Striking Gold in Quartzsite

We were on a hunt for gold.  We figured there had to be a lot of gold around Quartzsite.  After all there are all kinds of gold mining tools and equipment available for sale around this area.  There are also lots of how-to books and clubs.  Why else would people be interested in this stuff if gold wasn’t around?  Monday we decided to do a little prospecting of our own.

We had no intention of claim jumping.  There are plenty of mining claim markers out in the desert  We had no clue someone would stake out a claim unless there was real gold out there.  We were going to go look.

There were eight of us on this outing.  We were all going in our own separate rigs.  After all, someone might want to return early and someone else might want to stay late.  We hit the trail about 11:00.  It was definitely a trail and a mighty dusty one.  We had unpaved roads and washes to travel through.

It was a very dusty ride.

At our first stop we were given a little instruction and background.  We were told about the mountain lions and other important things we needed to be aware of. 

We stopped to check out a little cave.  This would make a great place to stay out of the elements  Certainly it has been claimed by some at times.  We just didn’t want to meet anyone or anything that might still be using this cave.

Letting the air out of the tire and hoping for an easier ride.

Once we selected our desired location the metal detectors came out and the miners or prospectors went to work.

Time for lunch anyone?

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A hard days work.

Looking for gold doesn't stop out in the hot fields.  It continues on with lessons in panning and sifting using screens.

Did we really strike gold?  Now that I’ve shown you pictures of where we dug, do you think I’d answer that?

‘Tis life on the road.

If you think patience is a virtue, try surfing the net without high speed Internet.