Gold is where you find it.

This is my spot.

And nobody better touch it.

Except, of course, the Prospector, who helps me dig, as we try to find the illusive Mother Lode.

It's here somewhere. We just have to move some rocks, classify and pan our little hearts out.

Yea, it was a busy day yesterday.


OK. We didn't move this much rock. It was already there. Dug out for a pond on private property.  But we would have if we could have.Where's a dredge when you need one? Ask a lawyer in the city. Ask the state of California who put a stop to dredging operations... big or small.
 Don't argue with me on this one. We are fighting the good fight.

Bedrock Beauty

I don't think that there is anywhere I'd rather be than panning, on bedrock, in a river....


So far the weather has been mild, which makes these hours on the Mokelumne even more pleasant.


But even when it's hot (which will happen soon), the river has it's own special way of drawing me in.



It's the feeling of being close to water that is moving and alive while I'm safely sitting on ancient rocks that were formed 500 million years ago.

There is always the chance that I will find some gold in my pan but it's not the reason I go to this place.

I find peace here.

It's a place I understand.

"It's the great, big, broad land 'way up yonder,
It's the forests where silence has lease;......














It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It's the stillness that fills me with peace."
-Robert Service-