Gold Digger :D

That's me grinning at my first pan... every pan's a winner!
(Photo by R.Way of Eureka Gold Panning)

How's this for a cheap hobby? Hook up with a local prospecting outfitter and ride out with them to a well-known gold producing creek and pan all day and keep what you find! That's what I did over the Labor Day holiday! I learned to improve my panning technique and even picked up some new ideas for coaxing gold out of the creek bed. There are more uses for a turkey baster than the original designer ever imagined! LOL

 

Here's a look at my first pan. Yes, we hit pay dirt on the first try!
(Photo by R.Way of Eureka Gold Panning)

The Sunday evening thunderstorms had scared away many would-be Monday morning prospectors. I am glad I do not scare too easily! The gold was practically jumping out of the creek into our pans! 

(Photo by R.Way of Eureka Gold Panning)

 Here is what the lead prospector coaxed out of the heavy concentrates after the excursion. One day, I will have my own extraction to get the microgold out for myself. For now, he gladly obliges himself to do it. Amazing what is not readily visible to the naked eye! He uses magnets to draw away the iron compounds and a microscope to see what he's working with. Not a grain gets by... :)

My "naked eye" picks are in the vial. Another panner's finds are in the top of the pan. See the gold chain in the corner of the pan? That is what we want! 

(Photo by R.Way of Eureka Gold Panning)

In addition to the gold in my little pill bottle (vial), this is what was recovered from my concentrates. Nice artistic expression he has! LOL

(Photo by R.Way of Eureka Gold Panning)

I shared all this on Facebook, and now my friends want to get in on it! There's plenty for everyone, but few will put in the work to get it.. I won't lie, it is work.. you have to find a sweet spot, dig under and around submerged rocks and shake that pan filled with mud and rock to get it down the the workable paydirt... you will get a backache, your legs will hurt from squatting for long periods of time... you will be nursing sore muscles the next day (or two)... and that doesn't cover the snake hazards, bears-deer-mountain lions-bobcats-foxes-coyotes that are meandering through the woods, the sudden downpours from summer thundershowers that leave you wetter than if you had gone swimming, falling in the mud, water filled boots, no phone reception, backpack & contents soaked from rain.....

BUT IT WAS ALL SOOOOOO WORTH IT! I am definitely going to do this again!

Many thanks to Eureka Gold Panning of Greensboro, NC, for an adventure I will remember and repeat!
(Website: http://eurekagoldpan.com/ or LIKE them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EurekaGoldPanning )