The Many Lost Treasures of Mariposa, CA (Photos Added)

[SushiDog]

EagleDown.....there goes the "some-timers" again! (big smile)....what happened to the photo's? Oops? I am really fascinated by this gizmo you are describing, but I am a visual person.....SushiDog

 

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[EagleDown]

EagleDown.....there goes the "some-timers" again! (big smile)....what happened to the photo's? Oops? I am really fascinated by this gizmo you are describing, but I am a visual person.....SushiDog

Sorry SushiDog, I've described a piece of equipment that I invented, used, and sold over 30 years ago. I don't have photos. Perhaps I can make some drawings and post them later.

Eagle

 

[SushiDog]

My apologies to you EagleDown.....I was going by the caption of your post where it says (Photo's Added), and duh! It's ME who has the "some-timers"!......SushiDog

 

[EagleDown]

I'm sure that most dredgers are familiar with this, but there is still a little hope for us. Note the final sentence.

Important Suction Dredge InformationSuction Dredge Permit Holders and Potential Applicants
The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is currently prohibited by court order from issuing suction dredge permits. (Leeon Hillman et al. v. California Dept. of Fish and Game et al., Super. Ct. Alameda County, 2009, No. RG09-43444, ordered issued July 9, 2009.) The Court order specifically prohibits DFG from expending any funds from the State of California General Fund to issue suction dredge permits pursuant to Fish and Game Code section 5653, and related regulations found in sections 228 and 228.5 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. The order will remain in place as long as the related litigation is pending or until a further order is issued by the Court.

Additionally, as of August 6, 2009, all California instream suction dredge mining has been suspended following the Governor's signature on a new state law. SB 670 (Wiggins), as signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger and effective immediately, prohibits the use of vacuum or suction dredge equipment in any California river, stream or lake, regardless of whether the operator has an existing permit issued by DFG. The moratorium does not apply to suction dredging operations performed for the regular maintenance of energy or water supply management infrastructure, flood control, or navigational purposes.

The moratorium on instream suction dredge mining established by SB 670 will remain in effect until DFG completes a court-ordered environmental review of its permitting program and any necessary updates to the existing regulations take effect. The court-ordered environmental review required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is currently underway and DFG expects to complete the effort, including any updates to the existing regulations, by late summer 2011.

 

[Hefty1]

Hey Eagle
DPFG are having open update meetings in Jan, The ICMJ has the dates and places for these meetings.

Hefty

 

[Hefty1]

Here they are Eagle...

This is what was sent out by Mark Stopher at Department of Fish & Game:


Interested Parties

We have reserved venues for the five public meetings during the review period for the draft suction dredge regulations and Draft Supplemental EIR. More details will be forthcoming as we continue our planning. For now, I want to share this information so you may make plans to attend.

The public meeting schedule is as follows:

* Wednesday, January 26, 2011: Santa Clarita: Residence Inn by Marriott - 25320 The Old Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91381

* Thursday, January 27, 2011: Fresno: CA Retired Teachers Association - 3930 East Saginaw Way, Fresno, CA 93726

* Tuesday, February 1, 2011: Sacramento: City of West Sacramento Galleria - 1110 West Capitol Ave., Sacramento, CA. 95691

* Wednesday, February 2, 2011: Redding: Shasta Senior Nutrition Program - 100 Mercy Oaks Drive, Redding, CA 96003

* Thursday, February 3, 2011: Yreka: Miner's Inn - 122 E. Miner Street, Yreka, CA 96097

All meetings will start at 5 pm and run no later than 10 pm.

Mark Stopher
Environmental Program Manager
California Department of Fish and Game
601 Locust Street
Redding, CA 96001

voice 530.225.2275
fax 530.225.2391
cell 530.945.1344

 

[SushiDog]

Hey Hefty.....those meetings are gonna be barn burners!!! I hope the media will be there to give our cause a little extra exposure and some umph....SushiDog

 

[EagleDown]

Thanks Hefty!! I'll spread the word.

 

[SnakeEater]

The court-ordered environmental review required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is currently underway and DFG expects to complete the effort, including any updates to the existing regulations, by late summer 2011.

Sounds like it's a good time to go after those $50 slugs... assuming we don't have to dredge a river to get em.

 

[SushiDog]

SnakeEater.....what's the answer to your teaser puzzle / riddle? and....do you have any pics of what EagleDown is talking about that you have made? or....is there a commercial version of this gizmo? Hmmm?.....sounds really interesting, and will be doing a lot of diving this season in some very cold water....SushiDog

 

[SushiDog]

This is a tid-bit for all of the gang here....I just found this, and the maps are supposed to be free....if this resource helps somebody out, then it's all good....now let me go browsing through it.....http://www.davidrumsey.com/blog

 

[SnakeEater]

Then I thought; why not electric??

Electric, indeed.

My concept is for surface fed, deep diving, still water, tow-along, float-rigs which are generally limited to around 60' of water. The electric motor, battery, and pump has to be on a float anyway so why not make it ergodynamic by shaping it into a mini boat hull? (most float on tubes atm) Less drag and, if you add a paddle wheel, what drag exists (by intention) can help generate electricity to extend battery life. Then, the air one exhales at 60' expands many times over before reaching the surface. Why not harness that energy into lines, which adjoin the feed lines, and utilize the force of the rising air to turn additional turbines within the exhaust lines?

If one could match the same weight as a gasoline rig and get equal bottom time, the nuisance of exhaust getting sucked into the air intake becomes a non-issue and for the underwater spearfisherman (like me) silence is golden (-bubble and pistons). BTW, we don't use these rigs here in So. Calif. as all of our diving is in and/or around kelp beds but in tropical waters there appears to be a healthy market for them.

 

[SnakeEater]

SnakeEater.....what's the answer to your teaser puzzle / riddle? and....do you have any pics of what EagleDown is talking about that you have made? or....is there a commercial version of this gizmo? Hmmm?.....sounds really interesting, and will be doing a lot of diving this season in some very cold water....SushiDog

Sorry for the delay but that's all part of it being a teaser.

I have no pics for my idea as it's just an idea and I'm still trying to fully visualize EagleDown's set-up but it certainly sounds slick. I have a wetsuit with a titanium, terry cloth weave on the interior and, although it was very expensive, it works well for extended dive times down to about 43 degrees F. It's 3 mil and I layer the 4 parts (farmer johns, boy shorts long sleeve jacket, and two hoods) according to the temp but even with only the farmer-johns alone, the temp has to be below 65 degrees to be comfortable unless you want to fan water in on a regular basis.

Below 43 degrees though, we'll just have to see what new invention can beat it.

 

[SushiDog]

SnakeEater....yeah!....sounds like a winner.....when you are making your 60 feet dives on this contraption, you are still making a rest stop at 20 feet for decompression, right?...perhaps a 3 minute rest stop?.....SushiDog

 

[SnakeEater]

~SushiDog~

That sounds about right if at 60' for a while but when on scuba, I use a computer to gas-off and when boat diving around the channel islands, I'm usually after red fish (vermilion rockfish), lingcod, and scallops which are found best below 90' (I narc out bad at 135' so that's my limit) so my computer usually asks me to make two, separate safety stops on the way up.

When diving from shore I freedive (breath-hold diving). It's much easier to get back up the cliffs without the weight of scuba gear and there's a hand full of fish you will never see blowing bubbles - White Sea bass and Calico bass included and being two of the best tasting fish off our coast.

 

[SushiDog]

Hi SnakeEater.....it's probably best to take this on a PM because I don't want to hijack EagleDown's thread.....however, you are narcing out at 135 because you probably are not using a nitro mixture, and that is a very precarious depth anyway....yeah....at 120 I make a 60 and a 20 decompression stop, then surface.....and you are at 130.....respond with a PM with your answer.....sorry about all of this EagleDown.....SushiDog

 

[EagleDown]

Diamonds In California?? YOU BETCHA!!​

I’ve been asked to tell about a diamond I found, so, I’ve spent the last couple of days attempting to find a way to tell about it in such a way that it not only makes sense, but would also be interesting. I thought I was all ready to start putting it into a story format, but you know the old saying; The best laid plans of mice and men………..!!

First, I have had a book titled: Hunting Diamonds in California. I’ve searched everywhere I can think of but cannot find said book. (I wonder where I can buy a Gremlin trap??) I had intended to use a couple of excerpts
from the book, about some of the diamonds that were found during the 1849 “Gold Rush” days. But now, you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Actually, there quite a few “top quality” diamonds found in sluice boxes back then. And I’m talking about the ones that were verified. (Quite a few were sent to Tiffany’s in New York for grading. The diamonds were returned with a grade of “Top Quality”, Clear, and Yellow, (Canary.) And, that’s about the extent of what I remember. Doggone it, where’s my book!!!

In any case, this wasn’t one of those earth shattering incidents in my life, so I’m a little hazy on the date. I remember that there had been torrential rains in Northern California, and that, combined with the rain melting the snow packs, ……well,……you can imagine the problems around Sacramento and the surrounding areas.

I was watching the news and they were showing parts of a hiway that had been washed out and some slides that covered the hiways for days. Since I had some claims up that way, I watched the news almost daily to see what progress CalTrans was making on clearing and repairing.

Anyway, it was several days later when I heard on the news, that someone had been looking around where part of the slide had been cleaned up and had found a nugget that was (don’t hold me to this,) about 2 oz.

O.K., that did it!! Now I was ready to go somewhere. (lol)

Of course, prudence won out over avarice this time. So, I decided to wait for spring to roll around. I knew I could count on THAT happening every year. It had happened so many times it was almost a tradition. (lol)

Then, spring came around, just as it had every year of my life, and I started preparing to head up North. It was actually late spring or early summer before I had the time to take off on my little sojourn. Before leaving, I checked the road conditions and found that I still couldn’t get to the claims, unless I wanted to drive about 300 miles out of my way. Which I didn’t.

A friend had told me of an area up near (at that time) the little town of Jackson, where I could walk around and find small quartz crystals, so I decided to head up that way. I figured I would be in “Mother Lode” country, and would have a chance to find a nugget or two while I was collecting the crystals.

I am a Medicine Man, and I needed the crystals as I would make Medicine Bags for young Brothers and I liked to put a small “Earth Stone” in each of the bags I made. I believe the crystals have more “power” if they are given to you by Mother Earth, rather than buying some that comes from wherever.

Anyway, I arrived in Jackson around 11 am and stopped at the only small market that I saw and while paying for some chips and a Pepsi, I got directions to an area near a small hill that had large patches of bare clay here and there throughout about 20 acres of treeless land. All in all, it turned out to be a worthwhile trip. I guess I picked up around 20 or 25 small crystals. All beautifully faceted and very clear. Most were around one half of an inch long and perhaps ¼ inch thick. Perfect size for the small personal Medicine Bags.

Before I left, I poured them out in my hand to take a closer look at them, and noticed one that was only about a quarter inch long and about the same thickness. I remembered that it was the first one I found and I had held on to it as I didn’t know how many more I would find, or what size they would be.

I was looking at it and wondering at its peculiar shape, when the sun came out from behind a cloud and fell directly on the little crystal. Wow, I saw a flash of red, then as my hand moved, there was another flash, but this time, it was blue. I thought that perhaps there were fractures in the crystal that were causing a prism effect. But, I remember thinking; “Why, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a diamond”, while I mentally chuckled at my strange thought. I decided I liked it, and since it was a gift from Mother Earth, I put it back in the bag with the other crystals and went back to my truck to begin my return trip back home.

It must have been 2 years after this, when I was in a rock shop in Mariposa, that I spotted a book in the rack that was titled “Hunting Diamonds in California”. Naturally, I couldn’t leave without purchasing it.

When I got home, I sat down and started reading. In the course of reading, I found that Amador County was one of the areas where diamonds had been found.

At that point, I put the book down and went to my desk. I opened the drawer and took my stone pouch out and dumped the crystals out on the desk blotter. Uh Oh!! there were only about a half dozen crystals left. I had put the rest in Medicine Bags plus, I had given some away to friends that wanted to add one to their Medicine Bag.

But, look as I might, the one I suspected of being a diamond, was not there.

I imagine that somewhere, there’s a Brother walking around with a Medicine Bag hanging from a leather thong around his neck, and he has no idea that the crystal I put in the bag is in reality, a diamond. (lol)

I had never really been interested in searching for diamonds before that time, but since then, I’ve done a bit of reading about diamonds that have been found in California and even Nevada. One thing I discovered is; many of the CA diamonds have something in or on them that causes them to fluoresce’ a “silvery blue” while under a short-wave ultra-violet light.

Geologists are still not in agreement about how the diamonds ended up in California, but the general consensus is that they probably were pushed down from (perhaps) Alaska, through Canada by glaciers.

Something to think about.

Eagle

http://www.galleries.com/minerals/property/fluotabl.htm

 

[SushiDog]

Hi EagleDown.....enjoyed the story!!! Since I live up here in Sacramento, I can attest to two big floods that you may be referring to.....the first one was in 1986, and the other one was in 1995....also....I just received in the mail today, the 507 page "Geology of Northern California Bulletin 190 from the California Division of Mines and Geology....used hard back edition....this Bulletin is the "Bible" for all of the Geology in Northern California, and there is a map included as well....I will check out Amador County for diamonds in the Bulletin, and if I find anything important, or pertinent, I will post it for you....SushiDog

 

[EagleDown]

Thank you SushiDog!!

I'm sure we'd all appreciate reading it. I didn't go into a lot of details in the story, because I didn't have the book for reference, but I believe other counties where diamonds were found were: Yuba, Calaveras, up around Susanville, Marysville, Shasta. Note: I'm sure about Yuba, but the others, not so sure. Also, back in the days, most of those counties were Mariposa County.

Eagle

 

[SushiDog]

EagleDown....the 1986 flood was the "big one!".....in 1995, it was bad, but not like the one in '86....do any of these two years sound familiar?....SushiDog