Got up at 6am and left home around 6:45 for a days journey.
I took this young man I have sorta been sponsoring as a big brother up to the mountains.
I was invited by a freind who I met online in one of my gold prospecting boards, he invited me to se his gold mine and to work a river claim he had.
So first we went to the mine up in the mother load country of the Sierra Nevada's, gorgous country and full of gold , gold mines, rivers and streams.
We slugged our way threw poison oak good thing none of us are alergic it was all over. We walked about 1/4 mile up the side of this mountain and got to this area that looked a bit strewn, with wood , pieces of metal all over, there was a spot where they took the ore out of the mine and crushed the ore this mine is dated back to the 1800's I believe.
I couldn't go in i'm just to afraid and claustrophobic LOL I squeezed myself in the open and got my body inside and shined my light around and saw the mine inside, 5 feet high and about 3 feet wide and it ran back several huundred feet that way I just ould not get myself the rest of the way in
Heres a picture of the opening of the mine I have some video I will post later
We then went and dug up on the side of the bank on a small river we dug all around the bedrock, which is the hard crust of the earth and where most gold can be found in rivers, we dug and dug moved huge boulders and rocks, pick axed at the earth loosening it enough to be shoveled and ran thru a classifirs to get all the larger rocks out of the fine dirt then ran the finer material thru our sluice box's.
We found just a little gold I found the biggest piece of the day , a piece about the size of a match head was all.
BUT the guy we came with walked up to me and I heard this THUNK in my sluice box, I looked and saw a large piece of gold about the size of a nickel but at least 1/2 inch thick it was a piece of gold he found right there where we were at last year and it weighed 1/4 of an OUNCE, he said " dont be discouraged, there is more gold just like this somewhere here and we are going to find it".
SO yeah i'm going back next weekend
I never would have dreamed I could go out and have this much fun with other people , playing in the dirt, I have bought everything I need to prospect for gold, I bought a used dredge, wet suit for cold water, compressor to pump air down to me when I am down deep dreging for gold sucking all the bottom up in a river , I have bought books to learn about how and where to find gold I have bought books on geology even to understand how and where gold came from.
And I am meeting people who are enjoying and living life to its fullest. These things are important , we all need REWARDS for what we're doing so what I am getting is is treat yourself when you can, work hard on your job and in your recovery and I promiss so many opportunitys will come your way in this life, it will seem sureal at times like your in the twilight zone or something LOL I felt that way today.
Wow Vini!!! That is so awesome; it's almost like I was there too :) Sounds like a great time, my brother and I am positively excited for you!!!
As far as going into a cave, well, I'm not sure I could either but I might try a few feet a day. I saw that's how they train dogs to run through different tunnels, baby steps
Love and Hugs!
-- Edited by NA_ROCKS at 10:27, 2007-05-21
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Just For Today....I will have faith in someone in NA who believes in me and wants to help me in my recovery.
