Mining the Colorado Mountains with the Weather Channel

 Naw, we aren't in the Weather Channel show, but this is a picture of Larry and friends Jan and Tim hunting for gemstones on Mt Antero in 2011. I'm behind the camera, of course.

Gold closed Friday at $1667.20, silver at $31.43, and the DOW was over 14000 this past week, although it didn’t hang around there for long.  Lots of speculation out there about what gold will do in the short term as it is having trouble holding its’ 200 day average.  Not a particularly good thing for right now, but it certainly doesn’t mean we are looking at a crash, but possibly a good pull back.  Platinum has been closing above gold for some time, now.  Has something to do with it being needed in catalytic converters for cars.

A nomination that caught my attention this past week was the appointment of the next Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, president and CEO of REI.  I have not heard why our own Ken Salazar decided not to continue in that role for the next four years. 

Mark your calendars for March 26^th and the premiere of the Weather Channels’ series “Prospectors”, featuring many Colorado gem miners.  While they aren’t after gold, these people are definitely successful at what they do.  I know several, am acquainted with others, and they mine the mountains of Colorado.  You can see the trailer at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=422192217855655

We are almost at the end of our kitchen remake, and it is turning out to be really nice.  So far, the project has not had too many set backs or problems that were a disaster.  I’m sure most of you can relate.  Glad to have it finished this winter and not hanging over our heads as the weather turns to spring. 

There is so much to report on that has to do with legislative and court issues that are of concern to prospectors large and small, I am going to link you out to International California Mining Journal to read about all of it.  If you don’t have a subscription to this magazine, whether online or snail mail, you should consider getting one.  www.icmj.com Besides keeping you up on many of the issues you need to know about, they write excellent articles on metal detecting and prospecting in general. 

That’s it for now.  Do your research for that place you are wanting to find while the weather has you inside.  And, as always……

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley Weilnau

www.hookedongold.com

hookedongold@gmail.com

Denver Mining Club talk on Fine Gold Recovery

                                           Now, THAT'S a Big Sluice Box, Boys!

Did you know that Denver has a mining club that was founded in 1891? I knew the Denver Mining Club (AKA Colorado Chapter of the International Order of Ragged Assed Miners) had been around a while, but I had no idea they had been here so long.  Their website, www.denverminingclub.org , is a wealth of information about its’ meetings, (they meet every Monday) founding fathers and their activities. Everyone was very friendly and did their best to make all of us feel at home.

At the beginning of their meeting, they had all new comers stand, introduce themselves, and tell their interest in or connection to mining.  There are no right or wrong answers, so all newcomers are voted into the Denver Mining Club or CCIORAM, and presented with a certificate that they are sworn to place in a prominent place in their home or place of business.

Larry and I were there attending a discussion about find gold recovery given by Phil Martinez, www.vistaminingadventures.com .  Phil had asked us to go with him, his wife Elsie and their oldest son Phillip Jr., to help with the computer stuff that his paper and crayons won’t handle.

Phil talked a great deal about the large placer operation he worked for that is located at the base of Mt. Elbert.  I won’t plug them here, so you will have to look up their name if you want to know about them.  According to Martinez, they were running up to 1,000 yards a day and their biggest problem was the sticky clay that ran with all of this material.

Their solution to the problem was to use a series of jigs to break up the clay, and to then, run all of that material into a bowl system.  As in all fine gold recovery, the name of the game is breaking down your material into a useable state where all material is of similar size, and then to run water and sluice boxes at a water speed and sluice box angle that is best suited to your circumstances.

Clay is particularly bothersome to everyone, and recovering the gold trapped in it is never easy.  Emulsification of the material is of great importance, but only if the values that can be found in the clay would make breaking it up worth the time and effort needed to do so. Testing is the only way to decide if your time is better spent running material that you can separate the gold from more easily, or to go after what is in the clay.

To maximize recovery in this large placer, the sluices needed to be adjusted from what Martinez called ‘ski slopes’ to a proper angle to keep from running the gold into the tailings ponds.  After this adjustment was made, the sluices were able to handle the volume of water running down them and capture the finer gold much better.  Recovery of the fine gold went way up.

As with all operations, testing should be constant, whether you are a large operation or a weekend placer warrior.  Then, watch your water speed and the angle of your sluice box for maximum fine gold recovery.  Flatter box, more water; steeper box, less water.  Those are the basics.  Depth of water and size of material also play important parts.  Keep tweeking until your sluice box is recovering 90% of what is in your material.  How do you know when that is?  Do what we did when this large placer first asked all of us for help.  Test your tailing pile with your pan.  

So, how do you break up clay in a small operation? Mix it in a bucket with a small shovel or use a dry wall mixer and a drill in a bucket.  I've done both.  The drill is definitely easier, but if you don't have one or you are not allowed to use anything motorized, a shovel will work.  It can work you to death, too.  LOL!

Gold finished out this week at $1667.60, and we saw DOW 14,009.79, the first time it closed over 14,000 since October 2007.  Hope you are busy getting your equipment ready for this summer.  We will be staying home this year and not attending the Tucson Show in Arizona.  We have this house we bought that needs its’ kitchen fixed.  As Always,

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley Weilnau

www.hookedongold.com

hookedongold@gmail.com

What to Look For When Filing a Claim, or I Never Saw It, So How Would I Know I Had To Walk A Mile

For those of you who do not follow me on FB, I share a sunrise picture on all days there is one worth photographing. This one was from January15th.  We have had a nice high pressure ridge dominating our weather for the past few days, so there have been few clouds at dawn to catch color.

January.  My month for resting and catching up.  This past year has been one that has left me with little time to react to the next thing to come along, much less keep up with gold news.  I have 6 months of ICMJ's to read, as well as countless articles from numerous sources.  We even bought a different house in September!  

Those of you who ask questions get first priority, even though I get behind sometimes.  It is often your questions that give me an idea for information that can be added to the website for everyone to read. A recent question made me think of a part of filing a claim that rarely gets covered and so, gives me a nice blog posting for you and food for another website entry.

I often get questions about BLM regs on the Arkansas, which can be very confusing.  However, I recently got a question about the worth of having a claim on the Arkansas, which lead me to an explanation of the other aspects of a claim that I would look for, after you have done all the rest of your normal research.

First, as in all real estate, is location, location, location.  For a placer gold mining claim, I would look at how close it is to the gold source(s) in its' area.  How far it is will determine the size of the gold you will be looking for, abundance of gold, as well as the type of equipment you can successfully use to recover the gold.  You might want to be able to find enough gold to make your expenses on the costs of the claim, too, but that isn't always a priority, especially if you are buying a claim that is patented.  (Patented claims are private property, would cost a lot more, and can be a building site.)

Next, I would look at accessibility. How far do you have to drag your equipment to use it, how steep are the banks, and how often do you have to do that.  There can also be issues with crossing private property to access your claim, and the owners of the private property may give you trouble with that.  

Another consideration is stream flow.  Now, you may not think this is important, but if you are planning on prospecting your claim during high water, you might have some trouble with currents and the swiftness of the water, especially if your claim is on a narrow part of a river with a steeper slope.  You are going to want to be able to prospect effectively when you can be there.  Just like a sluice box, the angle and speed of a river will make it easier or harder to capture your gold.  Oh, hey! Isn't that sluice box patterned after a running stream?  Funny THAT!  LOL! Same rules apply.

As many of you are aware, there are a lot of placer gold mining claims out there for sale. If you are considering buying a claim, be aware that there are still people out there that are not above salting a gold mining claim to get you to buy it.  ALWAYS, ALWAYS test the area yourself when the claim owner is not around, with their permission, of course.  Also be aware that some gold mining claims are sold to you with an 'interest' in the claim and can be held by as many others with 'interests' as the claim owner wants to include.  They simply wait until you are tired of sharing or putting up with other problems, quit your 'interest' and resell it to some one else.  If you are OK with this, there is nothing wrong with this type of arrangement, just be aware of what you are getting into. (PLEASE do not talk to people, visit a site covered with 2 feet of snow, declare it a wonderful claim and put half a million dollars into it to recover 14 ounces of gold.  PLEASE tell me you are smarter than that.)

Last is the amount of gold you can expect to recover.  If you are a recreationalist, this means finding enough gold to keep you interested, pay for your gas and maybe lunch, but don't expect to make a fortune even if you are out there every day.  If your area is really, really good, it is probably NOT for sale, already claimed up or private property that you will not get access to. People always ask if you can 'make a living', and to be sure, there are people who do.  However, the other question they do not ask is how GOOD a living you can make.  The answer for most people would be 'don't quit your day job' or 'Do you fish? How good a living can you make doing that?'  

OK. I think that is it.  If I think of anything to add, I will do it later. The sun is coming up and I have to go make breakfast.  No pretty sunrise today, either.  No clouds, but it is 32 degrees outside.  Remember, it is January 19, and I live in the Denver area of Colorado.  Typical January thaw week......February is coming and we could soon be well below zero.  Keep those questions coming so I can continue to add to my website with information people want to know.  As always,

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

MASSIVE Australian Gold Nugget Found

Gold closed today for the weekend at $1684.70, however many are looking for it to surge ahead between $1700 and $1720 this next week.  Is there enough support to sustain it, though.  That is the question some are not sure about.  

I am having some issues with font in this post.  I have more information to share with you, but it will have to be in another post, as I'm not sure how it will publish.

I received a schedule of some of the gold events going on in the Denver area in the next couple of weeks.  There might be one you can attend.

 Mon.-Fri., Feb. 18-22, Annual Book Sale, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily, at two locations on the Colorado School of Mines Campus, Golden CO:

(1) Arthur Lakes Library, 1400 Illinois St., Golden
Day 1 prices are $10 for hardcovers, $5 for softcovers, and $2 for maps; prices for remaining inventory are reduced each day. An onsite sealed-bid Silent Auction for more valuable items will be held on Monday, Feb. 18, 10 am to 12 noon. For more info and an advance list of silent auction items see  http://library.mines.edu/LB_Book_Sale
(2) CSM Geology Museum, 1310 Maple Street, Golden ; books and “garage sale”’ books, journals, maps, plus some specimens, equipment, etc. with a focus on geology and minerals. Prices will be reduced each day. For more information see the Museum website,http://www.mines.edu/Geology_Museum or call 303-273-3815.

We have a meeting we will be helping with a presentation on the 28th.  I will have more info on that next week.

I wanted to give you this link to an Australian nugget that was recently found.  The finder is waiting to sell it to the highest bidder, of course.  The youtube video shows all of its' sides, so take a look and send him your bid for the piece.....or drool.  Fun to look at and dream about finding gold like it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21055206

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

Prospecting for Gold in Larimer County, Colorado Decided

Christmas is over and New Year's Eve is looming.  In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, we have been awaiting news on the proposed closing of Larimer County in Colorado to gold prospecting.  I have recently received a link to a news page that tells about the proposal and how it was defeated.  You can read about it at. http://www.koaa.com/news/gold-panning-ban-defeated-in-larimer-county/ .
Thanks to Lin Smith for the information link.

Thankfully, we will still be able to find gold in Colorado in Larimer County.  Thanks to all those prospectors out there who took time to attend this meeting and to speak their minds.  We will need to continue to be diligent in speaking out about our rights and wishes to continue prospecting for gold in all areas where we should be allowed to do so on public lands.

Gold closed down again this week at $1656.30. Maybe we will see it to the upside tomorrow for a nice rise before the New Year.

As promised, I will tell you a little bit about the group who put the gold summit on in October.  Their name is Gold-Unlimited and you can find them at www.gold-unlimited.com . Their focus is bringing our prospecting heritage to children and to preserve our rights to prospect.  Check them out.  They have their heads in the right place.

2013 is almost here!  Hooked on Gold would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you and yours a Happy New Year!  Ours looks to be very good.  We hope yours will be filled with joy, prosperity, good times and good friends.  Take care, all of you, and make sure where you are before you dig, and don't dig in the banks.  That's river banks, of course.  LOL!

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

Colorado Gold Summit part 5

Gold has taken a drop in the past couple of weeks and was down, at the close yesterday, to around $1696. Christmas is around the corner and I hope you all are well on your way to having your shopping finished. We have a houseful of family coming for about 4 days, so we are doing our best to get everything ready for them.  

I am posting, for you, my last installment of the Gold Summit.  It was presented by
Dave Winters, U.S. Forest Service Stream Biologist on responsible stream prospecting for gold and preserving stream integrity.


Most gold prospectors are aware that we share the rivers with fishermen as well as many others. Most of us are, also, fishermen and women.  My Grandmother fished all her life, as did my Dad and other family members, so I grew up with a healthy respect for fishing and the out of doors.  As such, I was most interested in what Dave Winters, U.S. Forest Service Stream Biologist, had to tell us. 

According to Dr. Winters, (No one ever did say he was a Dr., but I would think that he has that degree) streams are classified as to gradients of fall.  Those that are in 4%-2% (or above) pass sediments easily and quickly.  Gradients of 2% and below are multi use and shared by prospectors, cattle ranchers, fishermen, have few boulders and meander from bank to bank.  These parts of the rivers are much slower and pass sediments much slower, depending on the gradient percentage of fall.  These are the areas that are of the most concern and happen regularly along the Front Range and east in Colorado.  Because of this lessening of gradient fall, all must be watchful of the damage we can do to the banks of the rivers.  A cut into the bank will cause the rivers, at flood or in run off, to erode the banks even further, degrading the slope and changing the course of the river as a consequence.  (I know, you think only you are digging in the bank and it should be OK, but you aren’t and it isn’t)

This erosion in especially harmful to multi users.  The preservation of the river bank integrity is most important in slower parts of the streams and rivers.  Bank degradation widens the stream and/or river making the flow of water even slower, inhibiting the waterway’s ability to pass sediments, as well as harms fish habitat and can make for dangerous situations when getting down the bank for animals and humans.  How this pertains to gold prospectors is simple.  Don’t dig in the banks.  Stay in the streambed.

Anybody know what a Virtual River is?  There is a book written about it called ‘Virtual Rivers’ that has some interesting thing s to say about pristine versus Virtual Rivers.   (Sorry, he went through this too fast for me to catch the author).  We probably have no rivers in Colorado that anyone can call ‘pristine’.  They have pretty much been disturbed, moved, crowded, dammed up, and diverted.

Some, like Clear Creek, are no longer able to meander across their valleys.  I-70 and the railroad bed up highway 6 pretty much makes that impossible, trapping it in a narrow strip that grinds the bedrock all the time. The South Platte has some 5 reservoirs on it as well as numerous rail road beds and the debris from their construction.  The North Fork has a massive water diversion ditch that scours it most of the year.  Historic mining, cattle ranching, dredging and hydraulicking all took their toll on the rivers, as one would assume. 

As such, why are we even talking about restrictions on small scale mining, if the rivers have been already been so beaten up?  First, let's remember we share these public areas with so many other users.  Our concerns for gold prospecting cannot be the only ones considered.  Second, let’s call it personal responsibility by a public that is better educated and can see the damage that can still be done by these activities, if not conducted responsibly.  There are a lot of us out there during the season, after all, and our places to dig are not that numerous.  So we get concentrated in areas and we need to be careful we don’t overuse them.  We need to educate others and police ourselves, be respectful of the environment, clean up and restore our public use sites.  An interesting thing that was suggested is for all of you to cut willow sticks and plunge them into the river banks, where they are lacking, down to water level so that they will root and help stabilize the banks. Also, be an advocate for invasive species.  Remove them or tell authorities where they can find them.

 OK, so we do these things already, or should, what about officials we have to deal with that have preconceived perceptions about these activities.  You have probably run into them or talked with them.  Mr. Winters says that they should take a step back and not be controlled by their perceptions, and remember these are Virtual Rivers, not pristine.  They should be used by everyone who wants to use them in a responsible manner.  Work with prospectors to identify appropriate areas and regulations for these activities.  Get prospectors involved with the process and use the volunteer help they have with them to resolve problems or clean up areas to keep them open. However, prospectors need to be respectful of all officials and calmly educate them or ask them to research responsible information of our activities with responsible groups who are in the know.

In closing, Dr. Winters charged us to think like a stream, while we are working in and around them, and work together to make the situation better.  Oh, and Plant Willows!

I hope this series has brought to light some of the expectations of officials, defined some confusing terms we all use while we are prospecting for gold in Colorado. I will close this series in the next few days with some information about Gold Unlimited.  I did not begin with them as I felt their place should be last so you will go back and look them up.  As Always,

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley Weilnau

www.hookedongold.com

hookedongold@gmail.com

Mile High Gold Summit Part 4

Gold closed Friday at just a bit over $1715, and Thanksgiving has been over for more than a week, now.  Hope all of you had a good one and are long on your way to a Merry Christmas.  We continue to unpack (probably will for another 6 moths), add storage to the new house, get the new shed ready for winter and work on the old place to make it more saleable.  You would think we had done enough, but apparently not. 

I am getting back to the Gold Summit with installment number 4.  I hope all of this has been of use to you.  I found several parts of it very informative.

Anyone from the Front Range and beyond, who prospects for gold in Colorado, should be familiar with Al Mosche of the Phoenix Mine. Al’s family has been mining in Colorado for over a hundred years, and he gave us an interesting look back at those periods in time.  He entertained us with several stories, as only Al can, and gave us a peek at what mining was like from the 1880’s until now.  Anyone who is curious should take a tour of the Phoenix mine, located west of Idaho Springs.

Fred Dodge was on hand to sign autographs for people who were familiar with his present consulting job with the Discovery Channels hit show Gold Rush.  He didn’t give away any upcoming events with the Hoffman’s, but told us that he mines gold for a living.  However, he didn’t go into much detail about anything.  Anyone familiar with the Dodge’s knows that parts of his family own and occasionally operate one of the mines on Pennsylvania Mountain in South Park near Fairplay.

Which brings me to Christie Wright, who is with Park County Historical Society and Secretary of the Park County Mining Association.  She gave us some history on her two areas of expertise in the area; Buckskin Gultch and Hall Valley.  We have been around much of Buckskin Gultch, but never Hall Valley.  I think a road trip is in order next summer, just so we can say we have been there.  You get there by going west up PCR 60, near Jefferson.  She also told a brief history of the beginnings of the area.  Park County was established is 1861 and is 45 miles by 60 miles, or 2200 sq. miles. Yes, you can get lost in there for days and put hundreds of miles on your vehicle.  I know.  We have.  The rest you can google .

Denver Parks and Recreation sent over one of their Rangers, Jake Wells, to talk with us about what Denver is doing in respects to prospecting in public areas.  This is new to them, and they are in their beginning stages of coming up with regulations to cover prospecting for gold in the City of Denver.  After they have their outlines, they will be meeting with local prospectors for input into what they need and to make sure terminology is correct.  They will also be working with Jefferson County, since they already have a plan in place.  Right now, they are allowing hand equipment. No motorized equipment at all, not even battery operated.  Again, there is the issue of the size of the holes, but Denver is, also, concerned with the added noise.

That’s it for today.  I have saved the Stream Biologist, Dave Winters, for last.  His talk was lengthy and had some very good information for you to consider.  You will be surprised that he is not against your activities.  Only WHERE you do them in relationship to the stream.   As Always,

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley Weilnau

www.hookedongold.com

hookedongold@gmail.com

How did it get to be Tuesday!?!?  Yes, I know I'm behind in getting information to you, so here it is.  Gold is sitting at $1726.10 right now, in case anyone cares.

Mile High Gold Summit Part 3

Jefferson County Open Space was and remains very opened minded concerning prospecting for gold in Clear Creek Canyons Park Open Space.  The area runs from 58^th to the junction of Highway 119, except for about a mile above tunnel 3 where a grandfathered in claim is.  As those of you who are from this area know, the canyon has been heavily used by the public for a very long time, and the Open Space committee has their hands full with balancing all the users in the canyon.  They will, also, be constructing a bicycle/walking trail through it beginning now, and have three years to complete the project with grant money to do so.

Their representative, that day, was Colleen Gad who has been working with prospectors for many years.  In general, they are pleased with most prospectors.  However, this past year they have had increasing problems with people digging way into the banks.  Here, I MUST remind all of you…this is OPEN SPACE.  Their rules DO NOT include removal of ANYTHING.  Jefferson County Open Space is the ONLY open space group I know of that even CONSIDERS allowing prospecting of any kind on their managed land, much less MOTORIZED use.  

Here, again, HIGH WATER MARK MEANS AS FAR ALONG THE STREAMBED AS THE WATER WILL GO TO THE BANK, AND NOT UP THE BANK.  So, what does this mean?  NO DIGGING IN THE BANKS!!!!  It DOES mean you can dig up the streambed anywhere high water would cover it.  AND it means you can use a highbanker to do that in an area that allows MOTORIZED equipment to dig up the STREAMBED where the high water would cover it, in the Clear Creek Canyons Park Open Space.  Off course, that does NOT  mean you can do it on private property or someone’s claim that is not included in this park. (DEEP BREATH!)  It is YOUR responsibility to know where you are, AND watch the parking situation.  They WILL ticket you for parking violations.  Any questions on this you can email me.

FILL IN YOUR HOLES!!!!!  I am sick of repeating this, you lazy b*********s! You know who I’m talking to.  I am more than sick of doing your work for you.  YES! I fill in your holes with a pick and a #2 shovel, and I’m an OLD WOMAN.

Bucketing of material off the high benches is NOT ALLOWED.  You, also, cannot fill buckets with material, put them in the truck, and take them home or anywhere else with you.  This is Open Space!  You cannot take anything out with you but the cons.  ALL material must be worked where you are.  If you see anyone violating the rules and regs, get a picture of the vehicle, person and license plate and turn it in to police.  Ms. Gad gave us a hand out on the rules for this area.  Rather than put them all in this blog post, I will post them on the website in the next few weeks.

A question was asked about the rock piles along Clear Creek in the Open Space Park, and whether you can work them or not  The answer was NO as the Prebble Mouse was found living in the piles. 

We also had a discussion about the use of the Arapahoe City area, just east of the Coors Brewery property.  Right now, prospectors are being allowed to work here, but it is under the City of Wheatridge’s management, even though it is Jefferson County property.  It is a confusing situation, and Wheatridge is working with gold prospectors right now, however some issues are cropping up that may shut this area down.

First and foremost is the issue of working into the banks.  AGAIN, work in the streambed as far as the water will cover it when there is high water, not the banks.  Recently, there was a hole opened up in the bank that cut straight through it.  This will erode the bank at run off.  Volunteers are being asked to help with closing this hole.  If this sort of thing continues, it is most certain Wheatridge will take action to prevent it.  REMEMBER to work AWAY from the bike path.  Undercut that, and no one will be allowed to work in this area.

That’s all I have right now on Clear Creek.  I will be updating the website with this information in the next month or so.  Sometime between unpacking and Christmas.  LOL!  I do hope your gold prospecting season was a good one.  We had a lot of fun for the short time we had in the mountains this year.  Not sure who I will be reporting on next, but I have all day to decide.  As Always,

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley Weilnau,

www.hookedongold.com

hookedongold@gmail.com

Mile High Gold Prospecting Summit Part 2

TGIF! That means more work for us, but it is work we choose to do.  Gold closed this after noon at $1730.80. Stock market stopped its sharp decline, too.  

Today, I am posting information about Clear Creek where it flows through Golden.  There has been some controversy over what the regulations mean here, although most of them should not be questioned like mining around the kayak runs and the new fishing improvements.  However, we got some very good explanations that clarify what exactly is meant by 'high water mark'. 

Mile High Gold Prospecting Summit Part 2

Now, let’s see…..I left you hanging wondering how I would go about organizing the information.  I think I will begin with the two speakers who were there about Clear Creek running through Golden, and Clear Creek Canyon. 

Clear Creek presents some unusual circumstances that you do not normally see. We have several counties that it runs through, as well as cities, and also includes a stretch of open space.  Our speakers addressed the part that runs through Jefferson County, and they were very informative about what is expected through this stretch. 

Ann Beierle, with the city of Golden, addressed the general regulations on Clear Creek through Golden.  She has worked in the past with several of the bigger mines in Colorado, and so is very versed in mining and knows the mining community well. 

Prospecting for gold in Golden means no mechanized equipment of any kind, including battery powered equipment. 

Stick to the stream bed and don’t dig deep holes.  It is a safety issue for everyone who uses Clear Creek in the summer for recreation.  No one wants a 5 year old accidentally stumbling into a 5 foot hole in the creek bed. 

NO DIGGING in the banks.  HIGH WATER mark means the high water covering the STREAMBED, not how high it goes up the bank.  Digging in the banks erodes the banks on a huge scale and undermines trails, roadways and deteriorates the integrity of the creek.

FILL IN ALL HOLES, even if you will be returning the next day.  Clear Creek is overused by everyone in the summer and it is a safety issue.  Just because most people are gone at sun down, doesn’t mean no one uses the creek in the evening or at night.  You must consider other users in this creek.

You may NOT prospect in the Kayak runs or where the new fishing habitat has been provided upstream from the Kayak runs to the 6^th Ave. Bridge.  Millions of dollars have been spent to make these areas user specific.  If you want to use certain areas specific to prospecting, get your groups together and spend the money to do so.  (That isn’t the cities comment, boys.  It’s MINE!  Put your money where your mouths are like all other special interest groups do.)

Avoid, do not interfere with others on the creek. It is a privilege to use the creek in Golden for prospecting, not a right and you can lose it if you abuse it.  Be respectful of the work done on the Golden Mile Stream Restoration and Fishing areas.  Follow established rules and do not damage stream improvements.  You have no right to dig around the structures built to keep the Kayak runs in place, nor to move the boulders that keep the creek in place through Golden. 

Improved area runs from approximately 4^th to the 6^th Ave Bridge. 

WOW! I thought I could get through both of these speakers today, but this is long enough now.  See you again soon.

As Always,

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley Weilnau

www.hookedongold.com

hookedongold@gmail.com

Mile High Gold Prospecting Summit

1^st Annual- presented by Gold-Unlimited.  Saturday, November 3, 2012.  

Gold is at $1714.90 this morning.  As promised, I am bringing you the first installment of the events that took place last Saturday.

Amidst all the problems and work associated with buying a new home, moving and selling the old home, we decided to take last Saturday afternoon off to attend a ‘gold summit’ put on by Gold Unlimited whose purpose was to get some information out to prospectors in the Colorado area about local regulations and what local entities are expecting from gold prospectors.

                                                                 

The 5 hour speaker lineup was informative and spanned general prospecting to hard rock, and even had one local celebrity from the Gold Rush show.  Pizza was brought in for participants who knew lunch was being served.  The venue was cold….I mean there was no heat in the room and the door was open the entire afternoon. It was sunny and 60 degrees outside, but for those who were inside sitting on metal chairs for hours, it was cold.  Thankfully, one of the speakers needed a bit of preparation time, or we would not have had a break at all.  Of course, you could leave at any time and miss part of what was being said.  Not an option for someone who needed to get the information down and written about in a blog.  I was chilled to the bone and shivering by the time it was over.

That being said, the rest of the afternoon was worth our time to listen to what was said.  If it hadn’t been, I certainly would not have stayed and froze all afternoon.  LOL!  Since there was so much that was gone over, I will post for several days so you can digest it in pieces.   Speakers were from Gold-Unlimited, Christie Wright from South Park Historical Society and Park County Mining Association, Al Mosche who owns and operates the Phoenix Mine outside Idaho Springs, Fred Dodge representing the for profit gold miners, Ann Beierle who discussed regulations pertaining to Clear Creek in Golden, Dave Winters National Forest Service Stream Biologist, Colleen Gad with Jefferson County Open Space, and Jake Wells with Denver Parks and Recreation. We also were given some information about Gold Unlimited and heard a history of Arapahoe City.

Everyone had a specific time slot to fill and the meeting moved along very nicely.  We were finished by around 5:00 p.m., in time for a nice dinner before heading home to turn all our clocks back one hour to end daylight savings time.   

Since this start is getting so long, I will stop it here and tomorrow I will start catching you up on the information that the speakers gave out.  You will find you know much of it, but there was much clarification on some of the terms used.  As usual, your interpretation and theirs is not the same, and I did ask for clarification so I understood it myself. 

As Always,

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley Weilnau

www.hookedongold.com

hookedongold@gmail.com

Miss Me? Lots of Information Coming Your Way

Gold is closing today at around $1716.  Up a bit from the summer, but still not close to the highs that were predicted for it.  However, the election results later today, and the end of the year could prove interesting.  

So, what have I been up to since August?  Buying another home, finding out that we no longer qualify for a conventional 30 year loan, moving, and now trying to sell the other house.  

How did we make the purchase? A 5 year adjustable.  It was the only loan we got offered that didn't make us put all our savings into a money market and withdraw it on a monthly basis until it was all gone. Anyone with an IRA knows you keep it invested so you can make money from it to make it last longer.  

On top of this, they would not even consider the part time job as income.  A REAL eye opener.  So, we are looking at an exit strategy in 4 years.  Yup, we will probably be selling this one and moving in 4 years.

Why bother?  My Mother could no longer navigate the stairs at the old home.  AND a good time to buy a house before they go back up.  Hopefully, we can exit before the whole money mess blows up.  Did I say that?  Oopps.  Sorry, I mean before our ARM gets adjusted.  LOL!

My real purpose here today is to tell you that I have a series of posts to bring to you about a gold summit that was held in South Denver to get some information out to folks about the Denver and Golden areas that I want to pass on to you.  The posts are already written, so I will blog every couple of days as I have time.  (Yes, I am still unpacking boxes.)  I wrote them while I was waiting for carpet to be put down at the Townhouse, btw.  Took me 3 hours! 

I will also be putting some of the information on the website so you can find it again.  Check back this week to read about the summit and the group that put it on.  As Always,

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