Beeper Bob

Unusual amount of rain coming to southern California may present some opportunity for detecting. Palm Springs could get up to 5in. The Dale will get hammered and maybe the Barstow claim. It will expose new territory for detecting. If you are able to access the areas, good luck! Hurricanes have happened before, I remember a geology field trip to Matiliaja canyon by Santa Barbara our professor was showing us flooding scars 90ft above the bottom. He said the flood was probably caused by a hurricane that hit the area many years ago.

Cool, great finds. Franconia is where the WSPA was conceived. First get together with Dennis, Bill Southern, Paleface, and Roger Dyer. and others, Roger and Paleface sadly have passed on.

Hi John, Free membership for a decent claim might help.

Have been up that way before, nice piece of property but really steep slopes in that area. Heading up that way soon to check out a hardrock mine with a old timer that told me about it. Most placer claims in that area are closed. Have not read or seen any detectable gold from that area. Spent a lot of time in the Walker basin area detecting old mine sites 40 years ago with a VLF. Jeeping in that area years ago my wife and I spotted a old buckboard wagon way down below in a gully. Came back the following weekend with my trailer and tools to take it apart and haul it up home. Damn, got there and someone beat me to it the buckboard was gone,

Been busy researching old claims to to find a good one one that no longer is valid for the club. Came across this, check our the name of the discoverer near the bottom of the page. Anyone familiar with Kalifornia and Nevada gold history will recognize one of history's most famous prospectors. Have found about a half dozen invalid placer claims in good areas to check out. Dennis and I are waiting for the snow to melt in the higher elevation claims before we start the expedition.Shorty Harris Claim MRDS03212021.pdf

Hi Martin, Satellite pictures show a massive amount of smoke from that fire heading east the fire is huge. We had one here by highway 58 about 2000 ac the pond fire. One about 3 miles behind us on Saturday they hit with phoscheck knocked it down quick, burning up at Walker Basin also. Way too many fires this year, the fire planes have been moving from one to another constantly. Good luck to you no fun to breathe smoke day and night.

Glad to see see you had no problems . Lot going on up there Cerro Gordo had a fire that destroyed some of the historic town buildings they lost power from a lightning strike and no one can get up there the road washed out. Maybe the storm exposed some gold areas in Mazourka. Good luck to you!

Hi Bill, just checking up on you. looks like that 5.8 was in your backyard. hope everything is okay

Great they deserve every penny of it.

Chet, thanks for the information

I think you are right about the Mojave Preserve, its off limits. All the historical sights are protected in the preserve.

Did not know that. When I was up in Mazourka years ago with my wife I wanted to take a 4x4 road back to a spring area and camp. There is a placer operation with shallow drifts along the bedrock, looked real interesting. When we got to the road there was about 10 people there moving large rocks across the road to prevent access a group called "Friends of the Inyos" the group that had pushed to put the areas into wilderness protection. They told me the area was now a wilderness area and I could not drive back there and prospect. I could walk back in but removal of minerals was not allowed well I believed them and never went there. Their group that instigated the wilderness area said it was put into wilderness area to protect the Inyos from mining and off roading. the roads heading back in theses areas are not shown on the forest service maps anymore but they are on topo maps. I will try to contact the Forest Circus to see if those high mountain roads into the designated wilderness are open or closed now. The placer area by the spring is only a few miles back in I can walk that but the other area is over 10 miles of steep 4x4 roads to get it, to far for this guy to walk. Does anyone know if the vast area of the Mohave called the Mohave Preserve is open to detecting because there are lots of great detecting areas there like the old mining town of Hart and others that are in the providence Mountains?

Hi Bill, Marble canyon gold is 70 to 115ft down in the bottom there are 3000ft of drifts on the bedrock It came from a ancient river bed still sections left up by Crooked creek 10,000 ft up but it is now in a wilderness area. Used to be placer claims on the hills surrounding marble canyon especially in the area where the road drops into the canyon, they are not in the D.V. park area. Check out the closed claims there.. North east of Chalfant are the Springs claims now closed. Some nice nuggets have been found there years ago, but steep rugged terrain. Don't give up on Mazourka there is gold there. One of the largest called the 3 finger nugget was a sun baker that came off the top off a mountain. Dennis and I know some areas up there that we have found gold in we just have not been able to get up there yet. You also have the Lida area Gold point and the Tule placers all have produced nuggets and it is high country been there when it was 105 in lone Pine and only 80 up there. You live in a great area to find gold not far from you. Good luck!

Fred was one of those people you just wanted to be around. We had many good times together in the Dale. It really saddens me to hear this. R.I.P Fred.

Hi Michel, that article come from a Respiratory Dr. My wife's sister is a nurse in Landers Wyoming she sent it to us. Not retired still trying to make a living farming wine grapes. The ranch is up for sale, after it sells then I will be retired. Stay health,