2020 Trip planned to the US...advice needed...

[Orcaman]

Hello all, Andrew from South Africa here. Firstly I must share my condolences to all on this day, 9/11.

I have decided to make the US my vacation destination next year, 2020. Too many questions which I can obviously find on Google but would prefer to reach out on a platform such as TreasureNet and try and get some 1st hand information from you all here.

I have detected for many years now with my trusty(old) Fisher 1236-X2, had loads of finds and fun over the years. Clearly everyone here is fascinated with finding gold and I'm no different. I have built sluices, 'worked' some areas around my home town(no success), sniped using what we call a prawn pump here to reach bedrock etc etc. I've spent years going through YouTube videos and consider myself a bit of an armchair expert...

Currently I'm involved in the gemstone mining industry and there are two old and abandoned shafts both still with original headgear on site. The gold 'dried up' and things shut down. I recently started to collect some gravel below the one shaft and will pan this out shortly.

I've told friends for years now that all I want to do is go out, mine, pan and find my own speck, not even a nugget but just a speck of gold and I will be happy! There are many places in South Africa where I could get this right but as I'm a keen paragliding pilot I was thinking that as Colarado has some really good cross country flying that maybe I can combine the two, paragliding and some prospecting and have a great vacation. I'll avoid the day parks that offer panning for everyone...screaming kids etc etc...

As I mentioned before I'm really hoping that some of you could offer some guidance. I'm open to maybe a week or so of camping/prospecting, maybe 7-10 days. I don't want to limit myself to Colarado as the US has so much to offer and I'd be on a relatively short time frame.
Is there anyone out there that could advise on a really great area where one can perhaps camp and prospect? Possibly even cheaper accommodation nearby maybe.

I'm hoping that I will pick up some valuable info from this thread and really looking forward to hearing from you all

Best regards,

Andrew

 

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[angelito1]

welcome to tnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

[et1955]

First advise, pick one location because of your limited time here. Colorado is a great place and I am sure the members that live in that state would be happy to help you.

 

[xr7ator]

If coming to Denve,r I suggest heading straight out I-70 to Ward Road exit. Get off and go south to 44th Ave.(one block) Then, turn right(west) to Youngfield St.(again, just one block) Then, turn left (south) and just as you go over Clear Creek,(about three blocks) there is a park on the left side. Park and go under the highway to the west and that area is open to panning/slicing and I guarantee that you will find gold. It will be little specs but you can find plenty of them.
No prospecting allowed on the east side of the highway so you must walk under the highway from the park to the west and have at it.

Then, get out the tourist hat, continue west and enjoy the rest of your holiday and not worry about chasing gold!

 

[KevinInColorado]

First move: join the Facebook group “Finding Gold in Colorado”. Lots of friendly local folks who will go out digging with you or provide truly local knowledge.

 

[Capt Nemo]

Well, if you're a pilot, the EAA has their annual fly-in at the end of July at Oshkosh, WI. From there, you could go north and hit the Lake Superior coast.

 

[Orcaman]

Paragliding. There's powered paragliding(big noisy fan on your back) and I think they do have a showing during Oshkosh. Several disciplines, coastal soaring smooth sea breezes, thermal flying, mountain and winch launching. Very different. I prefer cross country flying, we either winch launch on the barren flats of the deserted Northern Cape to push for distance records(height too...reaching 5400m asl, average 4400m agl), get thumped and hammered, dragged by winds and attacked by huge birds, but the rewards are awesome! So yes, it's a toss up whether to combine the two for a trip to the US, really have to plan this one well

Cheers

 

[brianc053]

First move: join the Facebook group “Finding Gold in Colorado”. Lots of friendly local folks who will go out digging with you or provide truly local knowledge.

Andrew, I have to agree with Kevin’s suggestion. His Facebook group is excellent, and Kevin is a great guy. I’ve prospected with him in New England and met up with him in Denver and I always enjoy our time together.
As for locations to consider, you can’t go wrong with Colorado. It has everything: gold, beautiful scenery, a major metropolitan area in Denver, and good people. It would be a great introduction to the US.
Alternatives I can suggest:
- the Washington DC area offers a lot of US history, the National attractions of DC itself, and there are plenty of gold prospecting opportunities within a few hours of DC. I have posted many times about Contrary Creek, VA and if you visited there I can assure you that you’d find some gold. I could possible meet up with you in 2020 and you could help me run my dredge.
- New England, specifically the state of New Hampshire (look at Bath, NH), is another great location. You have Boston that’s not too far away, also beautiful scenery, and good gold prospecting on the Wild Ammonoosuc River. I could also meet you up there and we could dredge.

A few other thoughts:
- I grew up on our US Great Lakes so I kind of know areas like Lake Superior, Oshkosh etc. While nice, I don’t think they’d be ideal for your first visit.
- California is a special place. It deserves a visit and the gold is great, but maybe not on your first trip to the US.

Good luck in your planning!
Brian.

 

[agolddigger]

If you end up in California let me know. Would be happy to meet up on the weekend for some digging (I live in SF but make it out to the mountains most weekends). Have access to a claim that I’m finding good gold on.

If you go to Colorado I agree that you should join Kevin’s FB group and pick up his book, it’s by far the best resource for the state. Arapahoe Bar describes above is good consistent flood gold, Cache Creek is another public access area that is a bit spottier but has higher overall yields.

 

[KevinInColorado]

If you end up in California let me know. Would be happy to meet up on the weekend for some digging (I live in SF but make it out to the mountains most weekends). Have access to a claim that I’m finding good gold on.

If you go to Colorado I agree that you should join Kevin’s FB group and pick up his book, it’s by far the best resource for the state. Arapahoe Bar describes above is good consistent flood gold, Cache Creek is another public access area that is a bit spottier but has higher overall yields.

Jim (agolddigger) is a great guy I’ve had the pleasure to dig with multiple times. If you go to California, take him up on his kind offer!

Brian and Jim, you are reminding me how lucky I’ve been to meet and dig with cool guys like each of you through treasurenet!

 

[ecmjamsit]

Hi Andrew,
Rent a SUV. Camp out in a tent. Stay around the Twin Lakes area of Colorado. Hang glide in Aspen and eat at fine restaurants. Soak in the hot springs in Buena Vista (Cottonwood). Pan for gold around Cache Creek. See the ghost town of Independence. Whitewater raft the Arkansas river. All these activities are within a 50 mile radius. If I can get over these migraines, I have about 15 metal detectors. We could search some old mines where I have found rich ore. One partner of mine found a 1 carat diamond highbanking in Granite on the Arkansas river. I live about 3 hours from this area. June through September is the season at that altitude. I lived out the back of a truck there one summer of 1993. You can pan and camp for free at Cache Creek. Google all these places in Colorado. Basically it is all around Pitkin, Chafee and Lake counties of Colorado. The majority of the counties is public land and thus wilderness.
Send me a note when you get close to flying in.

https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/f...lorado-FR-8.8.12-Cache Creek Presentation.pdf


https://www.aspenparagliding.com/


https://cottonwood-hot-springs.com/colorado/


https://www.aspensnowmass.com/

 

[medusa]

Hi Andrew,
My husband and I live in the Gold Basin area in Arizona...we are members of 3 prospecting clubs out here and live about 3 miles from the claims...we also do paraglider inspections, repairs and training.
There's great flying on the dry lakebed about 20 minutes from our house/shop. Please pm me if you would like to discuss possibilities for prospecting and flying!

 

[Orcaman]

Wow!!!!! What an awesome response! Sorry I only got to these now.
So many offers/options, I'm shifting my planning into 2nd gear now! I quite like the idea of getting a rental and camping out. Really great that there is so much wilderness/public areas around. Got loads of Googling to get done! Only dread is the long flight, my wife said she would not go, which is maybe not a bad thing.
Thanks again all for taking the time to respond

Best regards,

Andrew

 

[Duckshot]

But if you take the wife with you then you won't have to waste any time looking for a girlfriend.

You can tell her I told you that, if you like.

Seriously, I've driven all over The States from Key West to Seattle and my advice to you is to avoid the west and east coasts, which are very crowded(makes people rude IMO), and enjoy the the chewy delicious center. Also, foreigners are sometimes surprised at the distances between fuel stations in the Western States. If you rent an R.V. keep the fuel tank full and have a supply of drinking water on hand.

 

[Tpmetal]

But if you take the wife with you then you won't have to waste any time looking for a girlfriend.

You can tell her I told you that, if you like.

Seriously, I've driven all over The States from Key West to Seattle and my advice to you is to avoid the west and east coasts, which are very crowded(makes people rude IMO), and enjoy the the chewy delicious center. Also, foreigners are sometimes surprised at the distances between fuel stations in the Western States. If you rent an R.V. keep the fuel tank full and have a supply of drinking water on hand.

I've actually found there is also a divide in rudeness between north and south on the east coast. I always figured winter was the cause, just makes us northerners cranky old bags.

 

[Duckshot]

That's true for the most part, Tpmetal. But in the south if you order a Coke it takes about 40 minutes till it arrives. In the North we keep her moving till the job is done. Up there your Coke arrives in about five minutes.

 

[et1955]

But if you take the wife with you then you won't have to waste any time looking for a girlfriend.

You can tell her I told you that, if you like.

Seriously, I've driven all over The States from Key West to Seattle and my advice to you is to avoid the west and east coasts, which are very crowded(makes people rude IMO), and enjoy the the chewy delicious center. Also, foreigners are sometimes surprised at the distances between fuel stations in the Western States. If you rent an R.V. keep the fuel tank full and have a supply of drinking water on hand.

Gas stations are everywhere and water too and we have the best gold mining areas in the country here in the west, sorry you did not take time to get to know us here in the west and if I knew you were coming I would have shared my mining knowledge with you and take you to a place to mine. Your inexperience and prejudice with other areas of the country is clear by your statements, so sad.

 

[Orcaman]

Here in South Africa the RV rental story is quite big and may be an option, killing a few birds with one stone...

 

[Tpmetal]

That's true for the most part, Tpmetal. But in the south if you order a Coke it takes about 40 minutes till it arrives. In the North we keep her moving till the job is done. Up there your Coke arrives in about five minutes.

yeah haha. I spent time working down South and kept getting told I work too hard and would work myself out of a job.

 

[utah mason]

First, welcome to t-net. This is definitely the site where you will find the most help. A great bunch of people. They really helped me get started in prospecting. Plus I've made some great friendships thru here.
Colorado is probably the best place to start. Awesome gold, scenery and of course people. Definitely start with Kevin's Facebook group. I would also recommend picking up his book, with over 180 free dig sites you can't go wrong. If you need a break from prospecting I would recommend checking out Utah. Not too far and we have 5 awesome national parks, we also have gold just not as good as Colorado, but the Moab area is fantastic, with two parks right there (arches and Canyon lands)
Heavy pans