Who is going to the GPAA EXPO in Mesa, Az - January 18th & 19th 2014

[AzViper]

Are You Attending The GPAA Expo Mesa, Arizona?​

 

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[AzViper]

A&B is about 5 miles east of there.

Bass Pro is at the 202 & dobson. 6, 7 miles west northish.

Sorry, what's A&B? Yea I know BP was in the area and Cabelas is clear on the other side in Glendale across from the football field. Dang my stay in this area keeps growing. May turn into an overnighter, oh wait I have things to do in this slow dusty town called Tucson, Arizona home of the #1 rank Arizona Wildcats....

 

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[jcazgoldchaser]

Sorry, what's A&B? Yea I know BP was in the area and Cabelas is clear on the other side in Glendale across from the football field. Dang my stay in this area keeps growing. May turn into an overnighter, oh wait I have things to do in this slow dusty town called Tucson, Arizona home of the #1 rank Arizona Wildcats....

Oh, sorry. We have 2 prospecting shops, A&B in Mesa and Pro Gold in Youngtown, way way on the West side from the show. Now, if you hit cabelas, it's a hop, skip and a jump from there.

[edit]They're not huge places, like radio shack sized. A&B probably bigger, but it's been a while since I was there.

Trying to think of anything else out that way. Oh, must see Industrial Metals, but they're only open till 1on saturday. Just West of I-10 and just south of I-10 where it turns West. Map.

OH, you have one in Tucson now!

Forgot you woodwork, there's
http://www.southern-tool.com/store/wood_working.php(Looks like they're closed weekends now, but open till 7 on Friday)

http://www.timberww.com/
http://www.woodcraft.com/stores/store.aspx?id=563
You might get their catalog. Just head south from on Country Club to Elliot. Then you can head West to the 101 and catch it back to the 10 south.

Woodworker's Source, looks like there's one of those in Tucson too. We have one up here (North) and there's one in Tempe
http://www.woodworkerssource.com/

Depending on how far North you come, Rockler is up here too. Tatum and west on hunderbird. Maybe next time you're in scottsdale.
http://www.rockler.com/

 

[Au & Trails]

I'll be there Sat. afternoon and may be Sunday also. My son has his first soccer practice in the am then its over to the show. I don't know who is more bummed about it being on the same day him or me. At 7yrs old he knows more about prospecting than soccer. I'll be the antithesis of AzViper- Ive got a Orthopedic boot on my right foot from dropping a propane tank on my toes before Christmas. So I won't be to hard to spot. To make it a little easier I'll probably be wearing a green T-shirt with a Blonde Gold Panner on the back Stop me and lets chat, always up for talking prospecting.

 

[63bkpkr]

Unfortunately not I as I leave for Texas on the 20th for a new job. Have fun!! 63bkpkr

 

[Clay Diggins]

There is also the Promack Treasure Hunting store in Apache Junction but bigger than any of the others and they manufacture their own line of drywashers, sluices, recirculators and highbankers.

There is a second A&B prospecting store in Prescott Valley.

The Miners Creek store in Wickenburg is really well stocked and a favorite of the Rich Hill crowd.

All three of those prospecting suppliers and more will have booths at the GPAA show so you can probably make your best deal there without having to travel.

 

[Clay Diggins]

We will be there just after noon on Saturday. I've been trying to put together a meeting place that might have some interest beyond just meeting at someones booth. I think I've got something you will all be interested in.

Mitchel Noble is an amateur metal detectorist who's been spending many hours learning the ins and outs of finding gold in the west. This past Thanksgiving all that work paid off for him big time. That morning he dug his first big nugget and it was a monster. 20 troy ounces!

Mitchel has agreed to meet us all at the Mesa GPAA show and show off his find the "Goose Egg". The 20 ounce "Goose Egg" was found in Arizona at an undisclosed location.

Mitchel is a genuinely nice guy and I'll bet if you don't drool on his nugget he'll give us the low down on how to go about finding a monster like his Goose Egg. He may even give us some hints about where in Arizona this lunker was found.

Casey at Miners Creek has agreed to let us meet up at his booth and have our private drooling session there at 1 pm on Saturday. Our plan is to drool and maybe touch Mitchel's nugget while we meet some of the great folks on this forum.

If there are children present we may have to cut back on the drooling and touching but we still want to meet everyone from here that we can. Afterwards we will be watching Chris Ralph's talk on Placer Geology. Chris says we can neither drool nor touch when he is speaking but we can learn something. Chris has a lot of knowledge in his head so I don't think he's bluffing about the learning part.

So our schedule is:

1 pm Saturday at the Miners Creek booth for meeting people and "Goose Egg" viewing.

2 pm Saturday at the stage for Placer Geology learning.

Hope to meet you all there!

 

[AzViper]

Cya at the EXPO and Barry thank for arranging for all of us to meet.

 

[SLNugget]

Cya at the EXPO and Berry thank for arranging for all of us to meet.

Thanks Barry. I am about to run some samples thru the trommel. Depending on results I will be there Sat. :-) or not.......
Chrisski can't make it til Sunday (

 

[Goodyguy]

Stan, for $5.00 for the ticket and a drive up north I plan on it. Never been there and like to go just to see the equipment to gather ideas. I am not one to purchase as I like to build. Who knows maybe win a door prize. Plus gives me an opportunity to blow the carbon out of the Tundra and enjoy a day or two away from the boredom of hanging out at home with the recovery.

I've been to several of them over the years and intend to attend any that come within 200 miles of me. It's a great venue to see the latest equipment and sit in on very informative seminars. Also be sure to either enter the panning contests or at least be on hand to see one first hand. Not sure what the record is, probably under 10 sec. My time was 20 sec. I even got beat by a young girl.
(I'll do better next time) You really have to trust the traps and have nimble fingers.

Also a great opportunity to buy equipment that you wouldn't normally find plus have an expert on hand to demo it as well as provide instruction. Plenty of free stuff on hand too. like copies of Gold Prospectors magazine and other misc goodies.

Still havent won any door prizes or drawings but have never failed to get my bottle of micro gold for being in the first 100 through the door.


GG~

 

[Clay Diggins]

Cya at the EXPO and Berry thank for arranging for all of us to meet.

You are welcome Keith. Looking forward to meeting you. Are you bringing the donkey and skillet in your picture too? I think they would be quite the hit in Mesa.

 

[Au & Trails]

Sounds like great arrangements to me. Thanks for setting it up. Going to try our best to be there before 1:00. First time in years I haven't been there at opening.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Sounds like great arrangements to me. Thanks for setting it up. Going to try our best to be there before 1:00. First time in years I haven't been there at opening.

You are welcome Au & Trails. We are looking forward to meeting you and your son. Maybe we can provide some inspiration to the current and future generation of miners.

 

[jcazgoldchaser]

Crossing my fingers. Archery was cancelled so I'm going to hit Capitol metals first then head over.

Do I need a cast or bandage on my head to fit in?

 

[AzViper]

I made to Phoenix and the GPAA Gold Show, but received a call around noon and had to head back to Tucson. Barry I was able to pick up your FootPrints from Rob at a discount. Bought a few other items and then I turn the corner and ran directly into the cast from Gold Rush..

​

 

[kazcoro]

Very cool Keith. Did you get to shake all their hands?

 

[AzViper]

I chatted with Fred for a few minutes, but then word got out and people were coming from all directions.

My mining buddy also bought a new large Royal Drywasher. Now we have two Royal drywashers to use. He's a school teacher and has three months off during the summer so he plans on going out everyday drywasher that he can provided the soil is dry.

Wished I would have been able to stay up at the Gold Show to meet with everyone. My wife and her aunt were in Chandler shopping at the same time I was at the Gold Show and I received a call from my youngest son, I had to head home to address an issue at home.

I also got so sneak a peak at the Bass Pro Shop before heading over to the Gold Show. Amazing building but nobody was shopping. Must cost lots of $$$ to maintain that building and all the stuff on the shelves. I did notice that the shelves where ammo is kept were bare. About the same in Tucson. Everyone is buying up the most common rounds of ammo.

 

[kazcoro]

I hear you on the ammo. I stopped in Cabela's yesterday to buy a pistol, and a man next to me wanted to buy a 22 rifle, but said there wasn't any 22 ammo to be had. Counter guy said you have to come in early, and it is still hit or miss because they never know what day they are getting shipments. He also said people were literally getting in fistfights in the store when the AR's where really scarce. I din't check on the ammo they had. I don't have any need for ammo. I reload, and have enough for quite a while at this point.

 

[Goodyguy]

Anyone else go to the show?

Any new products?
Cool stuff you saw?
learn anything?
Win anything?

Like it, love it, so so?

 

[jcazgoldchaser]

Anyone else go to the show?

Any new products?
Cool stuff you saw?
learn anything?
Win anything?

Like it, love it, so so?

Yep

Yep
Yep
Yep
Nope.

Picked up 50lbs of 1 1/2" CRS at industrial steel so I started the day tickled pink. Also grabbed some Mic6, may just have to make something. Drive to Mesa wasn't far from there and when I got there, before lunch, people were already heading out to their car. Wasn't sure (till later) if that was just to not have to carry stuff, or because of the size.

I had read online that if you registered at the GPAA.com, you got a free pan. Well, I was pissed that I couldn't actually set up a log in to be able to register and was even trying again in line. But at the door, they hand you a bag with a pan and magazine so that washed that disappointment right out the window. Does that count as winning something?

I headed right. Now if you know anything about queuing and disneyland, you'll learn all those tricks. But I went right anyway. White I think was first. Several detector booths against that wall. Since I haven't been researching detectors, I didn't pay much attention. I did see a new detector from Garret that looked like it could be strapped to the side of a HMMVE. Talked to a buddy at work today and it said it weighs a lot and $2500. I figure I'll hit the detector forum and get recommendations before I dive into that pool.. ORy crap!

The folks with the new wishing well sluice with their magic boil hole riffles were against that wall with a highbanker demo running and a touche feele sample so you could see the machining of the 6061. I still think you could make a sandwich with pre-punch sheet where the top sheet's holes are smaller diameter to hold the gold. Interesting to see it run.

Next was a club from up north. They were pushing raffle tickets which became quite the turnoff in this place. Along the same row there was a guy hocking pots and pans. I've seen that sort of thing at the homeshow, not the gun shows and I certainly wasn't expecting it at this show.

Oh I forgot there was an Alaskan veterans expedition along this wall and their sign was hand written on cardboard so I wasn't sure what to think about it. Also there was a vendor with some sluices, pans, I think pay dirt and raffling nuggets.

At the back I turned and there was quite the sluice sales and a huge pile of classifiers. Behind that guy was a small booth with 'the cheap stuff'. Prospecting items mini, folding shovels, cheap pan, flashlights other camp stuff that you would get wholesale from china. The back wall had a GPAA booth where Tom Massie was meet&greeting a bit later on. Then I hear a voice, and YOU KNOW that voice.



Yep, Fred and Dustin. I was surprised at how old Dustin is. There was something about his eyes that said he's has seen a lot. They were talking to ogling fans so I walked around and looked at the reverse helix trommels there were selling. I couldn't quite tell what the outer drum was made of, some sort of plastic. Mostly the standard features you'd see on a commercial trommel and seemingly well built. I thought I heard dustin say 'well, he's from Glendale', I'm not sure if he was referring to fred or one of the other crew. I forget the gal's name, but her face is on a beginner's set box like todd is on garret's. I later ran into dustin as he walked the show. I asked if he was bored of these and he said it's the first he's been to which shocked me. Thinking about it I guess it makes sense. He was looking like he wanted to wander off and I wasn't into fandom and really couldn't think of anything else to ask him so that was pretty much it.

In the back corner was the Miner's something where treasurenet was going to meet at 1. This was the only booth with 'young ladies' and as people swarmed them, I got around to check out the goods,. er, so to speak. They had a lot stuffed in that back area, many used items. Nothing really caught my eye.

I'm getting fuzzy on which way I went next but the other gold magazine (used to be california something) was along that wall with a table full of free magzines, the one food sales and early on Tom was there taking pictures with fans. Later I saw him outside the lecture hall and a family had just gotten pictures taken when one of the little kids, maybe 5 or 6 turned around and ran up to him and gave him a hug. It was pretty cool and he seemed real & genuine. You never know when they're just a face on tv, you know?

Behind Freds trommels was GPAA phoenix chapter. They had a panning class and a raffle. They didn't have much posted by way of their club and their handout was a newsletter which didn't offer much either. They were selling the standard stuff you could get from the GPAA (basic Tom & Perry's cleanup kit type of stuff). I don't know, I was a little put off.

A&B was in the middle there somewhere. He commented that he only got 3 spots this time instead of 6 because the show hadn't done much advertising. I asked if there was anything left in the store and he said oh yeah. There was. I don't recall if that's where I saw the new garret detector, I think it was at several booths. They had all the standard prospecting and as I was standing there sold their last falcon.

Someone had a foldup, self contained highbanker. I stared at it for quite a while. Found the handouts, Keene Mini Power Sluice

It seemed to me like the water bag would get ripped or holed, but who knows.

Several places also had keene's new classier system

Which has a #2, 4 & 12 and the screens pop in. A&B's show price was $50, with a reg price of $60. Worth it? Maybe to some. At A&Bs store, they had this

Which is $60 on Keene's site. The pan, classifier and a collection bottle (only 1 screen as far as I can tell). It looks massive and bulky to me. Neat thing about that pan/lid, see the handle looking thingy? It's actually an opening to fit into the bottle so you can rinse the pan right into the bottle.

Oh this flier also has the detector I saw, Garrett ATX $2120.75. Glad I'm sitting down. Crap, I just noticed a minelab GPX-5000 on here for $5800 Guuuuuuuuuuuuulp.

Oh, the magic sluice is "Gold Well" outta Wickenburg just up the street a bit. hmresearch.net is their web. I overheard the price, I don't recall exactly and it isn't on this flier. I think he was north of $1200 for the power sluice being demo'd but don't quote me on that.

Somewhere in the middle was another nugget raffle going on at a nugget booth. Maybe the noise or maybe I was tired but it was really on my nerves at that point.

The folks with the folding sluice were there. er Royal? They had stands and pumps and sluices pans and screens. Same area had the trinity pan. He gave a quick demo and usually sold one. I talked to a guy at work and he said they sort of roped him into a demo and afterwards they asked if he wanted one and he said no, they were crap in our clay and pebbles get stuck in the pan's riffles.

Up towards the door was 'the gold lady' with another ton of stuff in a small booth. At this point though, I wasn't seeing much new stuff and thinking about prices I'd seen before and what I might be getting. Then I saw she had a LeTrap so I checked it out. When I picked it up, it wobbled like picking up a 20g sheet of steel. Sure it's light, but the boss I got for the same price doesn't flex when I pick it up by the corner. Since it was more than I've seen it on the net, I left it there. Plus I thought A&B might have one and I'd be supporting the local guys (no idea where she's outa). Oh she also had that new Garrett.

GPAA also had their booth, that was right as you walked in and behind the gold lady a bunch of panning sessions going on.

Then up front, if I had only gone left first, was a crapton of refining equipment. I was in heaven. Crushers, cubicles, molds, furnaces, fluxes oh my! I should have gotten a cruicble or 2 but wasn't sure the opening of my furnace. Built it from a waterheater tank.

Behind the curtain was classrooms for the gold wheel (I think that was the brand) and the gold cube


Where I got to watch as people ran material in both. They closed off the gold wheel side at times, not sure what was up with that.

I'm sure I missed stuff in the show because someone else had the gold cube and there were several other vendors I remember seeing, but can't remember what they were selling. Oh, there was one, only one jerky both.

The lecture turned out to be a treat. 1pm was the finding gold in the desert. I got there late and it was packed. People standing along walls, along the back and out the doors packed. So I watched from outside the door (guy in red dragon shirt if you were by the far door). It was great. He was talking rattle snakes when I walked up and ended up talking about using his detector on his drywash tailings and finding nuggets. Then he looked to the left... looked to the right... and a light when on noticing all those other tailings piles. Let someone else dig for you and grab what they miss.

I stayed for the plaster gold lecture, staying to get a seat and missing lunch, and sorry to say it was a bit of a let down. Part of the disappointment is I knew the basics and a lot of that got repeated several times. I guess I thought there was going to be more meat to the lecture. And then there wasn't really any time for Q&A before Tom came in to talk Alaska. I didn't stay for that because I'm sure it's something in the future, but I'm not sure that's going to be the excursion.

I did one last swing before leaving and after hearing the 'follow the drywasher' spiel, I was really hesitant to think about gear.

So I hit A&B. They had a rookie minding the store. He was talking to someone who had several refined gold samples on him. Some very nice looking buttons, a mini-bar, and a baggie of bbs. They had a mini-shaker table so I stared at that for a while. Older gentalman came in later and was asking very basic "what is that, what does that do" questions and the store guy didn't know. So I'm all like "oh that's a shaker table, it... blah blah blah" Also talked about sluices, dredges and powersluice. Hell, I learned it all from you guys! Then I asked if he had been to the gold show thinking he came to the store after like I did but he hadn't so the store guy gave him the info.

I also managed to leave there without spending anything.

 

[Goodyguy]

WOW! That is an awesome account of the show

Even though I'm nearly two thousand miles away I feel like I was there.
Wish I could have been there in person but the walk along was the next best thing.

Thank you for sharing,
GG~