Prospecting for Gold

In and around this area of Arizona, prospecting for gold was quite the rush back in the mid-1800’s, so for us to have an opportunity to see what enthusiasts of the 21^st century do was something that we just couldn’t pass up.

We were pleased to make the acquaintance of a couple from Veneta, Oregon that parked about 500 feet from us here in the desert on Sidewinder Road.  Kathy and Bill (and their cat & 2 dogs) have been coming to this area for the last 3 years in search of the ultimate gold find, called “pickers”.  This we learned is a fairly good size piece, but prospectors will extract any of the gold which can sometimes consist of smaller flakes.  The process is quite interesting so we hope that you’ll enjoy a few of the pictures that we took on this Jeep trip – “in search of gold”.

 Bill’s Rhino and our Jeep parked across where Bill’s claim is.  Our Jeep hasn’t had a bath in months.  Jeff would love to wash it but it would be filthy in 20 minutes!

Bill is shoveling dirt into his “Gold Buddy” dry washer.  After processing 20-30 shovels of dirt it is shut down and opened up.  The contents are put into a gold pan to be water washed to separate the dirt, black sand and gold.

The large black tank in the Rhino is where the dirt is separated from the gold.

Jeff’s job was moving the processed dirt to keep the machine from plugging up.

A very remote canyon where the gold is prospected.

 

This picture is a larger view of where we were working – very desolate with little wind- and bring your own water!

 

Here is Bill just starting to “wash” another pan.

The 2-3 hours that Jeff spent with Bill yielded 3-4 “pickers” which wasn’t bad.  Unfortunately, this kind of gold fever can become addicting for some with many more hours spent “eating dust”.  For us it was a new adventure to share.

and on a different note . . .

CATS. . .CATS. . .CATS. . .CATS

And now for some pictures of our cats, Chuck (buff) and Abby (black/white) in honor or Jeff’s Mom, Dorothy who has told us that we need to have more pictures of the cats.  This one’s for you, Ma.  Enjoy!

Chuck & Abby - sleeping, of course!

Kitty Condo that Jeff built for our kids!

Chuck resting on all 3 cushions - ahhhhhhh!

Jeff and his buddy, Chuck.

 

Abby, tolerating Chuck getting there first!

Can't forget to mention our Bear!!

Travel Update:  After 3 weeks in the desert on Sidewinder Road, Winterhaven, California we are hitting the “open road” for a new adventure.  Destination:  Ajo, Arizona (population 3,000).  A former copper mining town, and 33 miles south of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  We’re told that this is beautiful desert country, some of the most attractive anywhere.  How can we pass that up?

Hugs to all ~

Kay & Jeff

 

Our last sunset on Sidewinder Road