Ok.......it's time to get the planning books out. Lots of folks are talking about Colorado trip plans next year. So lets get some folks together!

Who wants to have a Colorado adventure next spring at the new pay to dig site?
Great gold, lodging with meals (if ya' want em'), and an awesome time with great friends!
Who's in?!!


Edited for date settled upon in title.

If we get a large enough group together we could have the ranch all to ourselves too!

Post here if you think you are interested in being there.

CP

Count me in for the next years prospecting get to gether. May the 24-25-26 would be a good weekend if not to late into the season. But any tme you pick I will try and be there.

Thanks for asking

John

Oh yea,
This sounds like just the thing I need. I will be there one way or another.
We were discussin it in the chat the other day.I was saying Agust would probably be best for me.But thats not exactly cut in stone. Jim

Awesome guys! Glad to see some interest.

Memorial day is on the 26th of May next year so that would be a good holiday weekend to shoot for.

Jim you need to make it out for spring and then again in August to see the full summer bloom!

Keep it coming folks......who else would be in for this?

CP

man ima sure try for at least may.maybe the good lord will see a way for it.

Sounds great! Maybe we can even hit some crystal digs after digging for gold.

Me and the wife would like to be there in May...be able to meet some of the prospectors, and get tips from the pro's.

Right on!........Very very cool! Keep the posts coming, who else might be in on this gathering!
We have talked to the ranch owners about the lodging and we were given the go ahead to start gathering reservations for the holiday weekend (Memorial day).
As of now there is no camping on site at the CP pay to dig.......The lodging is 7 miles from the dig site and has nice/rustic accomadations with all you can eat buffet meals. Rooms are very good sized with 2 double beds in each in the main lodge. There is also a large gathering/dance hall if we wish to use it.
If your better half isn't into the diggin' .....they do have horse back riding at the ranch and it's very beautiful with miles and miles of sights.

For those of you who would rather be out in the forest camping or in the rv park........there are plenty of both within the same 7 miles.

Reservations are limited so get yours in soon. Contact us at Webmaster@ColoradoProspector.com for prices, more information and to make reservations.

CP

yeah, Mem day sounds good!!!!!! I'm in!! I think we'll be camping tho. I gotta get the young'un and the Mrs intro'ed to the great outdoors!

Fantastic!!! Looking forward to seeing everyone and doing some digging.

id sure like to go but my wifes new job wont allow her very much of a advance notice for days off and keep changing her hours that she needs tobe there. so i wouldnt realy know untill a couple of days or maybe 1 week before they would let her off. and once they give it to her we dont pickup the phone!!!!!!

Would sure be great if you could make it Russ!
Its going to be a great time, and lots of people from the website to meet.

For those who are interested in the lodging ..........
Prices are $100.00/head/day. Kids under 6 free, 6-13 $50.00/day, 13-18 $75.00/day.
This includes your room and 2 meals (all you can eat) per day. Breakfast and Supper.
Lunches you need to bring with you to the digs or pick up on the way....... if you want lunch.

Rooms have two double beds and their own bathrooms in the main lodge house.

There are also some basic camp spots available at the ranch for $10.00/night.
Camp spots have NO WATER, ELECTRIC, OR SEWER. Let us know if you might be interested in the camp spots.

They also have large screen TV in the main lodge where we thought we might have a Saturday movie night? There's a kareoke machine too......but I'm not sure I want to hear any of you sing!

Also at the ranch.......Horse back riding is available (additional $) for those who may wish to take a trail ride. The indians frequented the ranch area long ago and quite a few arrowheads have been found.

For those gold bugs that are attending........You might also want to know......Stan (lodge owner) used to work in the Africa gold mines. Bet he's got some interesting stories to tell too.

Crystal digging is still a maybe and we will keep you posted on those as we can.

This gathering is open to all but.....you do need to have a reservation with us.
If you are interested in attending, please contact us soon as space is limited.

There is a scheduled meeting in the CP chat next Monday night for plans and questions.......Have some? BE THERE!! 1/28/08

CP

Ooops forgot to add this yesterday........

We are taking the reservations for the groups lodging (at the ranch)
The reason for this is to ease confusion with the group/ranch owners.....we Denise and myself are not making any money from your lodging. By having a group reservation you are getting a little better deal on the lodging and we pass that discount right onto you.

See you all tomorrow night.

CP

Ya know,
With the crowd thats gonna be there in May. I think it would be a great time to do a little trading. I could plan on bringing all my slabs and maybe some rough too.
We could even do some wirewrapping......Anyways its just an idea.

Great idea Jim, bring a few trades along if ya'll want to.....

Today everyone should have received an email that has said they plan on coming or "maybe".

If you are wanting to attend but didn't get an email.....shoot us a message soon.

Here are the details for ease of viewing and plan setting.
Let us know if you have more questions.

CP

Details for the digs, lodging, and open dinner Saturday night of that weekend.........


The new pay to dig site has been treating everyone who visits well with a bit of color.
Bring your equipment out for a day or two.

Prices for the pay to dig site are........
Panning - $10.00/day
Sluicing - $15.00/day or $25.00/two days
Metal Detecting - $20.00/day or $35.00/two days
Highbanking - $30.00/day or $50.00/two days (2 people/unit)

At this time we do not have any equipment for rental/use......Please bring yours.

Lodging packages have been arranged by us at a discounted rate and we are passing that discount straight on to you all.
Meals are all you can eat and they do serve alcohol with dinner if you want......beer, wine, etc.

Prices for lodging with meals (2 per day) are for each person per day.
$100.00 per day each -adults
$75.00 per day each -kids 13-18
$50.00 per day each -kids 6-12
Kids under 6 free.
Lodging will include the 2 meals per day (breakfast and supper), private rooms in the main lodge and or private cabins (depending on group size), use of the saloon, main lodge which have music, tv etc.

Horse back riding is available at the ranch for additional fees for those interested. They have a beautiful ranch with awesome scenery.

Camping/RV spots are also available at the ranch......NO HOOK UPS THOUGH.
Spaces are $10.00 per night for camp spots only (prota potties will be available).......no meals etc at that price.
If you would like meals with a camp spot then you can do that.......for $50.00 per day each person you can have the 2 meal package and use of the lodge/saloon facilities with everyone else. That price will also include the camping spot if you choose to have the meals.

Saturday night of that weekend we will have an open dinner night for everyone, even if you aren't staying at the ranch.
Prices for the Saturday night dinner are $25.00 per head. We hope to have some fun with the entire group that evening and let everyone get aquainted with their new prospecting friends! Should be a blast!
For those that are staying at the ranch with meal packages......you obviously will not need to pay again for dinner Saturday night as you already will have. GRIN

Now if there is anything we have missed here that you have questions about, please feel free to contact us back again and we will be happy to answer them.

To make your reservations for the Memorial day weekend gathering we will need you to determine the following........
1) Dates you wish to attend the digs.
2) Which activities will your party be doing at the dig site.
3) Dates of the days and nights you would like to have lodging..... if applicable.
4) We will also need to know how many will be in your party during those dates. (both digs and or lodging) which ever applies.
5) Will you be attending the Saturday night open dinner and how many in party. (for those not staying at the ranch)

Once you have all the above information set on your end we can set up your reservations as needed.
Reservations are on a first come first serve basis so get yours in soon! Space is limited.

Your reservation will be your prepaid dig site fees which will also serve as your lodging reservation or open dinner reservations. Lodging and open dinner fees will not be charged to you until you reach the ranch. Again, we are only the group organizer for the lodging and meals.......They will handle all your fees concerning those at that time. Your dig site reservation secures your spot. We will let each of you know as you contact us with those details above as to what your reservation fee total will be based upon that. Once your dig activites are figured out, then we will give you the payment information through paypal or you can send us a money order/check by snail mail........ still plenty of time.

Internet access we will be checking on .......CP forgot to ask about wireless access etc....HA!

You ask about the internet at the ranch yet Dan?
Sure would be cool to be able to have some live cam footage
from the ranch in the evenings.

We can bring some material for trading in the evenings also. Great thing to do while sitting around socializing.
And if you dont want to hear us sing CP, they do have satelite radio........ But cant promise you I wont sing along.

Yea,
It would be cool to show how much fun people are missing.And new material is always fun.Singin........well Denise thats all yours. jim

All mine?.......Now that wouldnt be fair to Goldie now would it.

Ok everyone......time to get serious. Lets get those reservations made if you plan on coming for the memorial day adventure.
Deadline for reservations will be
3/31/08
The digs will closed to the general public that weekend so make sure you reserve!!

Oh Rats!! I forgot to ask about the inet again yesterday .......sigh
I'll get that info pinned down .....

Contact us with questions if needed....cya'll soon.

CP

Update for the crystal/gem digs......THEY ARE A GO!

To dig at the Dreamtime claim heres how it will work for the group.........You will pre pay for minerals. Cost is $100.00 for the day each. You will pick up your minerals at the Dreamtime claim 5/26/08.

What you are paying for is minerals, and you WILL TAKE SOME HOME!!
now......for those that prepaid for minerals......you will get to participate in tractor assited pit digs on a claim with a plan of ops in place. Not often does the public get a chance to participate in this type/scale of mining with tractor assistance.

In the event the hole is a dud (which does happen).......the claim owner will bring out flats of previously dug material and each paid digger will be able to shop their own pieces ($100 worth).
If we hit nice stuff on the hole, then those pieces may be purchased instead for those who wish and thier $100 is used towards the price for those pieces.
but no matter......each digger leaves with a nice load of material for the day!
GARAUNTEED!!
How cool is that?!

Deadline to sign up for the crystal digs will be 3/31/08 as well. Contact us soon to make reservations for the grand adventures!.

You do not need to participate in both types of digs if you do not wish too........if you want to do the gold prospecting only that is just fine.........Just want to do the crystals/gem prospecting......just as fine. Feel free to post questions if needed.

CP

dang sounds like fun,, Ima try n talk my loving wife into letting us come

That would be great Mick! Been way too long since we seen you.

Guess the lodge doesnt have internet service, so no live cam feed at night when were sitting around socializing.

ooooooo The Dreamtime? Im sooo there!!!
Not many opportunities to dig on a world class claim like this.
Thanks Quentin, you rock!

Hi All -

I am a friend of Evil Ernie's and we are both definitely planning on attending the Spring Fling.

I do have one question to help determine our lodging choice - are there showers available at the ranch?

I did not see any reference other than that there are no hookups (water, electric) but I have seen it where even if the campsites do not have direct facilities there are facilities located nearby.

Please let me know so I can start talking the wifey into going!!!

Thanks

Zack

Hi Zack and welcome to the CP forums and website.
Make yourself right at home around the site.

We are very glad to hear that.......and watch out when ya' dig with EE........the shovelin' gets crazy!
On the lodging packages......sorry but there are not showers available with camping spots that I know of.......However I will inquire to make sure.

The rooms/cabins do have showers in each room though if you do the lodging with meals.


Hopefully this info helps but always feel free to post more Q's if needed everyone.

CP

PS-Tell that EE character that he's way behind on his CP forum posts too!!

Yeah, we both work for the same company and it's been busy so I am not surprised about his low post count lately....

Thanks for the info about the camp sites. I have a portable shower so it's not a huge problem, just needed clarification.

Also, I saw these guidelines for the reservations:

"To make your reservations for the Memorial day weekend gathering we will need you to determine the following........
1) Dates you wish to attend the digs.
2) Which activities will your party be doing at the dig site.
3) Dates of the days and nights you would like to have lodging..... if applicable.
4) We will also need to know how many will be in your party during those dates. (both digs and or lodging) which ever applies.
5) Will you be attending the Saturday night open dinner and how many in party. (for those not staying at the ranch)"

but I did not see who is collecting the info exactly, most likely because it was in the "email" that was mentioned in the post... so if I can get that info it would be great.

Thanks for the warm welcome and I can't wait to go digging! (Avoiding EE's shovel of course...)

Hey Double D's There is a chance we might be able to make it this year. We will be traveling from Vegas to the Black Hills that week and we could go right thru there. We'll keep you posted.
When would be the lastest date for an RV reservation at the ranch?
Garry

Dan, you say there's no equipment to rent so I gotta bring my own. Would a Komatsu PC1250-8 be ok to bring?

HEHE Zack...... Just give EE plenty of swingin room and all will be good!

For the reservations/info email us here at Colorado@ColoradoProspector.com and we will get right back with ya'.

Gary, Great to hear you might make it.
We have set the deadline for the end of this month but contact me in email between now and then if you might need some extra time. We are just trying to keep an accurate count for reservations so we and the ranch know how large of group we will have.

Carl.... Well, ya' just never know, I may some day be digging this site with something larger, but not this weekend.

Who else is coming? There is still time to make your reservations.

1 week from today left to make your reservations if you haven't already.
Get yours in ASAP!

We will be confirming with everyone who's made reservations after the deadline.

Cya's soon........the big melt off has begun!

CP

Is the deadline here already?!

Well daggumit! I knew it, I just knew! Looks like I have to be up in Reno NV that weekend so I won't be able to make it again. Sorry guys.

Darn it Gary.......what a drag, you are gonna be missin' out.

Everyone who has made their reservations for the weekend was sent a confirmation email this morning. Please let us know if I've made any mistakes on your reservations.

For those of you who stated you wanted to attend the spring fling in the forum, in chat or in emails but haven't made reservations yet..............PLEASE CONTACT US ASAP TO DO SO!


Weather has been very good for the season so far.........YAAAAAAHOOOOOOO!!

CP

Gettin' closer to the countdown

I won't be able to make it this year. My schedule changed and I'm working weekend midnight shift...
I do want to try that spot tho, so Alex and I are gonna come up maybe a few days after Mem Weekend.

You're just a wuss puppie.

More nuggets for us!

We'll miss you and sing the songs of your praises and great deeds at our campfire...

Man that is a bummer EE......RATS!!
Sounds like Zack is gonna really feel bad for ya' too!

Sorry you ain't gonna make it but let us know when ya' can, we would love to have you guys visit the site.......and you will like it too.

Don't work too hard EE, Cya's soon.


For those of you who are coming.......we only got 8" of snow yesterday! But hopefully that will melt off......soon!

Getting short now.........ya'll ready to dig?

only 8 inches huh? old man winter left here a couple months ago.i got maters growing in the yard. it's gonna be really wierd going back into the cold after being in these balmy southern temps. i'm sure we can handle it though. we leave in less than a week now.i am so ready.this will be our first trip to the west so its all gonna be new to us.........we gonna have fun.

Taking a lunch break, so I thought I would give an update...........Great weather for digging, and fantastic people having a great time! Gold in every pan so far also.

Wow!!!
What an awesome turn out! Everyone was very cool and had a blast!

Every pan or clean out showed excellent gold and the crystal diggers were successful as well!

You can check out a few pics on the CP News and Events pages by following this link ColoradoProspector.com News and Events

Oh ok.......I'll put a link to 1 pic here


Now for the rest you have to view the News and Events pages

What a great time........4 highbankers running on 3 pumps, a trommel inbetween, and 2 sluices in the run off ditch from highbank demonstration area.

John dredged the creek saturday with his brand spankin new 3" but said the water was a tad bit chilly. So sunday he sluiced and stayed warmer.

Thanks to everyone who made it, it was a great weekend.
Surely there will be a few more pictures posted by those who attended.

Cya'll again soon!
CP

Well,, we went,, we did,,we had fun. Here is a pic of almost all of the group,,or who all was left on Monday morn. I added names so can kinda tell who is doing what in other pics. This pic is missing Susan,,my wife,, and another somebody,,,lol

Man what a great looking crew! Glad you had fun. Wish I could have made it.

Heavy Pans,

faaus

Here is my gold take for the weekend (Saturday and Sunday).........only worked about 8 hours all together.....could of worked longer and got more but there was rockhounding going on too so i went back and forth......most of the gold i got from a ant hill..... .....poor lil ants took there home away RIGHT Goldie .......hey maybe that's how my fire ant got it's name.....hummm

Here is the upper hole i dug.....this is the spot i started out digging

and here is the ant hill ..........me and step dad (Mike) dug a good sized hole.......i think we got them ants we dug down to the sand layer...i think that is where the gold stopped cuz the sample wasn't as good as the top.....i might of got better gold at the upper hole but carrying them buckets up and down would of wore me out......this ant hill was really easy cuz my hopper was right there so it was just a matter of shoveling into it.

Here ya go Bill..........here is a pic of the group.....mom took the pic....Susan took the ones that Bill posted so here is a pic with Susan included.

Here is two pics that mom took of a sunset from there campsite.....so beautiful

Here is the other one

Thanks for postin the pic Scott

Man what a fun time we had heres some pic,s i took