Dizzys Journal - Gold and Tales of the Past

[DizzyDigger]

I've been wanting to get a new journal started, but have held off
as I really don't know just how much prospecting I'll get to do this
year. I won't end up with an empty pan, I promise you!

There are also many, many great tales of past adventures that
need to be scribbled down somewhere, for posterity if for nothing
else. Fishing and hunting trips, days in the big truck, special people
(as in odd), and a thousand moments in time that some poor soul
might find entertaining.

I'll try not to bore you....

To start off my gold season, my grandson brought me a gift of a
"Gold Bag" that was bought on eBay, and was supposed to be my
Christmas present. We didn't get to see the kids at Christmas, so
when my daughter came to visit a few weeks ago he brought it along
to "give Papa something to do".

Filled up my panning tub and went to work, and a few minutes
later I'd panned out the bag...twice (just to be sure).



Also got a few things in the works that *may* turn out well, and
if so a new Nokta Fors Gold will be mine.

Still got the damned Meniere's, and while my hearing continues to
get worse, it's still good enough to hear the detector sounds.
Meniere's is a progressive disease, so it won't stop till it's done
what it's gonna do. For the past few months the tinnitus and
dizziness have been bad enough to keep my arse parked in a
chair here in my shop, but I'm hoping that along with warmer
weather will come a remission. Been better the past few days,
so keepin' my fingers crossed.

This is an open journal, so feel free to jump in anytime with
questions or comments!

 

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[Duckwalk]

Looking forward to many-a stories here. Im sure it would be beneficial to others to Post up some of the custom built equipment you have put together. Miller table, and the home built gold cube classifiers are a couple i can think of.

 

[Jeff95531]

Glad to see you back Mike. For balance problems you can get rock solid footing with these. They are the best walking sticks I've ever owned!

Amazon.com : BAFX Products® - 2 Pack - Anti Shock Hiking / Walking / Trekking Trail Poles - 1 Pair : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon is out of stock but it looks like Sears still has some...Sears.com

Less than $25 and worth a helluva lot more.

Life has been holding me back so far this year as well but the fever still builds. Good luck and heavy pans to ya!

 

[425jesse]

Sweeeeet! Mike is Back! Sorry I missed you when we were up in your neck of the woods last week, it was nice to see gnatnutz and prospect a few new holes! See you soon Dizz!

 

[DizzyDigger]

Sweeeeet! Mike is Back! Sorry I missed you when we were up
in your neck of the woods last week, it was nice to see gnatnutz and prospect a few new holes!
See you soon Dizz!

Yep, saw your texts later that night. I haven't talked to Phil yet,
so how'd you guys do? (remember, pictures or it never happened!)

Starting to get a bit more active, but I'm still a ways from
"prospectin' condition".

 

[425jesse]

Not the mother load, but some nice little gold!

 

[DizzyDigger]

Nice!

Did you guys work that side channel on the other side of the bridge?
Been looking at that spot for years, but haven't found a way to
access it yet. Goin' down the hill is easy...it's getting back up that's
hard!

 

[425jesse]

We went down into the side channel and walked thru it. Looked great, but quite the hike, once we made it back to the car, we decided to move to a spot 10 min west of concrete on the beginning of a forest service road. Thanks again for helping Jake and I find some new shinny stuff!

 

[DizzyDigger]

94º here this afternoon...and that's insanely hot for this far NW,
this early in June...

Our "typical" Spring means rain 4-5 days a week until around
the 4th of July, then it gets warmer. We're way low on rain,
and if this keeps up I fear there's going to be a very bad fire
season come Fall.

On a better note, been thinkin' about starting a new project...

Last year I fabricated a high-banker top for my Gold Cube,
and while it did work OK, I felt it needed to be more robust,
and perhaps flow into the GC from a different direction.

That original unit is now with the infamous Jesse425, and
I do hope he can put it through it's paces and maybe make a few
improvements I overlooked.

The new build will use a stripped down A52 Keene sluice as the
top unit, and classifying will be down with a longer piece of 3/8"
punch plate.

Also kicking around the concept of a fluid bed unit, which in and
of itself isn't too exciting, BUT, this one uses some rather untried
and untested ways of moving the material.

Still haven't put a pan in the water this year, and hoping for a
good day soon so's I can go chase some color on a local creek.

 

[DizzyDigger]

The new "Gold Cube x High-banker" project is on hold for a bit, but it's
certainly not out of mind.

I really enjoy coming up with new or unique ways of processing material,
and 99% of the design/engineering is done via thought processes over
a (often lengthy) period of time. Start with a general concept (ie: adding
a classifier/high-banker option to my Gold Cube), and then just start
cogitating on how that could be best accomplished. If you can follow a logical
design/build process in your thinking, you can work through a vast
majority of the problems a particular design will have, and in the end
you can actually build a "mentally verified" version of the project that
will function well, or require only the slightest of re-design while in
production.

Truth be told, however, there comes a time in the history of every project
when you need to shoot the engineer and just build the damn thing.

Still on track to get the FoRs Gold Pro in a few weeks. Had a pretty good
stash saved up, but then my best buddy, Scruff, decided to get himself
torn up....again. Just a few weeks ago he had to go to the Vet and have
a large abscess opened up on his right shoulder. He'd gotten into a fight,
and the other cat sunk their teeth into his shoulder, and deep. That was
an unplanned $200.

Then, he comes home this last Thursday and I can see he's moving a bit slow,
so I figured he'd been in another fight and was sore (or sulking)...but then I
reached down to pick him up and felt that his chest/belly area were wet...with blood.
I've no idea in the world how it happened, but he'd opened up a 4" gash that ran
from the front of his belly right up through his front legs. Carefully rolled him over
on his back while in my arms, and then I saw the carnage...hide peeled
back like he'd been skinned, and the cut went all the way into the meat
of his chest. He'd gotten hung up in something very sharp, and then damn
near ripped his chest off to get away from it and get home...

That was at 11:00 at night, so the next morning we got him to the
Vet just as they opened, and once again they sewed him back together.
This time though he had to spend 2 days at the vet hospital, and although
he's home now he has to stay inside...which is no issue for a normal house
cat, but Scruff still has his feral roots, and is never happy being inside unless
I'm in bed and he's sleeping beside me. His constant whining (meowing with
an attitude) wanting to go out is driving my wife nuts, and I'm spending
as much time as I can out in my shop so's I don't have to hear it.

I'll take my little buddy over a gold detector every time, but now he's got 22
stitches holding his gut together, and he still want's to go out and chase
mice.....that's my boy!

More later...

...and maybe next time I'll tell ya about the legendary Myron Doobie....

 

[DizzyDigger]

Still can't figure out what he got tangled up in...

 

[DizzyDigger]

Too bloody hot outside to do much of anything, so I think I'm gonna
go down to one of the local creeks and classify me up about 3 gal.
of aggregate to pan out in my shop.

Got AC in the house, but since I don't smoke in the house, 90%
of my waking hours are spent out here in my shop, which is built
in the garage. It's only 8'x16', but it stays much cooler than outside
is until late afternoon.

Never seen a Spring (or June) like this before. We've had very little
rain, and temps are setting records, daily. It's not even July yet and it's
already drier than a popcorn fart, but the upside is that some of the
local creeks are going to be running very, very low, meaning there will
be some excellent new ground exposed that may not have been above
water for decades.

Bad side of the heat, as always, is the added risk of fire. There's supposed
to be thunderstorms in the area tonight and tomorrow, which means
dozens of lightning strikes, and every one a potential fire starter.

Our area typically has about 30 days a year over 80 degrees. Our
hotter weather has always come in late July and August, but here we are
in about the 15th day in a row, and it's looking like high 90's for the next
week.

Y'all stay cool out there!

 

[DizzyDigger]

Hey all....just wanted to let ya know that I ain't run off.

Spent the last couple months trying to take care of some health issues,
and am starting to make some small progressions. Been having a
number of smaller/shorter vertigo attacks (which are still no fun at all),
but the real pisser is that each one takes away a little more balance,
and a little more hearing. Since I'm already deaf in the right ear, the
doc's are really sensitive about any procedures that might further
reduce my hearing.

On the balance side, however, there are some things I can do, and
beginning next Friday I'll be doing some vestibular rehab (aka: balance
therapy) a couple days a week. We can't stop the disease, but this
will at least make it easier for me to get around, and less likely to
"crash and burn". I do well on flatter ground, but anything uneven
(like a riverbank) is really challenging. This therapy should bring
some improvement, and I've got my fingers crossed hoping to make
a nugget shooting trip to N. Calif. and Nevada in the Fall.

 

[Jeff95531]

Good to hear from you Mike. (have we discussed backpacking poles before) My own little drama show is going on here too. Not only did I lose both prospecting buddies this year, repairs to myself and vehicles ALL required 4 figure repairs. The good news is things are finally improving and I'm right on your way to "northern CA". You can plan on visiting/prospecting/pitching a tent or parking a car here anytime but best before the winter rains as you well know. Who knows...maybe a little mini bash? PM me in advance if you do.