Moving to Tracy Ca from Saint Louis Mo

[les écrevisse]

Happy Easter everyone.

I am moving to Tracy Ca a week from today Saint Louis Mo.
I am retired and I am looking to get into prospecting some as a hobby. Gold and golf is how I plan on spending my time. Not looking to get rich but it sure wouldn't hurt to find a big ole nugget.
Wouldn't mind finding a claim worth buying after I get some experience and the hang of how things work.
I know most people don't want to take newbies to their claim so I am looking for somewhere to go and work on learning techniques. A little guidance would not hurt either as I have never done it before. I have watched tons of videos on YouTube to familiarize myself on what would be needed.

I have been debating on the BGT vs 52A and think I have decided on the BGT for my first sluice.
Any advice is welcomed.

Looking forward to digging my first piece of gold!!!


Les

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[russau]

Well have a good trip! and id look for a club close to where youll be living and learn from them BEFORE id buy a claim! Id like to move from St. Louis Misery myself BUT it aint gonna happen for me!

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Happy Easter everyone.

I am moving to Tracy Ca a week from today Saint Louis Mo.
I am retired and I am looking to get into prospecting some as a hobby. Gold and golf is how I plan on spending my time. Not looking to get rich but it sure wouldn't hurt to find a big ole nugget.
Wouldn't mind finding a claim worth buying after I get some experience and the hang of how things work.
I know most people don't want to take newbies to their claim so I am looking for somewhere to go and work on learning techniques. A little guidance would not hurt either as I have never done it before. I have watched tons of videos on YouTube to familiarize myself on what would be needed.

I have been debating on the BGT vs 52A and think I have decided on the BGT for my first sluice.
Any advice is welcomed.

Looking forward to digging my first piece of gold!!!


Les

Good choice on the Bazooka. Like russau said, find a club, learn about the local area from them and may your pans be heavy!

 

[dave wiseman]

Being in Tracy you are two hours or so away from the gold areas,whether you go north,northeast,east or southeast.

 

[rodoconnor]

Les ,get raedy for a few major shocks. Culturally and financially. like russ and others have said , join a club. Try UPI ,a lot of claims in central and N. Kal. G/L

 

[QNCrazy]

Les, as a board member for Delta Gold Diggers, I cordially invite you to our monthly meeting on May 6th, at 7:00 pm. If you are interested, PM me and I will provide you with the address and directions from Tracy as well as additional information. We have a lot of good people there who belong to several other clubs as well as ours. We are a free club. Hope to hear from you.

 

[les écrevisse]

Thanks for the suggestions.
I am interested in joining a group/club that has claims. Any in particular one that you guys/gals indorse other than the UPI?

Sent you a PM QNCrazy.
I figured I would have to drive a couple of hours to the foothills to do any good.
I know what your saying rodoconnor. My wife is from the Bay Area and I'm from southern Louisiana. I had heard stories growing up about the Bay, lol.

Thanks again,
Les

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Thanks for the suggestions.
I am interested in joining a group/club that has claims. Any in particular one that you guys/gals indorse other than the UPI?

Sent you a PM QNCrazy.
I figured I would have to drive a couple of hours to the foothills to do any good.
I know what your saying rodoconnor. My wife is from the Bay Area and I'm from southern Louisiana. I had heard stories growing up about the Bay, lol.

Thanks again,
Les

I figured perhaps you had Louisiana connections. I lived a number of my "formative" years in Lake Charles. No gold but the shrimp, crabs, crawdads and other seafood were great. I remember the time with great fondness (except Hurricane Audrey).

 

[les écrevisse]

Audrey was a few years before my time, almost 20, but I rode out a few growing up in Jennings, about 30 miles East of Lake Charles.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Audrey was a few years before my time, almost 20, but I rode out a few growing up in Jennings, about 30 miles East of Lake Charles.

Yep, remember Jennings. I was very small when Audrey came through, but it sure messed up Cameron and Lake Charles and killed nearly 600 people I think I was told.

I got a taste of Creole and Cajun food that is hard to satisfy in most places in the country. Mimi's Restaurant in Bon Secour, Alabama was one of those places that did satisfy.

 

[63bkpkr]

Les,
Welcome to Tnet, prospecting, NorCal and a higher cost of living. You are indeed very close to historical gold mining areas. A club will serve you very well and then you might go off wandering on your own a bit. Learn about being out in the mountains with rattlesnakes, bears and mountain lions as it does take a bit of getting used to. The bears and squirrels will mess with your backpack and food stuff if it is left where they can easily get at it. I spent a lot of years backpacking in NorCal out of Auburn off of Hwy. 80 but there are likely closer places to Tracy for you to learn and play in. Enjoy..........................63bkpkr

Come to think of it, Tracy is out back of Livermore so you will be fairly close to a Bass Pro shop. There is a highway out there that will take you right through SacTown (Sacramento) and intersects with highway 80 and from that point you will be 30 minutes to Auburn, as only one of many directions to go!
As you go that direction you will pass by "Mark Twain" country where a few of the roads cut right through ancient river beds. It is shocking to be driving along, go into a curve with at least one high wall to realize you are looking at a bunch of rounded river rocks cemented together by years of mineralization.

 

[beekbuster]

i spent the first 18 years of my life in tracy. wherever you go prospecting, bring a fishing pole. there are hundreds of trout streams in the hills. a place my family camped, called donnels reservoir, past sonora and strawberry, was an area with many streams that im sure there is gold in. it is a wonderful place to camp. google earth the area and im sure you can find many excellent camp spots. it is off hwy 108/120. it is one of my favorite places. im in redding now so i dont think ill be going that way anytime soon. poke around that area, you will be glad you did.

 

[infotraker]

The mother lode goldhounds is a great family club based out of auburn ca. Check out our webste. Goldhounds.com
Lots of fun outings, one day or camp outs.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Happy Easter everyone.

I am moving to Tracy Ca a week from today Saint Louis Mo.
I am retired and I am looking to get into prospecting some as a hobby. Gold and golf is how I plan on spending my time.[snip]

Les

Les, how is the move going? Are you set up yet in Tracy? I moved many, many times, being military and a military brat. They are often tiring at best. May your move go smoothly and your pans be heavy. Keep us posted when you get time; know you are busy now.

 

[les écrevisse]

Well that finally made the move. Ran into a lot of rain and wind in Oklahoma that made for slow driving. Got the uhaul unloaded and returned. We will slowly unpack the boxes in the coming weeks.

I hope to be able to make it to one of the meetings in the coming months that QNCRAZY has invited me to.

Drove over 2000 miles so it might be a bit before I want to drive more than a mile or two, lol.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Les, been out looking for gold yet? Hope things are working out for you. Golden pans.

 

[les écrevisse]

Les, been out looking for gold yet? Hope things are working out for you. Golden pans.

Not yet, but I am this Saturday.
As soon as I can find some places to go I will be going more often.
The Delta Gold Diggers are having a group dig Saturday on the Bear River.
I will see how it goes.
Thanks for checking.

 

[SunshineMiner]

les - Did you get to go to the outing!? Just curious because I wasn't able to make it either and im curious as to how it was Also, DGD has a meeting this wednesday at 7pm in Stockton! Its about 30-35min from Tracy to the meeting hall i believe.

It's a hands and pans only area, but if you check out a place called Knights Ferry just East of Oakdale, there is still some really good places to dig, bedrock all over the places, beautiful hikes, an old wood covered bridge, and just a really cool place to check out with the family!

 

[les écrevisse]

les - Did you get to go to the outing!? Just curious because I wasn't able to make it either and im curious as to how it was Also, DGD has a meeting this wednesday at 7pm in Stockton! Its about 30-35min from Tracy to the meeting hall i believe.

It's a hands and pans only area, but if you check out a place called Knights Ferry just East of Oakdale, there is still some really good places to dig, bedrock all over the places, beautiful hikes, an old wood covered bridge, and just a really cool place to check out with the family!

I drove two hours to Auburn and I guess I was waiting at the wrong McDonalds.
After going to another MDs and not seeing anyone I went to the mineral bar and dug for a couple of hours, didn't find anything.
I made the meeting last month in Stockton and plan on making it this Wednesday too.
Even though I didn't find anything it was a good learning experience.
The 2.5 hour drive there and back is sorta a pain. I would like to camp out for one night next time.
Thanks for asking,

Les

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Not yet, but I am this Saturday.
As soon as I can find some places to go I will be going more often.
The Delta Gold Diggers are having a group dig Saturday on the Bear River.
I will see how it goes.
Thanks for checking.

Well, us guys with a Louisiana connection have to check up on each other!