Re: Gold Panning
I totally relate to the ol dog requiring a slower pace. Just went thru that with my old dog Rooster for several years. He loved to go anywhere with me. I had to plan my activities to accommodate his declining capabilities. Kind of a switch now with my current/younger dog - now I'm the one that can't keep up for very long!
When I was a kid back in the 70's we stopped at a roadside tourist attraction where you could pan gold for a few dollars. The guy running the operation was actually pretty smart as he was prospecting soil which he would gather from different areas and bring to the tourist shop. He'd let the customers pay to do all the work (panning) to figure out which soil samples were gold bearing. When he found a good sample he'd go back to that area and setup a sluice box for himself.
My dad actually got the bug for panning after that, so I spent many hours panning with him on weekends. The video shows about as much as I know as far as panning technique goes. It's pretty basic and easy to learn with a little practice. Just as the video shows, the gold will be down in the heavy black sand, so as long as you are separating that from the lighter color dirt, then you're doing it right. When you're learning, I'd start with a lot less dirt in the pan than the guy in the video (you can increase the amount of dirt once you get the hang of it).
It's been many years ago, so I don't know the current rules/regulations. Any of the big mining areas (Central City, Cripple Creek, etc...) will usually have some gold if you find a good spot. After the spring runoff or even a major rain storm is a good time to pan the creeks and rivers as new material gets carried in by erosion.
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~Not All Who Wander Are Lost~ (at least not all the time)