The Golden Lesson-have a plan and stick to it.

[Andyy 812]

Hello All.  I haven't posted in a while, but I like to wait and talk about the ones I find that have a story.  This one is such a case.  (If you don't like stories, just skip to the end)

I was out with a friend looking for some new ground.   After a little exploring, we stopped the truck and decided to do a walk-about.   The objective was to explore the area for only an hour and meet back up at the truck to decide to keep exploring or move on.  Basically, to see if we could find enough indicators worth our time.  That was the plan anyways.

So 35 minutes or so later, I am not seeing signs that other people found this area interesting (I subscribe strongly to Jim Straights Follow the Dry Washers), but there was nothing in this area.  Very strange and discouraging.  So now the devil is sitting on my shoulder's putting doubt in my head.  There was also the fact that the washes were small but still had 3' minimum of overburden.  No matter that the geology looked good. There was bloody red quartz with vuggs, iron stone, hot rocks.  But for some reason I could not get motivated in an area when I didn't have proof others were interested.   Alright, so on with the tale.

Another 10 minutes later I'm on top of a ridge looking at the truck which is a dot in the distance.  I yell out to my buddy because I wanted to leave, but he is in the zone a few hills over.  In the meantime I am dreaming about a cold gatorade sitting in my truck and a box of cheap dollar store crackers that will drown out my cravings.  The devil says Andyy, just walk the ridge, you'll be back in no time.  (he did say Andyy by the way).  But I had a plan and darn if I was going to stick to it.  I had to test these washes and gullies.  Down the side of the hill towards wash I go.  I didn't get 15 feet down that hill when I got a screaming signal.  Oh No ... it's got to be another hot rock.  kick..kick..kick...   still there and louder.  Well shoot, I don't want waste my time digging another 22 shell!  I've dug too darn many of those today.  You're going to yell at me but I seriously turned away to leave it.  And then I reminded myself of an earlier large find that I almost passed up and then didn't.  Nope.. I am not going to leave until I know.  So I knelt down and unearthed about a 1/4 oz  slug of dirty hillside gold (as shown in the scoop)

Well my mood changed, now.  Me and my buddy scoured the area.  I filled the gps grid on my GPZ and found nothing.  So now I looked to the wash.  Yes, it is deep but now I know there is larger gold here.  That just changed the game.  Down that wash I went maneuvering and kicking rocks.  Sure as heck I eventually get a signal that trails off like a hot rock.  I kick and it still sounds like a hot rock.  I dig another 6 inches before I find that hot rock and there is another beautiful signal underneath it.  A clearer sound.  At about 16" I get nugget #2.  Another roughly 1/4 oz.  Stunned I just sat back and took a break to think about what might not have been.

I came back again to this area with my other 2 friends I met on this trip.  And not another piece of gold was found in these washes or the neighboring washes (not by GPZ or GPX5000).  Only in the place I was at where only 15' away from that first nugget, I almost ditched my plan.  

 

[pairadiceau 79]

Very nice work Andyy!

[nugget108 1,027]

Wow Andy! Great story and awesome chunkers bud. Congratulations. 

[adam 2,050]

Excellent pieces Andy !!   Way to go ! 

[Mike C... 593]

Very nice Vulture gold  Good story as well Mike C...

[mn90403 750]

That was well worth the read!

WTG Andy.

Mitchel

[Cooper 120]

Excellent andy,  I get highly disappointed when after a bit and usually move on to other areas (relic hunting) when not scoring. Trying to learn, like you, to stay and find the,,,, gold (or relics in my case)

[Alwaysdirty 715]

Sweet Andy! Way to stick with it out there. I hope your not answering out loud to those voices in your head 

[ArcticDave 1,400]

30 minutes ago, Alwaysdirty said:

I hope your not answering out loud to those voices in your head 

That's not okay? Ruh roh...I better tell everybody in there I'm not supposed to talk to them anymore. They will probably just laugh.

[TomH 1,968]

WTG Andy. Man, you just go for the big stuff?
Tom H.

 

[Nugget Shooter 3,663]

Great read and nice gold Andy!

[mcgator 169]

Really nice gold. Great story and fun to read.

M

[LukeJ 1,360]

Well there you go !!  

That, my friend, is how it's done.  Very nice.

Congratulations !!  

Luke

[VentureDog 0]

Well done Andy ..... gold and story.

Randy

[Andyy 812]

3 hours ago, Bill Southern said:

Great read and nice gold Andy!

Thanks for the comments, everyone.  Glad to share.

Bill - One thing I remember way back when was you spoke about the number one thing you see people doing wrong in their detecting ... and that was not finishing that gully you were detecting.  That stuck with me 

[Andyy 812]

4 hours ago, Alwaysdirty said:

Sweet Andy! Way to stick with it out there. I hope your not answering out loud to those voices in your head 

Alwaysdirty - the devil told me to ignore you 

[Cowkiller 100]

Andy that is some awesome gold! Great story too! Hopefully there is more to come.

[Rod 533]

Great gold, enjoyed the story too 

[Micro Nugget 629]

Oh, yummy, yummy tale.  Seeing the photos is great, but enhancing the photos with the tale makes it special.  Congrats on both!

[Nugget Shooter 3,663]

4 hours ago, Andyy said:

Thanks for the comments, everyone.  Glad to share.

Bill - One thing I remember way back when was you spoke about the number one thing you see people doing wrong in their detecting ... and that was not finishing that gully you were detecting.  That stuck with me 

Sir you have become very good at this and loving the chance to tag along here at the forum. Jim Straight said something to me once and it was " Bill, we got something we need to share, you know what i mean?" I waited.... "finding gold is a skill learned much by having a mentor". Yes I said and waited..... "I write books, you have the internet and teaching or helping others go where we have been feels good" I again said yes..... 

Jim has a passion for helping and taught me much over the years, I honestly owe some of my success to him and many of the other old timers at detecting Arizona, like Nugget Bob.... Hehehe I know some stories of his exploits in the old days and dang he got some gold. Was in one of the first prospecting with a detector videos I ever saw tearing into old timer hand stack piles. But back in the late 80's and early 90's there was little help anywhere for folks wishing to find gold with a "witching stick"  

I watch many come and go here, but many have started out with us, stayed, then made us jealous of their finding skills 

There is some serious skill here in a list to long to write.... I love this place.

Anyway to know that in some small way I was an inspiration my friend is cool beans to me, thanks....

 

[Uncle Ron 1,149]

21 hours ago, Mike C... said:

Very nice Vulture gold  Good story as well Mike C...

Awesome finds, Andy ... Think I know the exact spot those came from, but I could be wrong ... Looks like those beauties came out of schist ... Yep, Mike, looks exactly like the schist patch...been pounded to death since someone brought everyone and their dog in there who brought everyone and their dog in there, and so forth...if you know who I mean, and I think you do!  Oh well, I got my ounces from there so that's the way it is moving west!  Cheers, Unc

Edited February 14 by Uncle Ron

[cjadair3 69]

Right on Andy! Very cool!

[Andyy 812]

Uncle Ron, you are probably right.  You should PM me the coordinates and I'll let you know for sure if you are correct.  I will let you try again if not right the first time 

[Uncle Ron 1,149]

Here's a few probably out of the same patch:  Cheers, Unc

[Mike Furness 1,077]

Ole Baboo struck gold!