Kevin in Colorado...and elsewhere

[KevinInColorado]

I grabbed 15 gallons of 4 mesh classified dirt from a construction site (new microbrewery coming - yay!) in central Silverthorne where I now live. Ran it thru my Whippet dry washer:

And as expected found gold (almost makes me wish I owned land down in town):

This is what escaped the giant dredge that ran thru the whole valley a hundred years ago. I was very happy to see the -100 gold my new dry washer caught and boy was it easy to operate

 

[delnorter]

That's a neat setup Kevin. Is that an electric dry washer?

Mike

 

[KevinInColorado]

Yup. It's a Whippet. Only 15 pounds including the battery and backpack setup!
www.whippetengineering.com
Expensive but worth it if you want something you can pack in on your own.

 

[Aufisher]

Great job catching the small gold in the drywasher! Pretty impressive!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Thanks but all I did was set it up level and feed it. That was my first time running it too. I checked the tails...no gold. A very, very well designed little machine Looking forward to many more hours feeding it!

 

[KevinInColorado]

This is the job site where I got the dry washing material. My dirt was just a sample from those piles they set aside as they dug foundation trenches. Some of it they'll use as backfill...I want to know where the rest is going

 

[arizau]

View attachment 1345492
This is the job site where I got the dry washing material. My dirt was just a sample from those piles they set aside as they dug foundation trenches. Some of it they'll use as backfill...I want to know where the rest is going

There is nothing like the taste of wild Colorado mountain strawberries. Maybe it is time to convince your wife of the need of some material to build some mounds to grow them on.

 

[KevinInColorado]

There is nothing like the taste of wild Colorado mountain strawberries. Maybe it is time to convince your wife of the need of some material to build some mounds to grow them on.

LoL, they grow wild in the field right next to our condo! And living in a condo, it's more like I need to convince the maintenance guy we need some fill material on the property...hmm, that could be a good idea!

 

[Jeff95531]

Yup. It's a Whippet. Only 15 pounds including the battery and backpack setup!
Whippet Engineering LLC - Home
Expensive but worth it if you want something you can pack in on your own.

Expensive AND out of stock. Always a good sign.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Went to the Country Boy mine last Wednesday with some friends who were visiting. The underground tour is pretty good and my visitors loved it. I thought the gold panning teaching session and the actual gold panning were really lame Nice display of old mining gear and a good viewpoint to look at the Wellington Mine across the way too. Did some sampling in French Creek on their property too but our pans came up empty there. In the past, I've found gold upstream but is spots was loaded with washed cobbles and mine dump rock

 

[KevinInColorado]

Got out sampling on the Blue River today, a few miles north of my home in Silverthorne. Had researched several possible locations. First one was a fail with one speck from samples in 5 different spots. Second was loaded with mosquitoes so I'll come back a different day. Downstream to the third spot...better with some gold and a couple pieces of fishing lead. Not enough gold to be exciting but better. Pic is below as I mixed my sampling from a couple days in one cons container.

In case you are wondering, this is the beginning of a prospecting campaign to find spots near home (since I moved full time to the mountains) where I can dig. This may lead to filing a claim if I find a real hot spot. Time will tell!

 

[Jeff95531]

So I did a bit of research on your new home. Beautiful place!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverthorne,_Colorado

8730 feet above sea level? Yikes it's thin up there! But one person per square mile tells me ya done good Kevin! And the gold is there and if anyone can find it, it'll be you.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Yup, my place is up on Buffalo Mountain, above town, at 9300+ feet. Funny what you can get used to. I don't even notice it when I'm digging now

I went out today on the Blue River downstream from town a ways and found some gold. All -50 mesh.


Pretty spot and open to claiming but I need better gold!!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Got out yesterday while down in Denver area for a dentist appt and a prospecting club meeting. Got good gold at the first spot (which I've hit before: "crayfish creek") and very little at the second. Second spot was lower Big Dry Creek just upstream from the South Platte River. Easy access and I know guys who've found pockets of good gold there. I found a few specks in each sample hole but nothing decent.
Sample site just downstream of Santa Fe St bridge:

 

[Duckwalk]

The shade looks nice! Just cutting the grass here is taxing. 94 and 95+ days.

 

[utah mason]

The shade looks nice! Just cutting the grass here is taxing. 94 and 95+ days.

95 I can handle here. But 95 where you are is a very different feel. Whats your humidity %

 

[KevinInColorado]

Highs in the 70's here at my mountain home. Hi 80's but zero humidity in the city when I was digging.

Gold from crayfish creek was actually pretty disappointing at 0.03 grams. David, I continued upstream from my dig with you. I guess it's time to go downstream! I did get about 100 pieces of lead bird shot, just not much gold. Anyway, here it is:

Lack of volume & big stuff tells me I'm at the upper end of the hotspot. The hot spot was producing 10-15x this amount.

 

[Duckwalk]

95 I can handle here. But 95 where you are is a very different feel. Whats your humidity %

I don't know the exact % but when you step outside it feels sticky. Call it high!

 

[Nitric]

I don't know the exact % but when you step outside it feels sticky. Call it high!

I understand this! It took me almost 3 years, but I'm starting to get use to it...I wouldn't want to work on a paving or roofing crew here! But I'm getting a little more comfortable with it!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Went out with a friend to his claim today to stake it. It was a beautiful day and spot as you can see!

A view across the claim: