alberticus59
Jr. Member
I thought this story might be fun to share with you and lets see what other interesting things have happened to us while we were out doing our favorite past time.
The place I was prospecting was just over the hill from a stock tank ( waterhole for cattle) on the outskirts of Globe Arizona.It was an exceptionally warm spring day as I sat next to the pond with my bucket of dirt and my goldpan. I was busy working my pan when I heard a vehicle drive up,shut off the motor, and the door open and shut. A young man came walking over and asked if I was finding any, to which I replied "sure am" with a great big smile. He hung around for a short while making small talk and then said so long and good luck. He walked back toward his truck and then I heard a loud splash from somewhere on the pond. I never took my eyes off my panning and assumed that the stranger had thrown a branch or something into the water. Then I heard the guy say in a loud whisper
" What would you say he would go? About 300 lbs? ". That finally got my attention so I turned to see what he was talking about and saw him crouching behind some weeds but looking at something at the far side of the pond. Thats when I turned my head to see what he was looking at and saw this big black bear coming out of the water. He shook himselh just as a dog does to dry himself, and then lumbered off , disappearing into the manzanita and scrub oak. I couldnt believe that this bear had actually come right down and jumped into the pond with me sitting right there no more than 50 ft away. But what amazes me more is that I was so engrossed in panning that I never even looked up to see what had made that splash. I would not have looked if it had not been for the guy asking me if I thought it would weigh 300 lbs. I would say that bear was easily 300 lbs. I would liked to have been ready with a camera and took his picture. Oh well.
Well thats my biggest surprise while panning. Lets hear about yours.
The place I was prospecting was just over the hill from a stock tank ( waterhole for cattle) on the outskirts of Globe Arizona.It was an exceptionally warm spring day as I sat next to the pond with my bucket of dirt and my goldpan. I was busy working my pan when I heard a vehicle drive up,shut off the motor, and the door open and shut. A young man came walking over and asked if I was finding any, to which I replied "sure am" with a great big smile. He hung around for a short while making small talk and then said so long and good luck. He walked back toward his truck and then I heard a loud splash from somewhere on the pond. I never took my eyes off my panning and assumed that the stranger had thrown a branch or something into the water. Then I heard the guy say in a loud whisper
" What would you say he would go? About 300 lbs? ". That finally got my attention so I turned to see what he was talking about and saw him crouching behind some weeds but looking at something at the far side of the pond. Thats when I turned my head to see what he was looking at and saw this big black bear coming out of the water. He shook himselh just as a dog does to dry himself, and then lumbered off , disappearing into the manzanita and scrub oak. I couldnt believe that this bear had actually come right down and jumped into the pond with me sitting right there no more than 50 ft away. But what amazes me more is that I was so engrossed in panning that I never even looked up to see what had made that splash. I would not have looked if it had not been for the guy asking me if I thought it would weigh 300 lbs. I would say that bear was easily 300 lbs. I would liked to have been ready with a camera and took his picture. Oh well.
Well thats my biggest surprise while panning. Lets hear about yours.
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. No flashlight, no pointer to possibly hit the flakes. They're gone. 
