One to drool over - So. CA

[coinshooter]

I didn't find this, but my friend is closing his store and I did some wheeling and dealing with him to get it. Thought you all might like to see a nice nugget from near Twenty Nine Palms, CA. One day I'll get out there. This is about the size of a U.S. Nickel (that's a Buffalo Nickel next to it). It's 15 grams. 8)

[Hoser John]

Never saw a nugget that didn't tickle my fancy!!Tons a au 2 u 2-John

[lab rat]

Nice! 29 Palms? Not too awful far from here. Do you know if it was found with a detector?

[coinshooter]

Yes. Apparently the area is very sandy.

[gubelube]

can ya give a description of some good places in twenty nine palms for a beginner to try for some nugget hunting

[coinshooter]

Not sure of the exact location on this one, but this was a big mining district at one time. I would pull out a modern day map and see where it takes you out there. It's a great time of the year to head out to the desert. 8)

[Jim McCulloch]

The primary nugget hunting areas "near 29 Palms" are the Dale Mining District and the more southerly Montenegras Mining District. On hiway 62 go east from 20 Palms (about) 15 miles to Gold Crown Road. At the intersection of Gold Crown Road and Hiway 62 are what is left of the old mining camp of Old Dale. From there south to the northern boundary of Joshua Tree National Park there are numerous areas which have produced plenty of pieces of the "Most Happy Yellow Metal" for competent detectorists. Our local Club, the First Class Miner's Club, has several productive claims in the area. The area is very sandy, thus a good 4x4 is recommended. On my two best days there my trusty Goldmaster bagged me a total of 132 nice nuggets. Fifty nugget days have are still possible, in the right areas. Biggest nuggets detected from there - so far - have weighed 8 ounces. At WWW.GOLDHUNTER.COM is an article of mine, "Half Pound Ravine," which details one nugget hunting area in the Dale District. So far the take from Half Pound Ravine has been 79 ounces. Another spot, about a mile away, produced 105 ounces. The area is large, and the known areas have been hit pretty hard, but adventurous detectorists are still finding new "patches." Hope this helps; HH Jim (OphirAU@msn.com)