Gold Prospecting Trip 7
Here we are again in the beautiful Arizona desert. We decided to go back where we went last time and do some more dredging and also try to dig into some along the side walls of a riverbed where there used to be an ancient riverbed over our heads. That was long ago and now it has eroded away to where you can see an old layer of bedrock and thick layers of small stones embedded in the hard clay above it. We took our picks and dug away at the soil above the bed rock. It sure is difficult because the soil is compacted under so much pressure that its almost rock solid. We tried spraying it, but that did not help much either. Best way is to pick at it. I was digging out a big boulder and it came close to falling on my foot. Good thing I saw it coming.
One thing about the outdoors is that it can be dangerous if you are not alert and paying attention. Always be alert because the nearest hospital is far and cell service is usually nonexistent.
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We carry a large water tank on the trailer in case we need some recirculating water for the dredge or sluice. But today there appears to be enough water for dredging. So it looks like we won’t need it.
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Every time we go out we find gold. When we first started, someone said it would take us several trips until we started to find gold. Now I understand what he meant. It takes a while to understand how to identify a likely area where gold might be hiding. In general its pretty much everywhere. But there are always signs that help point you in the right direction. You have to know how to read the land. That is still a learning process for us, but each time we go out we get much better at knowing where to go.