New Gold 'N' Store Is Up and Running

ANNOUNCEMENT! Check out the new Gold 'N' Store page at http://hookedongold.com/gold_n_store.htm
I know, I know. Long time readers thought this would never happen, and, quite frankly, I was beginning to wonder myself! My tech got the last bits finished late last week, and I got on a roll this week, and have published several pages, including some of the Orocal pdf pages so you can see a small amount what they have available. You can find them under the Gold 'N' Store pages as sub pages.

Who is Orocal? Well, they are a family owned and operated company that has been designing and making 14K gold and Sterling Silver nugget, gold in white quartz, and gold in black quartz jewelry for more than 40 years. Their catalog of gold jewelry is some 40 pages long, front and back. I have put up a few of the pages for you to view, with more to come, and will rotate them every month or so. If you would like to see a selection of the pages, like all the earring pages in gold in white quartz, I can send them to you in pdf files. The prices on any of the pages may or may not e current, due to the ups and downs of the gold market, and their sources.

On the front page of the Gold 'N' Store page you will find our corrugated mini sluice and kit, Madam Queen Shirley's Magic Panning Sand, and our geode pendants with gold or silver plating on the rims, with links to more information on each item. More will be added as time permits. I have a selection of gifts with prospecting themes, as well as close out items I have picked up with Orocal when they are in Denver.....some real deals, there.

I have decided to use PayPal buttons for payment, and you can either use PayPal or a credit or bank card of your choice to pay with. You will see the option to use a credit card on the log-in page, on the left toward the bottom of the page. You will click a link that will take you to a page to fill out with your credit card information. I'm not sure if this will handle multiple items, but we will go with this for now. We never did get very many requests for multiple items, anyway.

Also, if you have an item that you would like to order from the Orocal catalog, you can e-mail us about it and we can invoice you with a Pay Pal invoice, much like you get from eBay. You can do this also with anything in the catalog by e-mailing us and requesting that we invoice you. We have done this with many other customers and it works really well, and is easy for us and the customer. Other customers who have used this method have really liked it, and said it was very easy and user friendly, so don't hesitate to ask for an invoice for anything you would like to order.

Another note about Orocal. With items ordered from them, you get a 30 money back guarantee so that the item can be returned if you are not satisfied with it. Also, shipping will be made directly to you, so there is no double shipping charges. I can also offer very good prices as I do not have a storefront, and can offer items at a discount, so the prices you see on the pages are probably going to be higher than the price I will charge.

Take a look around at the new Gold 'N' Store. We are offering FREE shipping on most of the items on the front page.

Good Prospecting to You,
http://www.hookedongold.com/
info@hookedongold.com
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Metal Detectors at Auction

It's Sunday afternoon, and where is my Gold Pan?

Are you getting the "itch" to go play in the water with your gold pan? It is in the mid 60's today, and we have to be in HOA meetings today! Bummer. Our gold pans are in the truck waiting to find some more pay dirt like we did in Arizona. We did get to go and play in the water INSIDE yesterday with GPOC and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, teaching gold panning to the people coming in and out of there. It was way too cold to be outside in the morning, so they put us indoors. Anybody who came to see us and expected us to be outside was probably disappointed. We didn't know we would be inside until about an hour before we were to set up. We still had a large crowd and had a hard time breaking the troughs down, as usual, and everyone seemed to have a great time. The GOLD MIMES stuck around while we were there and played with the crowd. They are a great couple of guys who do their jobs very well. If you haven't been out there to see the gold show, do go. You won't regret it.

A lot is happening in gold. It has started back down this afternoon. The big gold conference is going on in Dubai this weekend, and I will have few insights on that later this week.

Let's Go Gold Panning Days is coming up faster than I expected! It will be May 9th - 11th at Point Bar Recreational area. You can check the GPOC Temporary Pages for more information now and as we get closer to the event. It is and always has been open to the public. Come and have some fun! Hooked on Gold won't be able to be there this year as we have a wedding going on the same weekend and will be hosting relatives for a few days. Don't think we are going to get out of it, either. Are you new to prospecting? Well, you have found a place to get some good, basic prospecting information at Hooked on Gold. Check it out!

www.hookedongold.com

info@hookedongold.com

www.hookedongold2.com metal detectors at auction

Hooked on Gold Gazette 4/11/08

Arizona Alan......That's my little brother!

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $924.90
· Spot price last week: $913.00

________________

Calendar of Events

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
12th GPOC Panning Demo at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science 10:00a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.

MAY
9-11th Let’s Go Gold Panning Days – Point Bar, Colorado
11th Mother’s Day
14th GPOC Regular Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th Prospecting Introduction and New GPOC Member orientation Class – Reservation required at the Mining Museum in Colorado Springs
24-26th Memorial Day Weekend
30th Memorial Day
_______________________________________
NEWS

Hey all you gold bugs! We have been BUSY the last two weeks. Good news on the Hooked on Gold website front. My tech has completed all the updates and the search buttons are now working. Click on the “Go” button or the search bar and it will take you to the search page. Type in the prospecting word you are looking for in the search bar in the middle of the page, and the page will populate a list of pages on the site that contain that word. Pretty cool! More pictures of our trip will be posted this week on the blog along with some commentary of what we saw. I had hoped to get that up this week, but the website changes came in first. I have a store page up and accessible only from the home page, right now, to test the buttons on, and see what it looks like, as well as posting the return page after you have purchased an item. Mini Sluice Kit (poop tube) is on it now, with more to come. I have lots of stuff and some equipment to post….gold, too. Time is what I need more of!

The pressures on gold are still the same as reported earlier this week on the blog, so look for gold prices to stabilize and maybe drop to under $900 before taking off for the $1200 mark later this year. If you are thinking we are out of the woods with the stock market, the predictions are that we are only 1/3 of the way through the mortgage problems and more banks will need to adjust than have so far. This does not bode well for the dollar, BUT it will push gold prices up.

Snow again this week in Denver has us pinning for Arizona and warmer temperatures so we can go prospecting. We do miss the activity out of doors, and prospecting is what we like to do the best. We seem to work harder and longer in the pursuit of gold than any other activity. We always come home sore and tired after a week in the field, but we are always ready to go back for more. Join us this Saturday at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science from 10-2 where we will be volunteering with GPOC to teach the public gold panning. Come on out and say “Hi!”, and see the Gold Show they have going on, as well as the excellent museum. Dianes pocket is being shown in the minerals hall. In case you don’t know about that, it is the aquamarine and smoky quartz vug found on Mt Antero, Colorado a few years ago. You can also view some of the largest gold found in Colorado, as well as a lot of smaller (?) pieces on display in the hall.

Check out the new posting on the Articles of Interest page for some pictures and comments on a prospector in Arizona who only uses a gold pan to find gold with. Pretty impressive!

Off to do some more updates and work on the “store”. Have a great week!


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 open TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE SUMMER UNTIL October 30, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
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. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

Back from Arizona Gold Country

Gold closed Friday at $913.70


Back from Arizona with a little gold and a lot of fresh air. It really is good to get out and clear the cobwebs early in the Spring. We had good weather going and coming back, and stopped off at the Rock Doc in Nathrop to chat with Cindy for a few hours. She usually isn't too busy this time of year like she is later on. She says she will be having a hard time getting equipment in this year as most everything is already back ordered. Something to do with the price of gold being up and everyone wanting to get in on the action. More pictures will get posted this week along with some commentary on where we went and what we saw. Thanks to everyone who asked for information or asked questions during the week for being patient while our internet connection was so spotty. I have better access in B.V. than in Humbolt, Az. LOL!

Finding Gold near Rich Hill

Rich Hill, Arizona Area






Oh my! What a difference warmer weather and digging in the dirt makes! We had the good fortune to get permission to prospect on private property in the Rich Hill area. The desert is awake and blooming. Air is warm but not stiflingly hot….yet. Snakes are out, but we did not see any. We did find gold, but not a 2 pounder. We were really there to help the owner read his wash and give him some ideas of how to go about working some of the surface until he can afford to bring in bigger equipment and excavate. He told some amazing stories of others in the area who have found hundreds of pounds of gold nuggets, but they sit on bedrock and you have to use front end loaders and elevators to get to it.

Because we helped him the first time we were there, weren’t there to just “take his gold”, and were happy just to have the day out and the opportunity, we were invited back. Believe it or not, manners and politeness matter even in the back country.

We had been talking about researching your area the past couple of weeks, and this is a good example of how to get really good information……know someone, or know someone who knows someone. Locals have the best information about their areas. Yes, it takes time to make those connections, and sometimes you get lucky meeting someone. The only way to make those connections, though, is to be out there finding gold. Enjoy!

Good Prospecting to You,
Hookedongold

Hooked on Gold Gazette 3/28/08

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $930.90
· Spot price last week: $919.20


___________









Calendar of Events

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado, Spring forward!
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.
_______________________________________
NEWS

Arizona gold prospecting is on our minds this week. We spent a very nice three days with our grandsons after Easter playing Clue 4 hours straight, and four games of Monopoly. It looks like we will have good weather for our trip and our week away. Be advised that e-mail will be slow this next week as we will not have a connection close by. There probably will be no newsletter next Friday, but I will post a few times to the blog so you can keep up with what we are doing. Maybe even PICTURES!

The Arkansas River will be open for motorized equipment this Tuesday, and there is no snow in Salida right now. Buena Vista still has two feet of snow on the ground.

Gold is down again this week and it looks like it may stay down through the end of the quarter, with profit taking being a large part of the slide, as well as the stronger dollar and higher oil is keeping it down. However analysts expect this downtrend to be short lived and that it will approach and possibly exceed $1,000 once again.

The Colorado legislature is looking at putting up toll booths to collect tolls through the Tunnels during peak days and hours to discourage people from going into or coming out of the mountains all at once. A solution to the I70 problem needs to be found, and they will need money to do it. Since we have Democrats once again controlling our legislature and governorship, we can expect them to tax us under the table in more ways than we can count, and tolls to pay for infrastructure they let go for so many years in the 80’s and 90’s would be par for them. You will need three or more people in your car to avoid the tolls. That means truckers would get caught and those who can now travel in the HOV lanes in Denver would need to pay the tolls through the Tunnels on I70. Oh, it WILL cost money to put the booths up and people to run them, too. This is supposed to cut down on congestion, but if everyone is stopping to pay a toll, Me thinks perhaps it will add to the problem. Naw, that can’t be right. Probably my lisdecxia cropping up again. Gotta go pack the snake gaters. Tah.

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 closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
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. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

Local Resources for Finding Gold

BEEP BEEP!

Did I say I would have this posted this weekend? I think I must be on some other planet not to remeber that I was slated to be away from home for Easter. DUH! Blonde, ya know. By choice, watch out! LOL! Well, with the grandkids playing Wii for a little while, I'll get back on track and get the next session of researching your place to play in the dirt and water. Let's see, I think I was supposed to tell you about some of your local resources for researching places to find gold.

As we have stated before, go first where gold has been found before. The more recent the information, the more current they will be on any areas that have lost mineral entry or been placed into protected status. We have gone looking for treasure and gold only to find out that the area was included in some study or had protected status and was only reached by hiking in 2 or 3 miles and back.

The local library of your area may have some old information, as well as the local Chamber of Commerce. Any rock of prospecting shops in the area will have books and people around who would also have information about open areas. You can also look online to see if there is information out there from local clubs, or rock hounding and gem hunters.

The best local sources are local prospecting clubs. If you are going to prospect an area regularly, a membership in these can be its weight in golden information. We get our best information from people in clubs and books on local areas, although the books may not be up to date enough. Many times we must find gold by the old hit and miss methods. Sometimes we hit, but mostly we miss in new areas. To truly find gold in a new area you have to spend some considerable time getting to know the area and people there. You CAN get lucky, but most lucky people have a partner with them that knows the area.

April 1st is just around the corner and the Arkansas River will be open again to motorized equipment. The last we heard they still had snow on the ground in B.V., and we will get to see how much is still there Friday evening. There will be short newsletter on Friday. Gold is up a bit from it's low around $912. How the mighty fell on Monday!

Good Prospecting to You

Hooked on Gold Gazette 3/21

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $919.20
· Spot price last week: $1002.50
After topping out at $1034 Monday, the low was $903.60



______________________________________

Calendar of Events

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado, Spring forward!
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.
_______________________________________
NEWS

WOW! Gold sure has been in the news this week. Hope you did not buy yours on Monday. LOL! The price got too high for the Swiss to ignore, along with a lot of other folks, and so a lot of profit taking has been bringing the yellow metal’s price down. This next week should be interesting.

March is sliding by and the open date for the Arkansas River to motorized equipment is sneaking up on us. April 1st is more than just April Fool’s day around here. Do you have your equipment repaired and ready for it? Remember to have your bonds up to date before you go out, and that Cache Creek does not open until the end of May. If you are wondering what is going on with that, we have some new information posted for you at http://www.hookedongold.com/arkansas_river_drainage.html . Scroll down to the NEW for ’08 under the Cache Creek dialogue.

Now, this doesn’t have anything to do with gold, but our oldest son has started a business that places RFID boluses into dairy cows to track their temperatures, as well as a lot of other helpful information, so if you are a dairyman you want to check out this link. If not, please indulge me here and know that the purpose of this sentence is to provide a backlink to their site. http://www.bellahealthsystems.com/ Gonna be hugely golden!

We get to go and find our first gold in a couple of weeks in Arizona. I wish I could say we were finding gold in Colorado, but Aspen reported 450 inches of snow fall so far this year. Now, that isn’t Buena Vista, but they also have had their fair share and the April open on the Arkansas River could be slippery and a bit chilly. Last week they still had 3 feet on the ground. It is warming up, but it will take a little while to melt it even if they don’t get any more. If the precip changes to rain, then the snow will melt super fast. Hopefully that won’t happen at high elevations, or we could be in for a very wet spring with the snow melting faster than rivers can handle it. Of course, that DOES move gold around and into the rivers to get classified for us.

Oh, and while we are gone to Arizona, e-mail will be slow as my brother lives way out in the boonies and has dial up, so we have to go into town to try and find a connection. We will do that every so often, but our main goal is to find gold, so please be patient while we are out having fun! I know. You’re jealous, but SOMEONE has to do it while you are working.

Tomorrow I will be posting my next blog in the series on gold prospecting resources. I have been busy trying to put the first store page together. No idea when that will be finished. It could be in the next few days, or it could be never…..or at least SEEM that way. New things are going up on most pages, though, and some of the copy has been revamped, so watch for updates and maybe a new page or two on new subjects. I think I will be putting up some of my past articles on the articles page, too.

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 closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
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. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

Hooked on Gold Gazette 3/14

Prospecting Fever

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $1002.50
· Spot price last week: $972.40
That’s right folks. We have a weekend close above $1,000



______________________________________

Calendar of Events

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado, Spring forward!
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.
_______________________________________
NEWS

Do you have cabin fever in a big way? Are you waiting for that first opportunity to go prospecting and find some gold? Boy, WE sure do!!!! Looks like the trip to Arizona will be sometime the first part of April. In the mean time, there are birthdays, Easter, Spring vacation, when we get to visit with the two older grandsons, and snow. Temperatures are moderating into the 50’s, so we will get to go and play on Clear Creek in the next few weekends just to get our prospecting fix. In Arizona, we will be in the Prescott area where my brother lives. Always a fun time for us, early in the season. We are trying to make connections with my brother’s friend near Stanton to see if we can find some of his gold for him with the metal detectors.

I saw a very interesting report on the newswires about mining in India this week. Their cabinet voted to ease their mining policy to shorten the time it takes to get new mining leases granted. It is expected to take 6 to 12 months with the new system. Now, you might wonder why this is so important. Well, it seems only 10% of India’s minerals have been explored for, and as we all know, India needs more and more minerals for their booming economy. If they can get those in country, everyone wins. There will be less pressure worldwide in the competition for these minerals. However, don’t expect it to be over night. It does take years to develop these things.

So, is everyone tired of the promised changes in the site as I am? Man o man, there seems to be one thing after another that gets in the way of my moving forward. Take heart. There should be things going up this next week. Hopefully, by Saturday night the changes my tech needs to make to the pages will be complete and I can start duplicating the template to get additional pages up. If not, I’ll do it anyway and we will have to deal with the additional pages when the time comes. Time is a wastin’ and summer prospecting will be here before we know it.

I have a couple of new link partners, so check them out. Also, here is a link to prospecting books that I don’t find too many other places. http://www.research-unlimited.com/index.html

More researching information will be out this weekend. While I know most of you only want someone to point you to a spot to dig gold, at these prices, there aren’t many who will give you that information willingly, and there aren’t many sites out there that will even tell you where the open spots are. We are trying to give you that information for some of Colorado. If you have information that the public can use for other states, we can start pages for each of those areas.
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 .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
www.hookedongold2.com Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
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. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

More Sources for Finding Gold

Finding a piece of gold like this beauty from California is the dream of every gold prospector I have every talked with. Learn about some of the resources you have available to help you find your own mother lode.

I am having a hard time believing it is March 12th!

Nobody is watching gold right now with the DOW going up, but gold is also back on the upswing. Many were hoping it would reach the magic $1000 mark early last week, however, it fooled most people and reversed course a bit.

As promised, I am continuing my article on research sources to help you in your search for gold. Friday we talked about local sources of information in your libraries and newspapers, and the people who are affiliated with your local prospecting clubs. Another source of information can be found in the official reports done by the USGS geologists and mining engineers sent into the field in the 1800’s to collect data about mineral deposits, along with other information needed by government agencies. Many of these old reports are still available from the USGS (United States Geological Survey).

The USGS also has a couple of databases you might find interesting in your search for gold. One is the Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) and the other the Mineral Availability System (MAS). The first database contains mineral occurrences as well mine sites for industrial mineral and metallic mine sites that are known worldwide, and can be a source of information to obscure deposits often never mentioned anywhere else. However, the quality of some of this information may be in question, so you still need to do your prospecting on any information you might obtain. Some of this information may simply point you in the right direction, but values may not be enough or in a form that is practical to mine. Also, some of the coordinates may be off the mark, and are more in a general area than pinpointed, with a few off by more than a mile, and should be used in conjunction with other resources for a better overall picture. We’ll talk some more about sources to help you find gold in the next blog.

OOPS! When I read this post, I realized I had NOT talked about your local resources before, so I will include that in the next posting.

Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
info@hookedongold.com
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Metal Detectors at auction

Hooked on Gold Gazette 3/7/08

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $972.40
· Spot price last week: $974.30



______________________________________

Calendar of Events

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado, Spring forward!
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.
_______________________________________
NEWS

Well, we are still waiting for gold to reach that magic $1,000.00 mark. It is expected to meet with resistance at that price before rising higher later this year.

More snow is falling in the mountains and even the northern mountains are now showing totals over 100% for the year. Look for high water during run off this spring and early summer. Should be a great year for white water rafting.

This seems to be a slow week for news on gold, other than how high it is right now. It did dip to $958 earlier this week, but rebounded right back the next day. This seems to be a good place to talk about researching your areas for this season prospecting trips. I don’t think I have taken time to talk about that, so I thought I would start today and continue this next week with some tips about where to find your research materials. Today I will discuss your local resources.

The first one that comes to mind is your local prospecting club. You will find a wealth of information there, but don’t think that those “old” timers will just give up their secret or best spots to you. They WILL tell you about the best places to get started and even give you a hand with the basics. Anything more than that will require time invested with them and the club to “prove” your worthiness. Along the way, you just might find that special place of your own to share with them. Good reciprocal information is always appreciated.

Next, your local library or the newspaper or libraries of the area you are interested can yield some good information, but remember that newsmen of the 1800’s exaggerated findings to sell papers with sensational news. While there usually is a thread of truth there, the whole truth may be somewhat different than the printed “truth”. (A good rule of thumb for today as well. LOL!) I’ll give you some more tips next week so I can get this published before supper.

Website changes continue, but the search function is still not working right. Hopefully it will be fixed by early this next week. After I get everything working, I will begin rebuilding the store. Some of the older items will go up first, and I will then work on getting up newer items that have been found this past Fall. While I know many of you will be looking for equipment for this next season, it is simply too expensive right now to have a distributorship for larger equipment, and so we will stick with what we make ourselves and what we can drop ship. Those items will be the corrugated mini sluice for black sand separation from gold and the Madam Queen Shirley’s Magic Panning Sand, with 7 grains of real Colorado gold.

One fantastic find this last Fall was a source for Gold Nugget and/or Gold in White Quartz Jewelry from a company that has been in business for over 40 years and two generations. Items are available in 14K gold and sterling silver. We stock a few items, and anything else can be ordered and drop shipped with a 30 day return policy on the jewelry. Another part of what they have available is prospecting gift items made from redwood bark, geodes, and amethyst with mining and gold panning scenes. VERY reasonable in their cost. We stock some of these items, also, and those we don’t can be ordered and drop shipped. I’ll tell you, I sold quite a few of these off site this last year, and I am sure you will be pleased with them as well.

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 closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact usPLEASE 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. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

Golden Snow

Golden snow is falling in the city and mountains again today. Lots of snow means gold will get moved around this spring in the rivers and streams and more float gold will find its' way into tributaries for us to find.

Since finding gold is what we are about, I can't be too much against falling snow. It does make my job easier by helping to concentrate more gold in the public placer areas where I want to look for it this summer. Spot gold took a roller coaster ride yesterday down to $958.50, but is up again this morning to around $987 again.

Are you spending your time repairing equipment? Prospecting season will be here soon, and the snow will be melted so you can find gold. Larry has his plans for constucting a highbanker/dredge combo just about finished, and they will be for sale on site early in the spring. The corrugated mini sluice will be back up as well, and I have an excellent source for nugget jewelry in 14 K gold or sterling silver lined up, with MQS Magic Panning Sand reappearing, too.

The gem show this past weekend was slow, with people holding on to their money. A lot of work with few results. Still, it is fun to work with the public and talk about gold and gemstones.

Our youngest grandson will be one year old this next week. That whole year has gone by so fast, and what a golden year it was. Thank you to all of you who made it so for us! We met so many wonderful people this last year, and had so much fun with all of you. Hopefully we will see you all again this year and make more new friends of those who we will meet this year. Good Prospecting to You!

Hooked on Gold Gazette 2/29

Yes, it's Gem Show week and time to spend my weekend in the "green" booth.

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $974.30
· Spot price last week: $944.60

pssst......silver was $19.81

______________________________________

Calendar of Events

FEBRUARY

TUCSON GEM, MINERAL, and FOSSIL SHOW – Tucson, Az.
13th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs
15th Gold Show opens at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
22nd – 24th Gem and Mineral Show Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Colo.
29th Leap Day

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter
_______________________________________
NEWS

Short newsletter this week. Gold is trying to break out and run for $1000! Warmer weather is making us itch to get out and do some prospecting. In case you haven’t been online and onsite, you will find the change we have been talking about for months. Wish I had the weekend to work on it, but I have to go and sell emeralds. I know, I know. SOMEONE has to do it and it might as well be me. LOL! The jewelry comes in nice buttery 18K gold and is really remarkable.

I was reading that the Thai’s are selling their family gold to keep their heads above water with the inflation rate there. It’s getting melted down and shipped off to better markets, as most people there are selling and not buying.

Have you heard the rumors going around about us beginning another mini ice age? I’ve been hearing bits and pieces for about a month now, and the charts seem to bear this out. Could be all that talk about global warming might be short lived if we continue to cool off globally. What’s up with the earthquake in England? Indonesia, yeah, but ENGLAND? How long has it been since that happened?

3 weeks until the first day of Spring. Can you smell it in the air? With mid 60’s and low 70’s this weekend, we are both bummed that we BOTH have to work. I’ll put up some more thoughts early this next week.

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 closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us

Hooked on Gold Gazette Jan. 22, 2008.

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $944.60
· Spot price last week: $901.70
That’s almost 5% this week. It IS down from it’s high of 954.70 yesterday

______________________________________

Calendar of Events

FEBRUARY

TUCSON GEM, MINERAL, and FOSSIL SHOW – Tucson, Az.
13th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs
15th Gold Show opens at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
22nd – 24th Gem and Mineral Show Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Colo.

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter
_______________________________________
NEWS

Are you ready to go play in the dirt, yet? Boy, we SURE are! The ground is just getting to where we can take the detector out again, but we have to be off to other places to take care of business. We spent a really nice afternoon at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science last Saturday helping to run a gold panning class for a teacher’s workshop in conjunction with their Gold Show that opened last Friday. We took a Hex Pan with us to the panning class and tried it out……unseasoned with the resist still on it! A review of the pan will be put up on the “Which Pan” page later next week after the new site is uploaded . If you are here in Denver the next few months, check it out. It is well worth the extra $5.00 to see!

We will be taking a trip to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds to visit a very nice exhibit of minerals, fossils, and what not on Saturday. Maybe we can find somewhere to look for gold in the afternoon, unless it starts to rain or snow on us again. It’s almost March 1st and the detector is gathering too much dust.

On a good note, though, we are putting the finishing touches on our Highbanker/Dredge combo plans that will be for sale on the website in a few weeks. We will run them by several people to see what needs to be added to the instructions before releasing them to you. It will be delivered in PDF downloadable form, accessible at time of payment. These are not for anyone to attempt who does not have access to the proper tools and equipment needed to put it together. One of the things required will be access to a bending machine to bend the aluminum.

The New Template will be uploaded on Tuesday night. It contains information about a month old, so give me a few days to get everything back to the way it should be and then watch for new pages and the store being back up and running with PayPal. I have a very nice selection of prospecting gifts to put up, along with the “poop Tube” minisluice, gold for sale, and gold jewelry. Madam Queen Shirley’s panning sand will be making a comeback, as well.

Gold seems to be on everyone’s mind this week, along with inflation, interest rates, the run for the party nominations, and the falling dollar. The outlook by some economists is not as bleak as one might think, for the end of the year. The Fed’s are expected to make another adjustment in the prime rate, and as most “recessions” rebound quickly outside of a global war, this one is expected to make a strong come back after it hits the bottom of the “V” sometime around the middle of the year. Gold is expected to make a run for $975 with support around $940, even as the dollar may rally. This could cause the Fed to raise interest rates quickly by ’09 to quell the possibility of inflation. Yeah, it makes my head hurt, too. LOL!

Platinum! Up 40 % this year, but falling a bit right now. And how about silver trading at $18.00!

Every so often I come across a real golden piece of news writing. Today I will leave you with these thoughts:

Scientists are trying to fight global warming by changing animal flatulence. Emissions from livestock reportedly account for up to half of greenhouse gas emissions in some countries. Kangaroos have stomach bacteria that eliminate methane from their gas; scientists want to transfer these bacteria to sheep and cattle. Bonus: The bacteria could improve digestive efficiency by 10 to 15 percent, thereby reducing feed costs. Alternative proposal: Eat less cattle and more kangaroo meat: "It's low in fat, it's got high protein levels," and "it's the ultimate free range animal."

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 closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us

Hooked on Gold Gazette

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $901.70
· Spot price Jan. 25th: $923.20
_____________________

Headframe from long ago

Calendar of Events

FEBRUARY

TUCSON GEM, MINERAL, and FOSSIL SHOW – Tucson, Az.
13th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs
15th Gold Show opens at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
22nd – 24th Gem and Mineral Show Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Colo.

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter
_______________________________________
NEWS

Family matters this past week has delayed many things. Work on the new Hooked on Gold template is still going on, but finding time to get three schedules together will be a challenge as our schedule must now include taking care of parents who are not well. Take heart! We will be putting up the new site by March or shortly after.

The hottest news on gold this week has been the controversy over the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to sell around 400 tonnes of gold beginning in April. Gold prices will probably drop temporarily as they sell it off. For those of you looking for the next entry point for gold, this could be your chance.

Platinum is going above $2050 today on continued fears about supplies after the South African mine closed a few weeks ago due to power problems with the nationally owned utilities. Some are even calling it “panic buying”.

LEADVILLE is having emergency meetings concerning what to do about a mine drainage tunnel that may collapse and send thousands of contaminated mine water into the Arkansas also possibly threatening nearby homes. There is currently talk about having the EPA pump the water out. If you’ve ever been to Leadville, you might have a sense of what the residents think about the EPA.

Steve Veach was the speaker at the GPOC general meeting this past week and gave a report on a new technology being used to find microscopic gold particles in core samples without crushing and fire assaying. The new High Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography (HRXCT) takes MRI quality x-rays in three dimensions that can be rolled and turned to see exactly what is in the sample. Truly amazing to watch.

Another item this week that caught my was the fact that DeBeers is offering refunds on many of their diamonds sold in the past 2 years. If you have one, you might want to check in to it. They have recently decided to settle a lawsuit on their monopoly and the possibility of having gouged consumers during that time.

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 closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us

HookedonGold Gazette

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $923.20 Market was not closed today until 3:30 p.m. MST. The newsletter is late waiting for the market to close.
· Spot price Jan. 25th: $907.90
______________________________________

Calendar of Events

FEBRUARY

TUCSON GEM, MINERAL, and FOSSIL SHOW – Tucson, Az.
13th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs
22nd – 24th Gem and Mineral Show Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Colo.

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter
_______________________________________
NEWS

WOW! Have you been watching gold this week blow through the $30.00 a gram price only to sink below $895 and back today above $923? Much of it has been due to the ups and down of the dollar, but mine closures in South Africa last week have contributed.

News from our friends at the Tucson Show report higher sales in gold the first few days of the open than during the whole show last year! Why is gold more attractive this year at $900 than it was last year at $650? Oh, man do we hate that we are not there this next week.

Platinum has increased in price this month to $1870, an increase of some $400 an ounce since the first of the year.

DeBeers is in the news this last week having settled on complaints that they have been controlling and gouge pricing the consumer sine 1997. Read the article at http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/ConsumerActionGuide/BuyADiamondGetARefund.aspx .

The new site template is almost finished and is looking great. The photo albums will have a different look temporarily until a script can be developed for what I want. It will hold up publishing the new look, so we will put up a temporary fix until the other can be finished. Could be this next week!

Weather is HUGE here right now. Today almost all mountain roads are closed due to blowing snow and 70 to 80+ mph winds. Tonight is supposed to be worse. In addition, I25 is shut down from I70 north to 58th Avenue due to a water main blow out. It could be a week or more before all of that part is reopened. The HOV lanes are being used to get traffic through, and a couple of temporary lanes may be opened later today or tomorrow.

Something FUN going on in Denver starting next Friday is the Gold Show at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Hooked on Gold will join GPOC doing some panning demos for teachers on the 16th at the museum, so I am sure we will all get a chance to see the gold show while we are there. It will be similar to the show in Houston that their museum put on a couple of years ago. Sorry, but pictures are not allowed in the museum, so we aren’t going to be able to get any to you. Check out www.dmns.org for more info.

World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide gold panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
www.hookedongold2.com Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us

Gold Hunting in Arizona Postponed

Have you ever had a trip planned, packed for, and you were SOOOO ready to get away and go prospecting and looking forward to finding some gold, to have some emergency come up a few hours before departure that made the trip still possible, but not all you had wanted it to be?

Well, 16 hours before we were to leave to go to Arizona and the Tucson show, a family emergency came up at my brother's house that meant if we continued with our trip, it was very likely we would be unable to visit with him and his family, and we would miss a very important propsecting opportunity. We already knew that driving would be hazardous on Sunday, and the weather would not be good for prospecting until Wed, but we had still been willing to go until his called made everything seem futile.

We will not be going to Arizona until the end of March, not attending the Tucson show this year, not selling emeralds, not buying gold, not finding gold, not visiting with our many friends and aquaintances in Tucson, not leaving the snow for a few weeks. It has taken me this long to actually be able to tell you this.

However, there still is the gift show at the end of the month where I can get a new supply of mining desgn scenes, mining themed gifts, to put onsite soon, work on the new template and getting the new items on site later this month. We also can now attend a very important demo for school teachers on the 16th at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, just in time to unfold their new gold show. It also means you will get another newsletter this Friday. Lots of gold news to report on.

I don't know how the weather is where you are, but we are getting hit with snow every couple of days. Fortunately, the city is not getting more that a coupe of inches each time, but even we are above average in snow for this winter season. Some of the mountain areas are at 240% of snowpack for this year, and our biggest snows are usually in March. How's the weather where you are?

Hooked on Gold Gazette Feb. 1st

On last year's trip to Arizona, we got some nice pictures of this overly friendly Road Runner in Albuquerque. BEEP BEEP!

HOOKED ON GOLD GAZETTE

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $907.90
· Spot price Jan. 25th: $910.50
______________________________________

Calendar of Events

FEBRUARY

TUCSON GEM, MINERAL, and FOSSIL SHOW – Tucson, Az.
13th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs
22nd – 24th Gem and Mineral Show Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Colo.
_______________________________________
NEWS

The roller coaster ride of gold has been interesting this week with it touching $937.60 this morning before tumbling back under $30.00 a Gram. The uncertainty concerning South African gold mining along with economic woes pushed it up before the Fed interest rate cut pushed it back. Consumers and investors have been pulling back from the metal as it sharply rose in January. Scrap gold is being sold around the world in large quantities, jewelry demands in India and the U.S. have fallen off, and futures have fallen due to fears that the metal has advanced to quickly as of late. However, the wedding season is approaching in India and they can hold off purchasing the metal only so long, as wedding gifts of gold jewelry for the bride are traditional. Pressures on gold to rise in price are all around, and it cannot stay at current levels all year.

We will be on our way to Arizona tomorrow, and while we are away, I will blog a bit about what we are doing and sharing some pictures. There will be no regular newsletter next Friday as I will have intermittent internet access for the next week. Check back for updates throughout the week.

Snow continues to hammer the mountains here in Colorado, with each river drainage at 150% of snowpack for the year or above; March and April are still coming. That’s going to mean a heavy run off season this late spring and early summer which will be moving gold around in the rivers this year. It also means high water for most of the summer. Have you been able to get out with your metal detector? With storms coming every other day since Christmas, ours has been in it’s case, but should get to see the light of day in the next couple of weeks. Have a great weekend! Off to pack.
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us

Hooked on Gold Gazette Jan 25th

Summer time fun. Don't know about you, but I'm tired of being COLD!!!

HOOKED ON GOLD GAZETTE

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $910.50
· Spot price Jan. 18th: $880.50
______________________________________

Calendar of Events

JANUARY 2008
1st New Years Day
9th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs

FEBRUARY
TUCSON GEM, MINERAL, and FOSSIL SHOW – Tucson, Az.
13th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs
22nd – 24th Gem and Mineral Show Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Colo.
_______________________________________

NEWS

BREAKING NEWS! Closure of three large mines today in South Africa have placed the supply of platinum and gold in jeopardy. The local utility/power supplier informed Anglo Platinum, Anglogold Ashanti, and Harmony gold mines that they would be unable to guarantee continued power supplies to them due to power shortages and worker strikes. Gold reached a high in overnight markets of $924.70 on the news.

The cost of making a penney has neared it not surpassed 2 cents. How much longer do ou think we will be carrying the coin in their present state? Aren’t we ALL picking up penney’s we find on the ground?

Ever wonder what the gold market has been doing by percentage gain each year since 2000? Well I found a chart that tells you just that. Don’t know for sure what gold will do in the future, but the past has been remarkable.

2001 33.10%
2002 20.10%
2003 54.40%
2004 8.36%
2005 40.00%
2006 20.60%
2007 31.10%

This shows an average gain of 27.27%, and will boost gold to $1061.00 per ounce by years end, if it only reaches the AVERAGE, and there are many factors working now to push it past the average.

This year, China began trading in gold futures contracts for the first time ever. The Chinese have an opportunity to buy futures contracts on gold at just 7% of the contract, making it very easy for the average person to purchase the smaller 1,000 gram contracts. The impact of these traders along with world wide traders, could have a substantial impact. As China becomes the world’s largest producer of gold, soon, according to a prediction by the China Gold Association, it could also become the worlds second heaviest buying country as well.

COLORADO is experiencing a surge in mining claim applications. “GOLD?” you ask? NOPE. Oil and uranium. The state has some of the lowest fees in the Rocky Mountain area, and the State is contemplating how much to raise them. Mining companies are complaining, but if you look at Wyoming and Utah, we are charging almost half what other states are getting. I guess you could say, I’m more in favor of the State getting more in fees than to have my income or property taxes raised. Then there is that proposed gasoline tax of 13 cents. I can’t say that the fee hike is necessarily bad for mining as they are already paying higher fees in neighboring states. Heck, if they’re lucky they can spend the fee money in court paying lawyers to fight the environmentalists and locals who don’t want mining and then take their high paying mining jobs and mine somewhere else. THAT would be great for the environment, AND the economy.

The Tucson show is coming up in February. You could be there anywhere from the first of February til around the 17th and see a lot. While much of the show is for wholesale, there is much to see for the average guy. The downtown convention center has something going on each long weekend, and there are other things al over town at many motels, and can be accessed by and “prospector”. I can promise you that if you have never been, you will be on overload by the time you leave. Plan to park your car and use the shuttles.

So, how are you planning on spending your Federal “rebate” check? That is, assuming it can pass both the houses without too many changes, (HA! Can you spell P*O*R*K?) AND you get it before the elections.

Oh! Oh! In the proposed changes to the mining laws that were talked about last summer, how did you like the one about how the water quality coming out of a mine 10 years after it was shut had to be guaranteed to be “clean”? I didn’t see any mention of any consideration of the water quality BEFORE the mine was opened.

The new template is almost finished and it should be in place in March. What with the Tucson Show coming up, there won’t be much time to switch it before we leave, so it will have to wait until we get back. It will take some time to get everything as it should be before it goes “public”. It looks great and just needs a few more tweeks to be ready to start using. Did you find gold this week?
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________

Until Next week.
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us

Hooked on Gold Gazette Jan. 18, 2008.

Sources of gold are numerous......many right under your feet!

HOOKED ON GOLD GAZETTE

• Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $880.50

• Spot price Jan. 11th: $894.90

After touching $915 earlier this week, gold slipped back into the $874 range and has settled for the weekend at the above price.

_________

Calendar of Events

JANUARY 2008

• 1st New Years Day

• 9th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs

FEBRUARY

• TUCSON GEM, MINERAL, and FOSSIL SHOW – Tucson, Az.

• 13th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs

• 22nd – 24th Gem and Mineral Show Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Colo.

__________________________

NEWS

Now, the discussion on how gold nuggets can be placed in rock other than quartz has been interesting, but now you are wondering how you can put this knowledge into practice to find your own gold in the field. Placer deposits, as any placer miner can tell you, can hold gold from several sources, and looking at the pieces you recover will tell you how many sources you have. Color of the gold will be the most obvious indication, and, when seen under magnification, the
actual size, depth, and courseness will be another. Follow these upstream until one disappears from the samples and you will be nearer to one of the sources.

What do you look for if you are not sure if the gold comes from a quartz source or one of schist or shales? Look for both in a general location. Even gold that is deposited in schist or shale will have quartz near it, although the quartz may be barren of gold. Of the two, quartz is easier to spot simply because of it's white color. Look for reddish and reddish brown schists and shales near the quartz, especially if the quartz is barren of gold and there are indications of iron in the quartz or nearby. Quartz often weathers out of rock faster, and can leave a large scree field.

A metal detector sweep of the area will give you an indication of whether there is larger gold present, and a sampling of the area with a shovel and bucket can tell you if there is smaller gold in the area. Process the dry samples at a water source. The detector will also be able to locate deposits that are left from wetter periods in the past in cracks and crevices, and in ravines.

Keep looking, and testing, and sampling and detecting, and you will find gold, possibly in the place you least expect.

If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.

___________________

Until Next week.
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com/
www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS Prospecting Videos
www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us

Hooked on Gold to get a new look

How do you like this picture for the new template header?



HOORAH! My new HOOKED On GOLD template is on it's way to being a reality! I have finally made connections with an expert who can give me a template that will do what I need it to and it will be similar to the one you see now! So, none of you will suffer too much shock when it gets changed. The header will be slightly different, but the look and feel should be the same with the width finally under control.

In GOLD news, we have gold dropping today to near that magic $50.00 point below it's high last week. The stock market is taking a beating this week so it should be interesting to see if gold finally decides to take a turn in the opposite direction of the markets, or continue to follow them down. I haven't heard of any selling off of gold by major banks recently, but with the price so high, I'm sure someone somewhere is taking profits.

Tomorrow's newsletter will continue with the discussion on how gold is put into rock under geothermal conditions.

Gold above $900

Your Specimen Gold Is UP!

Good monday morning to all of you. Gold is rising again today after touching $914 and then sliding back and climbing back up to $908 at 9:00 this morning. Of course it can correct itself back $50 to $100, but right now it is at around $30 a gram.

I have been told that specimen gold does not fluctuate very much based on the day to day spot prices, but when the price increases by around 50% in a year, well, your specimen gold just went up 50% as well. So, those people who bought their specimens at the Tucson show last year that no one even saw but the bidders, made on heck of a deal. It is hard to find 50% gains even in the stock market.

I have been discussing the information I found on the geothermal theories on gold nuggets with a geologist friend of mine, and he found the information very interesting. More on that this Friday as I continue this discussion in the newlsetter, so check back for another round in this discussion. If you have any thoughts, let me know. We may all start looking for nuggets in another area we hadn't thought about before.

Hooked on Gold Gazette, Jan. 11, 2008

Left From Gold Days Gone By

HOOKED ON GOLD GAZETTE

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $894.90
· Spot price Jan. 4th: $863.00
________________________

Calendar of Events

JANUARY 2008
1st New Years Day
9th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs

FEBRUARY
TUCSON GEM, MINERAL, and FOSSIL SHOW – Tucson, Az.
13th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs
22nd – 24th Gem and Mineral Show Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Colo.
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NEWS

WOW! Are you watching gold skyrocket this week? Man, I don't think I would be selling any gold right now until it settles down and I can get a great price for it. I am wondering what the price will be at the Tucson show in Feb.

As promised, I am continuing the discussion of how gold is formed outside quartz. There is and has been among old prospectors, the ongoing belief that not all gold is associated with quartz, and there are many examples throughout the U.S. gold strikes that support the theory that gold can also be depostied in the fissures and breaks in rock such as slate and certain schists. This especially true if the rock has a brownish red to red color to it.

Red clay or dirt is an indication of mineralization and a high concentration of iron. While hot, gold will show a affinity to iron, but when sulphur is introduced, the iron will let go of the gold and attach itself to the sulphur where it precipitates out creating iron pyrite. This leaves the gold in the solution to find it's own place to settle, and that can be in rock that has a space for it to crystallize in. Sometimes that is around quatz crystals, and sometimes in and around other rocks with spaces.

There are many examples of this type of evidence in California, Alaska, Nevada, and even Colorado. I am sure you all have heard of Farncom Hill in the Breckenridge district. I have found small pieces of wire gold when going through the slate there with a small backpack type highbanker on a claim we had permission to be on many years ago. I have since wondered about the other slate type of rock I often see in other mining districts. From now on, I WILL be taking samples to test this theory out while I am out finding gold.
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If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
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Until Next week.
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us

Hooked on Gold Gazette Jan. 4, 2008

HOOKED ON GOLD GAZETTE
· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $863.00
· Spot price Dec. 29th: $838.80
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Calendar of Events
JANUARY 2008
1st New Years Day
9th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs
FEBRUARY
TUCSON GEM, MINERAL, and FOSSIL SHOW – Tucson, Az.
13th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs
22nd – 24th Gem and Mineral Show Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Colo.
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NEWS
Gold is in the news this week so much, that it is hard to decide which aspect to report on. Several will be ongoing, but the U.S. Forest Service updates are probably the most pressing. In case you have not been aware, the U.S. Forest Service has recently proposed to “issue criminal citations for occupancy” on public lands. As always, they will also be attempting to put further restrictions on mining on public lands. One proposed amendment will create a “bonded notice”, which will require a “financial guarantee” for any mining activities that would not require a plan of operations. The amount of this proposed “bond” was not quoted, but we in Colorado are already familiar with this type of bonding which has been required by the BLM on the Arkansas River for about 4 or 5 years. Public Lands for the People will be addressing this issue when it is posted, but miners in general need to get on board with this as no public meetings are proposed and the comment periods are usually very short.

The Preble’s Mouse has raised its’ ugly head again and it is now planned not to delist it from the endangered species list, even though it was proven to be genetically identical to another more common mouse. Yes, dear friends, your house, highways, and recreation will be limited because such activities might disturb its’ habitat. This highly specialized mouse is doomed by mother nature to die out when it’s habitat changes, and that is why it is a mutation of the original. The original is meant to survive. If we continue to go against mother nature, how will new species ever evolve in a new world? Why is this mouse more important than another that might take its’ place. How can the Fish and Wildlife Service be sure this mouse will become extinct if it is disturbed, or that it isn’t part of the bigger “plan”?

Comments on the prebel mouse issue can be submitted to: Susan Linner, Field Supervisor, Colorado Field Office, Ecological Services, P.O. Box 25486, MS-6542, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Co. 80225 or by fax to (303) 236-4005 or email to FW6_PMJM@fws.gov Comments much be received by Jan. 22, 2008.

Chili is in this week’s news as one South American country that can attribute its’ prosperity to mining and a government that is aware of the contribution it makes to that prosperity. While working with mining companies to develop resources, they can also keep environmental impacts to a minimum while reaping the maximum benefits from mining. They have been reasonably successful in keeping all things in perspective, to the benefit of all.

Gold prices continue to bounce around, and predictors are coming out with what they think it will do in ’08. I am reading and hearing many, and the highest prediction is that it will reach $1500 and silver to be at $25.00 per ounce. Now, I’ve watched these predictions for quite a while and I gotta tell ya, they never are as high as predicted, but they do go up. If you were to look at ’07, you would find that gold advanced 50% this year. If it were to advance at the same pace this year, that would make the peak somewhere in the $1200 range. Since the stock market is predicted to stay rather flat for ’08, and gold has been pacing itself with the markets, that would mean gold should stay in the $800 to $900 range. Personally, I would LOVE to see $1500 gold, but realistically, I have to hope for $1000 to $1200 this year. How’s your crystal ball?

Next week, more on how gold gets deposited in its’ matrixes.

Last note: I had a link come in about 30 minutes ago that is announced on the home page concerning Cache Creek regulations for 2008. Check it out if you haven’t already.
______________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_________________________________________
Until Next week.
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us

Gold Spot Price on the Rise

Outstanding Case of Gold at the 2007 Tucson Show at the Convention Center

GOLD! Whoa Boy, have you been watching it this morning? If not, take a look at the charts page! While I have been catching up on e-mail, planning tomorrow's newsletter, and making other changes, it has gone from around $856 to over $867 right now at 9:42 a.m.

I have been reading and watching stuff about other mining and rock hounding opportunities around the country, and I gotta tell ya, you should be checking these places out for some fun. Every state has a free or pay for use place where you can find all sorts of metals, gemstones, agates, petrified wood, and fossils. Geology is great fun for everyone, and kids always like diggin' in the dirt. Visit your state's digging areas this weekend if the weather permits, and if not, plan outings for this spring and summer.

The gem and mineral societies around the country are also in full swing planning and putting on gem, mineral, and fossil shows. Attend one for some amazing earth science experiences. The annual monster show in Tucson will be underway in about 3 weeks, too, and will run several shows across the city for about 3 weeks. Hooked on Gold will be there around the 9th through the 15th or so, of Feb. Just in time to see the gold displays in the Convention Center 14th through the 17th. We photographed some amazing pieces of gold last year, and plan to do the same this year. Watch for new pictures in March.

Happy New Year from Hooked on Gold

HAPPY NEW YEAR!




Gold closed yesterday to end 2007 at $833.30 after touching $842. Now that the holidays are over more time can be devoted to site updates and the catalog. I have a "fix" to try that I had done for me by someone a little more knowledgable in these things than I am, but have not had time to upload it. You might get a glimpse of it today or tomorrow. I'll then try to mess it up by putting the new template in it, so it might not be up very long. As most of you know, the newsletter is being posted on the blog right now. If you would like an e-mail sent telling you when it posts, you can drop me a note at info@hookedongold.com, and I will put you on a list for e-mail notification on Fridays.

I-70 was closed yesterday for around 24 hours due to high winds and blowing snow after getting over 12 inches of new powder. The ski industry here is jumping for joy after a very dry November. The city is slated for a drier winter, and we will be very glad to get out of the deep freeze tomorrow. Christmas day was terrible for travel, with temps in the teens and blowing snow with ground blizzards and slick highways. Travel was slow! We were on the highways trying to get to all the places we were supposed to be,and then everyone got sick passing around all the viruses everyone has been picking up. LOL! The holidays! How we LOVE them, even with all the problems and driving! We also spent about 5 days with our grandsons after Christmas playing Monopoly, Phase 10 and spending all the Christmas cash burning a hole in evryone's pockets. One of them even chose the picture for last week's newsletter. Off to watch the Tournament of Rose's Parade and have breakfast. GOOD PROSPECTING to all of you this year, and may your find that BIG nugget!