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My last outing, A Weekly posting
Woody
post Jun 6 2011, 10:14 AM
Post #16


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Had an opportunity to check out areas 17 and 18 this weekend. I wanted to explore some areas that I had never been before and this location fit the bill. I had my stepdaughter and her friend along for the camping trip so I was not expecting to do any heavy gold panning. Both area reports and directions were well defined and easy to follow/find. The roads were well maintained and 2wd vehicles should do fine in good weather.

We first visited LM area 17. We took a long hike up the hill that lasted most of the day. It was a great time to be up in the high country. Wild flowers were in full bloom and temperatures were excellent. This place offers many different experiences and is close enough to the main roads that it would be a great place to host a large family outing. We saw a lot of wildlife sign. Evidence of deer, elk, and bear were everywhere and even with 3 people and a dog we were able to get close to some deer. It was the neighbor kids first time being out in the Colorado Mountains so I was glad she was able to see some animals.
This area is a little too dry for my style of gold prospecting. I did not find water in the area. I have never had an opportunity to do any dry washing and am very unfamiliar with the required technique. I intend to someday broaden my horizons and learn this method but for now I had to pass. I think this area is however well suited for rock hounds. I found a lot of material that would probably make great polished slabs. I found several different locations were people had dug material out of the ground. I wasn’t quite able to work out what they were after. I don’t think it was gold but they put in a lot of effort getting after something. I would like to return at a later time when I am more focused and able to explore at a slower pace.

Next we went to area 18. I was looking for an area that had water close by so I could hang out with the kids but still play in the dirt. We never made it. As it turned out the road was closed at the point where it crosses into NFS land for the second time. The sign says something like “Closed seasonally from 1 April to 15 June for Elk Calving”. Being as this is a trophy hunting area, “Area 49”, I fully understand the necessity to close it off and we were not upset. There was a nice little spot close to the gate so that’s where we set up camp. Again no water so I just left my gold panning tools packed up for the week end. We took several hikes in the area and the views here are truly remarkable. I took lots of pictures but the smoke in the air from all the wildfires burning kind of messes up the picture. Early the next morning I hiked up to a hill top to try to get a pic before the smoke set in. As I was climbing up the hill a Cow Elk came running right at me and the dog. She got to about 20 feet of us before she veered off to the right. Gave the dog a good jolt. She is not yet two and this was her first encounter with up close wildlife. The Elk circled back and started barking at us. “That’s right, I said Barking”. Her body language told me she had a calf close by so we changed our direction of travel and this seemed to settle her down. I made it up the hill and got the shot I wanted.

Had a great time in these two areas and can’t wait to post some pics. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be back soon. Have a good one, Woody.

Pics coming soon~


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Woody
post Jun 6 2011, 08:21 PM
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I don't normally post family pics but these guys strong-armed me. The second pic is of an Iris and another flower that I am unfamiliar with.
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Woody
post Jun 6 2011, 08:27 PM
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The first pic has an Elk in it. Can ya see her? She stood there for a few seconds barking at us. The second pic is one of the best views I've seen in a long time. It was a short hike from where we camped. Have a good one, Woody.
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swizz
post Jun 6 2011, 09:23 PM
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Woody,
Great report and another worthwhile adventure (I like the barking Elk story). You are definitely blessed with two beautiful kids and a nice ol pup! happy088.gif
Those are some good pics. I was able to spot the Elk but had to enlarge and still struggled for a few... good one. wink.gif
Thanks for the scouting on LM17. I need to expand my horizons and get over there sometime myself (dang fuel prices, grrr).
Keep up the good work. I'm enjoying your explorations vicariously as my work schedule has begun to tighten up a bit!
I had a very close Bear encounter camping last week... but that'll have to be a campfire story for another time. ohmy.gif happy070.gif ohmy.gif


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russau
post Jun 7 2011, 05:46 AM
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Woody that flower looks like a dwarfed Iris,according to my wife!
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Woody
post Jun 7 2011, 12:21 PM
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Thanks for the encouragement Swizz. I sure enjoy getting up in those hills. I usually go at it alone but anytime the young’ens want to tag along I don’t mind. It looks like next weekend I will be taking my Stepson and one of his friends. I’m not sure what areas I will try, I want to get up high but don’t think conditions warrant the effort right now. Will have to wait and see. I can't wait to hear that Bear story.

Russau any idea what that yellow flower would be. I’ve seen them often but don’t know what they might be called.

Here is another flower that I have seen frequently in the hills but don’t know the name of.

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russau
post Jun 9 2011, 05:57 AM
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id have to ask my wife!
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Denise
post Jun 10 2011, 05:52 PM
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Fantastic update, and Im really enjoying the photos! thumbsupsmileyanim.gif Happy looking family!

There is definately so much to enjoy out there, one just has to open their eyes to see it. Good eye Woody! happy088.gif

I know Im not Russ's wife giggle.gif , but I thnk it might be a Sego Lily. happy.gif
Here is a picture I took of one with a visitor on it at the 07' rally.



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Coalbunny
post Jun 13 2011, 02:09 AM
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Looks like a Sego Lily to me.


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Woody
post Jun 13 2011, 08:51 AM
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Thanks for the info on the wildflower guys. Now I have a name to match the face and I see some amazing pics when I search for it on google. Woody.


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Woody
post Jun 13 2011, 08:56 AM
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Headed for the high country this weekend.

I went out with my brother this weekend and we finally got the dredge out on a creek. I wanted to get a little higher but as you can see by the first pic the weather was still a little unfavorable. We settled for going back down the mountain a bit lower. There was still ice on the ground each morning when you woke up but we waited for the sun to come out and thaw things out nicely before we started playing in the water. Even with a wet suit on it was still very chilly. This area is not one of the club spots but it is a known gold producer and has been well worked historically. We had never worked the area before so we hand panned until we found some color and just went from there. The first day was spent poking a hole and cutting into the bank. On the second day we tried to figure the gold out. By that I mean we did not know if the gold was better deeper, coming from the bank, or just mixed in with the top overburden. We decided to dredge straight down in the small hole we had created the day before to see what that looked like. All the gold in the second pic was the total take from the first day of dredging. Going straight down produced absolutely nothing. This was not considered a total loss and would be valuable information to someone who was really trying to figure the gold out. It meant the gold was either located in the bank or coming from the recently deposited top layer of sediment. In the end, we closed the book on this chapter believing the gold was only in the very top layer from recent run off action. Finding a spot that had never been worked would probably produce good results but the area we were in was pretty much played-out. We will have to find a different location next time.
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Woody
post Jun 13 2011, 09:01 AM
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Here are some pictures of the dredge in action.
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Woody
post Jun 19 2011, 10:50 PM
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I went to the Western Slope this Fathers Day weekend.

I had a real great time this weekend. I went up to the Grand Mesa with one of my brothers and my father. We kicked the ATV’s out at a parking spot only about 7 miles from my dad’s house. We then rode for two hours on the bikes to a really cool spot on the southern end of the Grand Mesa. We use to go here a lot when I was younger but I have not been to this part of the Mesa in over 30 years. My family had recently been fishing in one of the many lakes that are found here and done every well. In one of their outings they only caught 4 Brookies but the smallest was over 18 inches long. Imagine that, only catching four fish but each and every one of them qualify for a Master Angler Award. So we pitched a tent at one of the lakes and settled-in for a three day camping trip. I didn’t care that it rained almost the entire time, or that we did not catch any of those trophy Brookies. I still had a great time. Maybe it was the right time of the year or just the sharing of good company but this place is amazing. The wild flowers were in full bloom. You could smell them in the air almost every time you took a breath. It really felt good to be back in my old stomping grounds. In the end we departed Sunday morning and made plans to do a pack-in hunt in this location for Archery Season. I can’t wait to go back.

Happy Fathers Day Dad!

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Woody
post Jun 19 2011, 10:58 PM
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Lots of different lakes in the area
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Woody
post Jun 19 2011, 11:05 PM
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The wild flowers were in Full Bloom>
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