tayopa, legend or reality ...?

[the blindbowman]

dont feel bad ED gas is at 3.80 and still climbing up here in northern new york ... i figer 1300-1500 just in gas to make the next expedition , that 2,000.-2,500...for the basics ...add $1,000 just in case and another $1000 for food and gear ,and i am looking at around 4,500-5,000 a expedition ... this is my last expedition if i can get everything togather again ....

 

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[Oroblanco]

HOLA mi amigo Ed and everyone,

No need for apologies amigo - heck I wouldn't trust ME with such information either! Besides if things work out as I hope, we can meet and visit anyway in Mazatlan, no need to reveal your own private mining locations. Heck I have a little "secret" place that I will not take anyone to, nor reveal how to get to it, and I don't have it under claim either. One thing I have learned is that if you file mining claims in an area where NONE have ever been filed before, it will get the attention of people you would rather NOT have to deal with, like lawyers, claimjumpers, even robbers. I don't know how this situation is in Mexico but have had this experience in the USA and Canada with not-so-great results. I guess I would recommend this - depending on whether the area has lots of old mines, mining claims etc or not - if it does have active and or abandoned mines, then it is relatively safe (and wise) to denounce it; this will give you legal ownership and some protection against claim jumpers - if however there has never been a mine nor mining claim within five miles, then I would NOT denounce it as it will be noticed by mining companies, lawyers working for various groups, even the government. Our mutual amigo Real de Tayopa has mucho more knowledge in this subject in Mexico than I could dream of so I would defer to his recommendation. Then again - even if the area has no mining history - if you know that someone else is in the same area prospecting etc then even if there are no other mines/claims it might be wise to file?

I am not upset or disappointed Ed, (after all "Oroblanco" might be a mass-murderer for all we know from just yacking over the internet Hmm I did mention that I am an ex-postal worker... ) - and I can afford to wait until you own the place before making a visit to them. Also - I hope that if you and your wife should find yourselves in or near the Black Hills (SD) that you will stop by to visit? I haven't located any particularly good "diggings" here (yet) but these hills have produced a wee bit of the color for many years.

The way things have been going it looks like I won't be traveling too far anyway - only "nibbles" on the real estate thus far and the cabin is proceeding slower than I hoped too; plus the way fuel costs keep rising it looks like the only way I could get very far would be by BUS! (Bus travel is not that bad, but when you are packing along picks, pans, shovels, guns, a vicious dog or three etc you can get some pretty odd looks from the driver and other passengers! Go figure? I mean, doesn't everyone travel with much the same gear I do? (Actually we have NO Huskies at the moment, but for over twenty years always had at least one on every travel.) We will meet in person, just a matter of timing.

Blindbowman wrote:

i figer 1300-1500 just in gas to make the next expedition , that 2,000.-2,500...for the basics ...add $1,000 just in case and another $1000 for food and gear ,and i am looking at around 4,500-5,000 a expedition

I can empathize amigo, the costs for traveling have skyrocketed making it very costly. I remember making trips to Alaska with under $1000 in my pocket and having over $200 left on getting home, and that without selling one grain of gold. I am not talking about ancient history either! I sure hope that fuel costs will one day return to something more reasonable - it is not as far from SD to AZ as it is from NY but still costs plenty.

Good luck and good hunting my friends, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
your friend,
Oroblanco

 

[Gossamer]

Somewhere I read that someone talked about the strangeness of the mica installed under the Mayan temple's.
Yes Joe I did like your comments... anything thats out there is interesting, I'm going to need to talk to ASU about a couple of things and that is one of them.
thank you
Janiece

 

[Cubfan64]

What if you found out that there is yet another stone, which is missing?

Oro - THAT is something I've always wondered about myself! Whenever "maps" such as these are found and someone claims that they have to be used in a certain order, I'm always very hesitant to put faith in the interpretation as there is nothing saying another stone or two may still be lost.

Thanks for bringing that up - it's always bothered me

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

OHIO Peeps: Regarding maps, this is precisely why I didn't use Dobie's map. Who publishes a genuine map in a popular book or magazine? I also assumed that it had probably been followed up by many persons before with no success, hence ---. As it turned out it is almost 98% correct, but I only found this out in back checking "after" I had found Tayopa.

As for lugging heavy objects, sniff, sorry Oro, I was only at another mine in which we hold an interest checking up on the camp installation and roads for the drilling crew. SOON, have patience, I certainly have had to do so.

Don Jose de La Mancha

p.s see camp pictures, vein structure, mining monument, etc.

 

[Oroblanco]

What a beautiful place Jose' - even if this particular mine is not the main Tayopa. I can understand how things can take SO much longer to get producing than hoped too. It may be small consolation amigo but your gold and silver is perhaps safer in the ground than translated into paper currencies which devalue all-too-fast anyway. Thank you for posting the photos, and I like that ore! Not to give you a 'cabeza hinchada' but it is you and fellows like Mel Fisher that give hope to treasure hunters like me. You are proof that "sometimes the good guys win" after all.

Good luck and good hunting to you all, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
your friend,
Roy ~ Oroblanco

 

[Gossamer]

Beautiful! Tayopa, beautiful place.
Janiece

 

[Cubfan64]

Looks like a great place Real - that's copper (malachite or chrysacola) in the ore isn't it?

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Good morning ORO and my FEMALE & male friends:

This is the infamous Baroyeca mine group. It was orig mined in the 1700's by the Father in Baroyeca. It is recorded that he shared the proceeds with the town's people.

www.colson.edu.mx/absolutenm/articlefiles/1036-Baroyeca Mine.pdf

http://www.nps.gov/tuma/historyculture/upload/References to Arizona.pdf

http://historyhuntersinternational.org/index.php?topic=189.75

forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,100582.0/topicseen.html - 335k -

The accompanying photo shows the vein structrue of "La Mina Grande" which was later worked again in the 1800's. Being an old jack hammer addict, you will readily recognize the vein hi grade as being on the hanging wall.

I have two reasons for posting this, I wish the seekers after old Spanish mines would look carefully, see just how easy it is to hide such workings, either deliberately or by nature herself.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Cynangyl]

Good morning to you as well my friend. Thanks so much for the links and pictures....I find this absolutely fascinating and always enjoy seeing your posts even though I rarely respond. The Spanish are very crafty souls indeed in how they hide things and I am certain nature has helped that considerably as well. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Cubfan64]

I wish I was in a position to go "on site" with folks such as Real, Oro, Cj and others. Learning from photos is so much different than learning in person. Getting out that way once or twice a year to "hike" isn't anywhere near the same as going out there exploring with experts who know exactly what they're looking for and can tell the difference between a rock and a marker and other such things.

There's so much to see and do, and so little time to do it in

 

[Oroblanco]

Cubfan wrote:

I wish I was in a position to go "on site" with folks such as Real, Oro, Cj and others.

(Blush) Heck Cubfan I wish I was in a position to go along with YOU, Real, Cj, Djui, Gollum and some of the others here - I am still learning this trade too! There is always more to learn it seems.

Real de Tayopa thank you for posting those photos, it demonstrates how easily such a thing as a mine can be hidden. There is a mine in Dos Cabezas that I wanted to get photos of for this purpose too. It is not a "lost" mine nor is it particularly good ore remaining, and no effort was taken by the former owners to hide it. However because of the lay of the land, growth of brush etc you can literally walk past it within six FEET and not see it, in fact unless you know it is there you can miss it entirely, walking past it or over top of the ridge above it. An opening large enough for a man or burro pulling a sledge or wheelbarrow is surprisingly small from a distance and easy to miss. Now dear neophytes, consider how difficult it is to find such a place when the last owners went to some efforts to conceal it! It CAN be found with lots of luck, research and time.

I don't recall your ever mentioning this mine complex before amigo, Baroyeca was quite a silver producer right? Now I have to go and hunt up the names of the padres who were assigned to that settlement. I am assuming that you have probably already found the stacks of silver bars that were concealed in a special "room" that was dug into the side of the mountain or you would have mentioned that you are still looking. Just guessing from the photos but I would venture that there is quite a lot of ore remaining, as we know the Spaniards were working largely by hand and taking only the very richest ore (we would refer to such mining today as "highgrading" - taking only the best ore) and bypassing everything else. By any chance have you taken a good metal detector into the old tunnels? Sometimes a rich pocket was missed simply because it was not visible to the eye - just look at the old "played out" 16-to-1 mine in California to see what can be left behind by the old-timers, we know they had a number of days when they took out over $1 million a day just by finding those pockets and doing a little blasting. Oh heck I guess I should just admit it, I just LOVE old mines, especially those Spanish workings; those I have been fortunate enough to see have all had nice arched ceilings inside, a safety measure that is so frequently neglected by modern-day highgraders, snipers and claim-jumpers who just love to dig out only the very richest material leaving huge hanging walls just waiting to drop on the owner or anyone un-lucky enough to follow them. <Begin Rant>This reminds me of another "pet peeve" I have with our govt and the protectionist tree-huggers who are working fervently to get all old mines located throughout the west sealed up forever, "for safety".
Grr!
I guess that old saying "...the pursuit of happiness" is only for certain people, not treasure hunters or prospectors. <End Rant>

Real de Tayopa, just an observation here amigo - you keep surprising me with your discoveries and mines; you really should write that book! I suspect that your real life has more adventures than most Hollywood movies.

Oroblanco

 

[Oroblanco]

I will have to hunt that up amigo, but you are probably right.

 

[MesaBuddy]

How's it going Ed T ? ,
http://www.origsix.com/forum2.asp?topicid=149
http://www.ncgeolsoc.org/Sierra Buttes & Sixteen-to-One Mine FT.htm
MB

 

[Oroblanco]

HOLA mi amigo Ed,

I will have to go read your suggestion amigo. I have never heard of a Cascabel snake, but in Cochise county (AZ) we had a snake that I think is the same thing - they call it a Ridge-nosed rattler there and they have a very potent venom.

Is this what the Cascabels look like? I understand they come in different color patterns too.

Here the most common venomous snake is the Prairie rattler and they are not terribly aggressive nor overly big, thank goodness.

Mesabuddy thank you for posting the links, that old mine (16 to 1) is an icon of hope for treasure hunters and prospectors, and I especially love that photo of THE WHOPPER! Now all I need to do is find a half dozen whoppers like that one..... (heh heh I should live so long!)

Oroblanco

 

[the blindbowman]

taste just like chicken....LOL

 

[Jeffro]

I got to hold "The Whopper" in my hands once, man that is one heavy chunk! Mike's a pretty cool character.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HIO: Batapilas is not Tayopa. Tayopa lies far to the north west. See map. but love yer posts

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

good morning Gals & Guys: I thank you for your kind words.

Ed, yes to both questions. However the railroad crossing the Sierras was only projected at that time, it wasn't completed until the 60's. In fact in my trips looking for the Gloria Pan and exploring the Barranca de Cobre, many sections hadn't even seen any activity in starting to build it.
Today it is a ride that I reccomend to anyone for sheer beauty and a unique experience.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Oroblanco]

Ed T wrote:

<snip>your picture might be a picture of a cascabel

I only found that by searching the internet to find out what a Cascabel snake is, though I have seen this particular type of snake and the web site says that Cascabel is an alternate name for the ridge nosed rattlers. Bad news if you step on them, or that is what they tell me...

Real de Tayopa wrote:

in my trips looking for the Gloria Pan and exploring the Barranca

I wish you would tell us of your adventures hunting this famous mine amigo, perhaps a new thread would be in order?
Oroblanco