Thanks Eagle !!
Dear EagleDown
Thanks for your golden stories man. I feel now you have introduced yourself and befriended me in your truth, honor and good nature, and not to mention spiritual wisdom, which are also important to me, that I'd better introduce myself. So I joined TN this morning to do just that.
Today begs many things from this Australian, an ongoing painting job on the house, a trip to town for an appointment and to buy some wood and house duties before I sit on the net for a good few hours in the evening. Well I threw all that to the wind as I stoked the fire up this morning so I could comfortably write this and tell you about what bought me to stumble on your thread and what reading the first 14 pages has done to my dreaming of NUGGETS "Right Purdy Nuggets" that I hope to pick and stumble upon 3 pounders and pickers just like in your stories.
I convinced myself I would settle my mind down a bit by sharing on this thread, I am guessing I have a serious onset of gold fever, can anyone help ??
I now figure some nuggets could brighten the way forward and boost confidence, the hard part would be parting with them. Gee I am speculating too much so I must find em first, anyhow I am with anything I want a determined man which I hope is obvious by now.
Anyway the circumstances that bought me to stumble upon your thread. Now just to give you some background I am around 40, I had a serious motorcycle accident in 2011 two months after my mother passed of Cancer, the accident left me with a shattered Humerus (main upper arm bone that fits in a shallow shoulder socket) and serious muscle complications such as locking rotator cuff. (the shoulder is the most complex double articulated joint in the human body, what amazing technology we are I just need a miracle to heal me so I can be 100% again, I trust miracles exist and have seen them many times, just how to cook the one up I need leaves me unsure, it has certainly given me a challenge and I am not ever one to give us easy) it took 10 long screws and a plate to fix the fracture and they removed that in a follow op last year, and a seperate op on my knee to remove screws from a much earlier accident has now taken the pain out of being on my legs for hours, that now I can go most of the day with relitively small discomfort, enough I don't notice till the day is over.
Over two years on I have a serious limitation in my right shoulder movement that has made me look at my life and make the changes necessary to now make wiser choices and make the best of what I still have, so I am now in a place where I am feeling inspired to move forward after a tough few years that have made me more of a man than all the other years of my life put together. I am fortunate to have everything I have and I know it. I just need a good woman to cuddle, laugh with and make me tasty sandwiches and soup, while I build us a fine cabin and find some nuggets maybe, and grow a fine orchard of fruit, the simple life you know. The doc wants to replace the whole shoulder if it doesn't improve, I think he can stick it, I am done with invasive surgery as good as it is I wonder if they get carried away with replacing things and lining their pockets to make the repayments of a million dollar yacht.
The shoulder injury adds to my 3 x broken femurs and wrist and other serious injuries in my so far short lifespan, I am quite abeled still but not the young and fit fool I once was.
So anyway last week I had taken a trip to a town well known for its old gold rush in 1800's and even recent mines, I had went there with the idea of getting away in the hills (I have a small camper and love getting mobile and away from home) to camp and check out the real estate offerings, the soil for farming, water etc. and catch up with an old friend. Gold was in no way on my mind.
I viewed and even camped with permission on a large property and fully explored it by walking up the creek with gold only in the back of my mind and only on a whim would I listen and then put the thought away as I wasn't there for gold was I, well maybe the spirits had other ideas, after I got home and found your posts I seriously had to wonder, anyway I am getting ahead of myself. The rock, soil and geographical nature of the land was of prime concern so got a great picture of that from my exploring which I am now referring to in my minds eye.
Later when I visited my older friend in the area who is my only trustable source of local knowledge, I mentioned the name of the creek and he said with a grin "there's gold in that creek" and just like you know only too well it was one of those moments, the conversation turned to gold exclusively now and it was along the lines of how much gold are we talking ? He told me about another man who he knows did very well, enough said. We talked about detectors and I told him of the moment a man in Gympie( who I had visited and panned some good gold on his property) had shown me a very large nugget once that when it was placed in my hand nearly made my hand hit the table till I realized its weight wow (the only large nugget I have ever seen or held) I deeply respect this man for trusting me enough to show me and tell me, he knew based on my lacking experience it would be a life changing moment to hold the yellow rock, indeed it was. WOW !!!
This talk with my friend rekindled my interests and was all I needed.
Since returning home I began to research detectors, I once owned two a Minelab Eureka Gold II, which I took off to Clermont, incidentally that huge nugget I held came from Clermont QLD which is why I purchaced the Eureka II then made the huge trip all those years ago, to find the big ones only to come back with nil, I traded it for an ML explorer II and found everything in the way of treasure before losing interest and selling it over 10 years ago. I think a Mine lab GPX 4500 for Gold and maybe a Garret Infinium LS for under water treasure and beach etc so far would be my choices but open to any suggestions please by PM as not to hijack this thread. Aussies who love this thread please PM me too.
Of course the treasure hunter detectors appealed to me and my experience so on some searches I found TN and your awesome thread.
I have since read a few hours most days since and love the stories and the way you write, they make me wiser as to the great mysteries you have to share given your experience and the advantage it gives a newbie like me to gold. Thanks for inspiring my mind to think and reminding me the big caches are out there waiting for us all to uncover. I will always appreciate you and what you have given this group which I am now a proud member, I look forward to meeting others on other threads and hopefully Aussies too. I may have to get a detector and get some good gold. I think like you said it may help the way I have been feeling. Yes will be sure to tell you.
When you hit the mother load I will be cheering for you, in fact I pray you do and if anyone deserves it it's you my friend, or mate as we say in OZ.
Your thread shows just how many possible real friends a genuine and friendly man can find online by sharing his truth and good nature without wanting anything in return, and to those who have been reading with interest, I am looking to reading your words too. Thanks to this great forum community for making life richer.
Eagle I agree with what you say about enjoying the finding more than the needing, and yes lazyness must be the Father of invention, that makes perfect sense, as does so much of what you have to say.
Happy hunting and dreaming brother... May God Richly Bless Us All...
Nugget_Dreaming_OZ
)
And yes, the lake is LOW. VERY LOW! It's all river right now, with a huge bathtub ring. 
lol). i just thought that those "flat landers" might actually do some good as im sure playing around in the river would maybe kick up a nugget or two which hopefully would get tossed closer to shore by the current where a grinning Eagle can pick 'em up.
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