Hi all.... well after spending an uneventful time on the top of Rye Patch, I made my way to Gold Basin to see that area. After mentioning to Doc (Doc's Detecting) that I was in the area and asking him if he had any suggestions for areas to check out, he not only suggested some great areas, he drove here at 3am the next day and we met at 5:30 on Gold Basin and had an AWESOME day detecting.. it was finally a chance to meet one of the first people I started chatting with on the forums years ago upon joining........ I was on my 2300 (that I purchased from Doc earlier this year) and he was on his 7000. Well by the end of the day, he'd hit a bit (one of which he let me dig and keep as it was too deep for my 2300 till he'd removed a bit of the overburden), I'd hit a bit (of trash) but the company and the scenery were better than any nugget I'd have hoped to find....
Doc and I parted ways that afternoon and after realizing that evening that I'd left my snake chaps in his truck and they were now back in Vegas, we made plans to meet up on Sat to get them... I figured the 2 hour drive was better than the 2 week wait for the postal service and the chance of getting bit in the bush out alone..... plans changed that evening and I decided to just have him send them to me UPS and I'd risk one day in the rattle fields..... I'm glad I did.....
I went out to an area several miles from where Doc took me (out of respect for his areas), I then drove around scoping out other areas (not on club claims) and didn't find much, upon starting the trip back into Meadview, I was about to jump onto the main dirt road back to the highway and something tapped me on the shoulder and said (in Doc's own voice)... that spot looks real interesting...... and I turned around and went back..... After putting on what seemed like a full on leather-fest of gear, harnesses, pick holders, speakers, amps, Glock .40 etc etc etc.... (loaded for bear with no snake chaps, smart Jennifer), I proceeded to start up a nice little gully... not a dig hole in sight and BAAAAAAM.... (LESS THAN 20' UP THE WASH) woooooo yea baby.... the sound we love to hear.... suuuuuwweeeeeeeet... dig dig dig.... woooooowwwwwaaawwwwwoooowwaaaaaa..dig dig dig..... sweat curse dig.... BOING!!!!!!! Taddaaaaaaaaaaaa...... plop, into the mouth it went ....
This entire gully (actually it's a series of parallel gullies) were dig hole free, this slug (and it felt like a Northern California slug) would have been found with a tin can on a string, it was down about a foot, was found with a GPX5000 and a Nugget Finder Advantage 14" elliptical.... it was getting late so I only dug the one, I'm saving the rest of the gullies for when my Sensei (Doc) can take a day off and come back and work the area with me, me on my 5k and him on his 7k.
Doc, thank you for being a true advocate for our hobby, you didn't have to take a day off to show me the area, let alone drive 2 hours each way to do so..... men like you make me proud to be part of this community.....
It's nothing special for a lot of people, but for me.... every nugget has a story (as most of you have heard of my long winded nugget stories in the past) and for me, this was not only my first Gold Basin nugget, it was my first American nugget (most of my work has been done in Australia and Canada).
Almost 1/4 ounce, 7 grams..... and as I type this email, it's enjoying a nice warm bubble (acid) bath to make it even puuuuuuurdier.... (about $332.00 on today's spot price, a bit closer to getting that GPZ)......... I wonder if my 5000 would stop talking to me if he realized he was the maker of his own demise? I feel like an IT Manager asking an IT professional to train the new guy from Bangladore who only speaks Punjabi, who's going to get his job once training's complete.
Doc, thanks again... I had a great day with you and wouldn't have found this memory without your help.... come back and help me finish what I started.
Jen
Doc and I parted ways that afternoon and after realizing that evening that I'd left my snake chaps in his truck and they were now back in Vegas, we made plans to meet up on Sat to get them... I figured the 2 hour drive was better than the 2 week wait for the postal service and the chance of getting bit in the bush out alone..... plans changed that evening and I decided to just have him send them to me UPS and I'd risk one day in the rattle fields..... I'm glad I did.....
I went out to an area several miles from where Doc took me (out of respect for his areas), I then drove around scoping out other areas (not on club claims) and didn't find much, upon starting the trip back into Meadview, I was about to jump onto the main dirt road back to the highway and something tapped me on the shoulder and said (in Doc's own voice)... that spot looks real interesting...... and I turned around and went back..... After putting on what seemed like a full on leather-fest of gear, harnesses, pick holders, speakers, amps, Glock .40 etc etc etc.... (loaded for bear with no snake chaps, smart Jennifer), I proceeded to start up a nice little gully... not a dig hole in sight and BAAAAAAM.... (LESS THAN 20' UP THE WASH) woooooo yea baby.... the sound we love to hear.... suuuuuwweeeeeeeet... dig dig dig.... woooooowwwwwaaawwwwwoooowwaaaaaa..dig dig dig..... sweat curse dig.... BOING!!!!!!! Taddaaaaaaaaaaaa...... plop, into the mouth it went ....
This entire gully (actually it's a series of parallel gullies) were dig hole free, this slug (and it felt like a Northern California slug) would have been found with a tin can on a string, it was down about a foot, was found with a GPX5000 and a Nugget Finder Advantage 14" elliptical.... it was getting late so I only dug the one, I'm saving the rest of the gullies for when my Sensei (Doc) can take a day off and come back and work the area with me, me on my 5k and him on his 7k.
Doc, thank you for being a true advocate for our hobby, you didn't have to take a day off to show me the area, let alone drive 2 hours each way to do so..... men like you make me proud to be part of this community.....
It's nothing special for a lot of people, but for me.... every nugget has a story (as most of you have heard of my long winded nugget stories in the past) and for me, this was not only my first Gold Basin nugget, it was my first American nugget (most of my work has been done in Australia and Canada).
Almost 1/4 ounce, 7 grams..... and as I type this email, it's enjoying a nice warm bubble (acid) bath to make it even puuuuuuurdier.... (about $332.00 on today's spot price, a bit closer to getting that GPZ)......... I wonder if my 5000 would stop talking to me if he realized he was the maker of his own demise? I feel like an IT Manager asking an IT professional to train the new guy from Bangladore who only speaks Punjabi, who's going to get his job once training's complete.
Doc, thanks again... I had a great day with you and wouldn't have found this memory without your help.... come back and help me finish what I started.
Jen
