, as rain will bring snow down faster and start our gold season sooner.

You will find a new widget on the home page of www.hookedongold.com with twitter updates. It has two purposes….1 to get a posting every day to the home page so it will update in the search engines, and 2 so you can follow. Also, you will find the Calendar of Events page is updated for the summer with dates I know. I’m sure I missed a bit, but I’ll get back to it this next week as I try to get everything finalized and put to rest for the summer. Links to the panning tips page still need work.

A couple of interesting articles came up this past week I thought you might like to see. The first is about wind power and the National Parks Service’s concerns over the amount of water and land needed to support the use of solar panels in the southwest where most of the sunny days are located. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/04/18/national/a005500D28.DTL The other was a report about a ship from South America with gold aboard that was sunk last January. http://en.mercopress.com/2009/04/22/mystery-of-sunken-gold-cargo-in-south-atlantic-remains-locked

Summer is approaching, and we will be off prospecting. May 1st will be the last regular Gazette until Fall. I have decided that regular blogs every few days will be better to do than having the spectre of a deadline over me every Friday. I will also continue to twitter, but probably not as much. Can’t twitter and blog when you are finding gold! LOL! Larry’s last work day will be next Thursday. After that we have several weekend things planned as well as Let’s Go Gold Panning Days. Then we will be setting up summer camp around the 15th of May, and settled in by the end of May. Lots of trips are being planned with various people, so we plan to have a busy summer finding gold. Hope you will be finding the yellow stuff, too. Remember to be respectful of private property and try not to p**s anybody off. There are reports that California prospectors are coming up against robbers, so you might want to try to keep to groups.

Looking forward to reporting to you of our adventures and posting pictures of gold for you to drool over.

You can find Panning Kits Here
Monthly Prospecting Equipment Specials HERE
Basic Prospecting Equipment

Until next week…….

Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley (MQS)
Google has begun running third party ads and is requiring adsense sites to include information about this change on their websites. You can read about this on our Privacy Policy page.

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 OPEN TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT until October 1st.
_______________________________________
www.hookedongold.com
www.hookedongoldprospecting.ning.com
www.hookedongold2.com Metal Detectors at Auction
hookedongold@gmail.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. Please read our Privacy Policy to see how this affects you and what you might want to do to prevent cookies being used to track you.

Gold Prices and Gold Prospecting

With world leaders seeming to be finding some common ground in banking this week at the G20 conference, it looks like gold is holding back a bit until we find out more about what the new agreements will mean. The selling off of more gold by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) is back on, and this could mean a rise or fall in gold depending on the mood of the market in general. Buyers could perceive this sell off as a buying opportunity, or they could decide that other investments are looking better now than in the near past. Several countries have also voiced their desire to move more of their capital back into gold, and so there is definitely demand, how much is uncertain. India did not buy gold from the market again in March, either.

The most sure sign that gold will rise could more probably be the return of inflation and a sliding dollar. This may not happen this year, but with all the money being printed around the world it is predicted to be a fact in the next year or so. When inflation is back with us, gold is positioned to rise.

So, in the mean time, you might want to get that gold prospecting equipment out and head to the hills, or wherever your favorite prospecting spot is and find yourself a little extra gold. Need a reference book to find another spot you heard about? Check out your equipment before you go, though, and make sure your pump, hoses and clamps are all working. (It's the pits when the clamps break!) Got all the screws in one place and ready to go? How about that special sized screwdriver you used for another project last winter and forgot to put back in the pack? Yeah, been there, done that! LOL! The trip to town to TRY and find another one was a real blast, too. While your at it, make sure you have all your permits up to date. You can find the forms to print off and send in for the Arkansas River drainage in Colorado and Cache Creek on this page of the BLM.gov site. Get out on some of those warm Colorado days and find some gold before we get out and find it! LOL!
Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley

Hooked on Gold Gazette 6/13/08

Gold Prospecting has begun in Colorado



· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $ 870.80
· Spot price last week: $902.20
________________

Calendar of Events

JUNE

11th GPOC regular meeting
14th Flag day
14th-15th Breckenridge Kingdom Days GPOC Panning Demo
15th FATHER’S DAY
20th Summer Solstice (YAAH)
21st-22nd Gem Show-Colorado Springs Phil Long Ford Expo Panning Demo with GPOC

JULY

4th - Fourth of July
9th GPOC Regular Meeting
26th – 27th Burro Days – Fairplay 1st leg of the burro trifecta

AUGUST

1st – 3rd - COLORADO STATE GOLD PANNING CHAMPIONSHIPS Breckenridge, Co.
2nd – 3rd – Boom Days – Leadville 2nd leg of the burro trifecta
9th – 10th Gold Rush Days in Buena Vista 3rd leg of the burro trifecta
13th GPOC Regular Meeting
_______________________________________
NEWS

Gold is back down this week, but it’ll be back up in no time! In the meantime, gold prospecting in Colorado seems to be in full swing from the number of requests for information, and reports of found gold I’m getting. Have fun out there, but be aware that the rivers are still high and we need to be careful around the water. All you “DAD’S” out there, have a fantastic Father’s Day! Where would any of us be without YOU!!!!!!!!!

Site should be Ok in Firefox now, but the form page was down with glitches. It took most of the week to get it back to working gain, but with a new program, it is back to taking requests for information A OK. Due to all this work, I did not get the Coloradoans piece posted last week.

Short newsletter this week as we are getting ready for a short trip that includes Kingdom Days in Breckenridge, which celebrates Breckenridge’s days as a kingdom unto itself, where we will be helping GPOC with panning demos. Then, a couple of days to open camp before we will be going back to “work”. Newsletters will probably be shorter and not every Friday for the next 9 weeks as we spend our time out in the field finding our own gold. Good luck to all of you, be courteous to one another, and be safe. Gold Prospecting is hard work, like in digging ditches or working on the railroad in the old days. Watch your back, and your energy levels as well as the altitude. Drink plenty of fluids. It is very easy to forget to drink water and you can dehydrate quickly at high altitude.


A streamflow guide is posted for your convenience while runoff is under way on some Colorado Rivers. You can check those each week on the Gold in Colorado page. I added more rivers this week, so you might be able to find one nearer to you. I check out http://stream-flow.allaboutrivers.com/Colorado/river_flow-sCO.html for my information.

Google had begun running third party ads and is requiring adsense sites to include information about this change on their websites. You can read about this on our Privacy Policy page.

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: http://www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com/ .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now opened TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT until October 1st.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Metal Detectors at Auction
info@hookedongold.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. Please read our Privacy Policy to see how this affects you and what you might want to do to prevent cookies being used to track you.