We got up to frost on the windshield this morning , but we were headed down off the hill into the desert so that was fine. It was a little chilly on the quad but by the time we got back in the hills 4 or 5 miles it was time to strip down to shirtsleeves. Betsy and I repounded an old patch for the first 3 or 4 hours but couldn't squeeze out any more gold so we went on a long exploration ride to see what was on the other side of the mountains. We passed one spot along the way that looked pretty good and on the way out with just an hour or so of daylight left I jumped out and gave it a swing. It was a little trashy , but one of the loud , strong signals turned out to be a really nice nugget. Betsy opted to wait and see if I found anything as she was pooped from the long day. I went back to where she was dozing in the afternoon sun and showed her my find and she was cussing herself for being so lazy. I stepped into the little wash right where we parked and after a few nails, I got a screamer signal on some bare bedrock and looked down and there was a sunbaker just shining in the evening sun. Now she was really kicking herself. I walked over the hill to one more tiny gully and the first target was a screamer and I dug down about 5 inches and out popped a 5.5 gram beauty with a tiny bit of quartz on it. Wow , what a finish to a day that looked like it was going to be a skunk. Obviously we are going back tomorrow as I'm sure these little gullies have never seen a detector. I think any detector would have picked these up , surely the sunbaker, and the trash targets would have been gone . Finally hit them 10 hours after we started out. Tomorrow we can go straight to the place and Betsy will get first shot when she is fresh and eager. 10.3 grams for the day , the bigger one is 5.5 grams.-----Bob

Thats great Bob ! Those are beauties for sure...Good luck tomorrow..

Way to go!

Bob,

Glad you stopped and gave it a swing. Looking forward to tomorrow's finds!

LuckyLundy

Bob, that is great work. Its not easy to find patches, but they are still out there. You put in a lot of work and many hours out in the field that is why you get the gold that you do. Can't wait to see what you pull out of this patch. The sitting ducks you pulled off the top are all great nuggets looks like you got a place with some nice gold. Can't wait to see the monster that is lurking in that area.

Nice nugsters Bob...East or West?...You sure are replenishing the poke quick.........Cheers, Unc

Nice nuggets Bob!

I hope you and Betsy find a sack full today!

Aaron

Bpb I am beginning to think your 4500 has a nose like a bird dog after you point it in the right direction. WTG my friend. Bet Betsy finds the first nugget today.

Don

Great Post Montana! It must be so cool to be able to just get up and ride out the way the two of you do. What an exciting story and big nuggets! Way to go. The legend of Montana continues to grow! - Terry

WoW if thats what you found at the end of the day I better clear some computer space for the next few pictures, Good going Bob, hey leave me a couple out there haha btw Jeff is moving back to AZ sometime early spring, I wish you luck hope its a huge patch - Ronnie

Way to go Bob!

I can't wait to see the posts of the gold that Betsy and you find in the future from your new spot.

As I said in an earlier post, you are definitely going to fill that poke with new gold in no time at all.


Rich

Good on ya, Bob!

It sounds like you and Betsy should hit it big tomorrow...good luck, find the BIG one and I look forward to your next post - is Betsy swinging the GPX-4000 yet?

- Lunk -

Thanks again for the help and congrats on the patch I am ready for my persistent nuggets up north and best of luck to you while Elk hunting bag A monster!

Well the new patch didn't amount to much. Not another crumb in the immediate vicinity but about 2 miles away I got a 9 gram specie and a 2 gram nugget. Puzzling place. No crumbs, just the odd nice sized chunk. Not complaining, I like it better that way but it just seems kind of strange. You can't see much gold showing on the specimen, but from the heft of it there is a lot more gold that rock. It's in an ugly grey quartz that almost completely engulfs the gold , but there is some gold showing on every surface. Definately not a collectors piece but should crush up into a nice button. I'd say 5 or 6 grams of gold in it. That puts it close to 2/3 of an ounce for 2 days. We're not done with the area yet, heaps of gullies and hillsides to check out with decent geology in spots, Schist, colorful quartz, iron stone , and red dirt. The hotrocks proved no problems for the GPX4000 and the 4500. I put Betsies 4000 in Sens. smooth timings and my 4500 in enhanced timings and we could just cruise through the gullies with barely a whisper from them . I tried it first in sensitive/special extra and it was a bitch with both machines.
Betsy had kind of a bad day . I'd been gone for about 2 hours when I heard the horn on the quad blaring. As I came over the hill she hollered "would you please come help me". In a very distressed voice. Very much like when I left her and she got stung by a scorpion, and the time I left her and the mountain lion stalked her, and the time a rattler was under the car and she was in it and it was over 100 degrees out, and the time she got caught in the middle of a Javelina stampede, and the time she sat in the fire ants. Well , I could see she had my leather gloves on and I wondered what happened this time. She had backed into a jumping Cholla and two big balls of cholla were firmly impaled in the back of her head. She had tried to pull then out with the gloves, but had only managed to then fill her fingers with spines. She couldn't find the tongs we carry on the quad for that purpose. I knew where they were and told her to pretend that I was her dentist. You know like when he says this might sting a little. Only after I had gotten them out did I realize how stupid I'd been, and told her so . She said what do you mean? And I said I had the camera right there and missed a great photo opportunity and it would only have taken a few extra minutes , do you realize the entertainment value that was missed by my carelessness ? Let me stick it back on there for just a minute please. Well she was having none of that of course . After the tears dried up and she quit calling me an insensitive ass, we had a nice picnic and she was able to laugh about how stupid she felt wandering around with a cactus stuck in the back of her head. I'm truly amazed when she says she wants to go detecting, and I'm truly blessed that I found someone who enjoys the same things I do, but darn, a picture would have gone nicely with the story. I wish she would have found some gold to ease the pain a little, but I don't think her heart was in it after that.----Bob

Congrats on the gold Bob; sorry the new patch didn't "pan out", but that's a hell of a good story! Better luck next time to BOTH of you

- Lunk -

What a funny story!!

For those who have never experienced the nasty Jumping cholla cactus, just brushing against one causes them to release part of the branch which instantly impales you with dozens of spines which are barbed and are very hard to pull out. They are the most painful of all the cactus and the hardest to remove. They can grow to about 8' tall and one is wise to stay well clear of them . I have seen small animals killed by them and for some reason the desert packrat is immune to them and often builds their nest out of the spiny balls. No animal will risk tearing one of these nests apart to get the baby rats. I made light of Betsys experience but I know how painfull it was. Been there, done that. ----Bob

Bob,Last winter a friend of mine used his pocket comb to remove a couple cholla balls from his dog. it may not get all of the stickers out but its easier to remove the rest by hand.
Nice gold. Betsy,all i can say is ouch. been there done that.
harry

Harry. Kitchen tongs work the best of anything I've tried and luckily I had a set on the quad. We also use them to pick prickly pear fruit for making jelly.----Bob

Montana,

I don't think you really needed the camera. You did a real good job of paint that picture.

Errante

Bob if you ever get bored and need a break from detecting i swear you could wright a great book about your adventures I nearly had a tear in my eye from laughing a picture would have been priceless " sorry Betsy " I do feel the pain we have 7 cats that love to chase lizards seems about once a week or so one of the 7 comes home with 1 of those little balls stuck right between the eyes on top of thier head to say the least its not fun playing doctor btw these cats are half wild and crazy with out the cactus so anyway yeah we find lots of cactus needles in the house the hard way LOL great story, sorry the patch didnt turn out better. Best of luck I hope betsy finds a HUGE one soon sounds like she has earned one - Ronnie

I had a thought that a YouTube video would have been priceless, but she was somewhat reluctant to share the experience with our friends on the forum, much less the whole world. I did of course consult her before I put the story on the forum. She could see the humor after the pain subsided , but not knowing where I was or when I would return had her a little frustrated when all her efforts at removing it herself failed. She said I had a sick sense of humor at first. I told her that she had just invented a great way to hold your hair in place. The body piercing bunch would jump right on something like that. It's right up there with a fish hook through the earlobe. ----Bob

Betsy headed for Sedona this morning for some cactus free hiking with her sister and cousin, so I headed back to cactus hell for one more try at making this new spot into a real patch. A full day of hiking gully after gully had produced nothing and I was thinking about how the skunk would taste when finally I got a faint signal up on the bank . The sun was about to set and I was really hoping this wouldn't be a little scrap of lead . Down about 5 inches, out came a rough little nugget and it saved the day. At 1/2 gram it isn't much of a nugget but any skunk killer is a welcome end to the day. This place started out with a bang and ended quickly with a whimper. It's time to move on to greener pastures.--Bob

Nice little skunk killer, Bob.

I saw your new toy in the drive yesterday as I passed by your house.

Very nice ride indeed. Have you checked the milage on it yet [per gal..].

Bob T.

Colorado Bob,

Just nice to see you post.
How're you doing?


Flak

Colorado Bob. The tank holds 7 gallons, and on a 100 mile drive the other day it used most of it, so it isn't real great for mileage . Maybe 17 or 18. I'm sure it would do better if driven conservatively, but it's hard to resist putting your foot down. It just begs to be driven hard and seems to be designed to take it.---Bob

Nice dink, Bob.

I know what you mean about having that skunk on your heels - I didn't find my two nuggets yesterday until the last hour of a full day's detecting. Good luck on tracking down a new patch; hopefully it will be a lunker patch!

- Lunk -

Bob,
Don't think I get quite that much on the quad. I rode 47 mi. the other day. Have a six gal. tank and used about half tank so looks like I get around
15 or 16 to the gal.. Sure beat's the heck out of walking, been there, done that. These old dog's are getting to old for those long walks beside's eating up
a lot of my detecting time.


Hey Flak,
How's it going? Keeping the skunk away? Guess you are cause he has been with me for the last couple of days.
Most of the time I'm doing fairly well, have a day or two once in awhile that's not so good. Guess it comes with old age.
Hey, that cap served me well this summer. Only draw back is if I'm going to ride hard, that thing stands stright out behind your head & the wind will take
it off real quick so you have to suck it down real tight before you start.


Bob T.