[GDM/PV]

Have you ever had a day when all you get while swing’n is one Obnoxious signal after another from trash targets?? Well, I had one of those today, and the relatively-same Obnoxious signal was given off by each target. I was using my Coiltek 17” Walloby in a wash and couldn’t take a step without multiple targets screaming this nauseating sound in my ears. It was mainly from 22 shell casings that were buried under the sandy sediment. Apparently somebody(s) in the distant past had done a straiffing-run (from the creek bottom) on the immediate hillsides and left all the shell casings lying in the wash. I found very little lead shrapnel nor bullets, but the shell casings (as well as rusted-tin and wire-fragments)-where liberally-strewn for about a half mile in the wash bottom. I started out digging every target in an attempt at alleviating the trash in hopes of getting a good signal, but after about an hour of nothing but trash, my eyes started to twitch, I was getting nervous and jerky, and frustration definitely set-in. I had also brought my little Coiltek Joey in my backpack as a backup, and decided to change coils. After taking a break, eating a sandwich, and regaining my “sanity”(---somewhat) I worked my way down stream to an exposed bedrock section, where I figured…“maybe”. there would be less trash.
“Well”, even with the little Joey I was getting the same Obnoxious signals from the cracks in the bedrock, and was finding the same 22 casings that I had found just a little up stream. I had uncovered 2-3 of them and was about ready to give-it-up. The bedrock cracks were running horizontal-to the downward stream-flow, so most of the cracks were full of sand and small rocks. I swung my coil over another upstream crack and got that same “Obnoxious-signal” that I had been getting all morning. I almost walked away, but for some reason decided to go ahead and dig it. I used my angled-screwdriver and sliced-thru the horizontal crack to loosen-up the material. In-so-doing I lost my balance and sorta-fell-back on my haunches. When I regained my equilibrium and looked up at the crack, I couldn’t believe my eyes, and actually had to do a double-take to reconfirm what I thought I was seeing. There, lying half out of the sand was this “little-finger-size”-nugget just-a-shinning in the sunlight. After getting a “good-taste-of-it”, and putting it into my “lucky-vile” I put it back onto the exposed bedrock and swung my coil over it to see what it would sound like, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t have the exact-same sound as I was hearing all morning from those 22 shell casings !!!!
SOooooo, It definitely pays to dig-every-target (especially on exposed bedrock) “WHEREVER POSSIBLE”, and Tuff-it-thru-the-racket and Obnoxious signals from trash, because you never know when one of those nauseating-eye-crosser’s will actually be what you’re looking for. Good Luck,..
Now where’s my Excedrin bottle and a Corona ?....Oh, the nugget weighed in at 2.5 grams…..Gary

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[Montana]

Gary. Now they are getting bigger. You are well on your way.----Bob

[Chris Gholson]

Hi Gary,

You are really on a roll - well done! Another nice nugget to ad to your collection; and this one a bit chunkier. Your persistance in the rubbish is paying off, keep us posted and good continued luck!

[GDM/PV]

Hello Bob and Chris;

Well Bob, you where right,....they are starting to get a-bit-bigger,...and even the little ones are starting to come more frequently now that I am starting to get the hang of this "squawking-stick".

And Chris,....as for the trash goes, ....I have "usually" in the past avoided any-such-area(s) at all costs figuring that the retention-of-a-certain-degree-of-my-Sanity was worth more. But after finding the nuggets-of-late, I obviously made some consessions and thru a minschual amount of sanity to the wind.

I went back out this morning and after 4-hours of digging trash only found one (1976) dime,......so I actually had a ten-cent day............But there's Less Trash there now!!!! Gary

[Chris Gholson]

Hi Gary,

We probably crossed paths today and didn't realize it. Did you happen to see a guy on a quad with two gorgeous blondes coming down the road towards Potato Patch???

Well, that wasn't me, but I did pass through there around noon on my Polaris Maybe I'll see you around one of these days. Keep those nuggets coming in!

[GDM/PV]

Hay Chris,.....The only "thing" (? * @) that I saw on Sunday that even closely resembled a female (again ???) was an old woman screaming at me that I was on private property when I walked up part of the wash,......to-whit I responded "This is Forest Service Land you twit" (well, not exactly in those exact words).....some people think they own the creek.

Nope, didn't see the quad nor you,..but if you would have had a couple of good looking blonds on board with you, I would have definitely payed attention and would have had to get a picture of that three-some,........some distractions are worth the "Distraction" ! !
Sure wish It would rain HARD here, kind of like over there in Texas so these washes would run hard and high and wash more of the overburden out of the way and expose more of the Gold,..............Hay, it's Arizona,...so much for wishful thiking...............Gary

[Montana]

Gary. Houston got more rain in one night than we get in a year. I can just imagine what would happen if we got 12 inches in one shot. The gold would be everywhere. Oh well , right now 1/2 inch would be welcome. The just announced total forest closure for Coconino nat. Forest by friday . We might be right behind here in PNF.---Bob

[GDM/PV]

Howdy Bob;
Yep, our forests are as dry as kindling and it wouldn't take much to set them off,........that Sedona fire still isn't under control, and I know of quite a few "expensive" houses that are tucked way back there in that area that are sure to be burn't to the ground. It may sound morbid (or fatilistic, maybe) but I'm sure glad that my house isn't tucked deep into the forested areas like so-many are in the Prescott / Thumb butte areas. Hopefullly we will get alot more-extensive rain this year during the monsoon season than we got last year. Being born and raised in the Prescott area and growing up as a kid delivering newspapers in the morning and in the evening, I can remember having much more "real-rain-storms", and much colder and snowier winters than we have now,..everything was greener then, and definitly not so dry.......the climate-change has been really tramatic......Oh well, ya deal-with-what ya have to deal with..........Gary

[Montana]

Gary. I spent a few of my teen years in Central Az. The bradshaws always had a covering of snow throughout the winter and Flagstaff was often buried under several feet of snow. Now they can't even open the ski resorts anymore. You could always depend on a rainstorm in the afternoon in Flagstaff during the summer months. Now it is real iffy. They call it a drought , but I would bet that it is a permanent situation . A few years ago I thought the global warming thing was a fantasy but with glaciers disappearing around the globe and massive melting of the ice at both poles, I have become a beleiver. Just another reason to get off our dependancy on fossil fuels besides the cost . Our forests here in Az. are disappearing much faster than new trees can replenish them with no water to get them going. As the trees burn , they will be replaced with weedy scrub brush that is drought resistant. With hundreds of thousands of acres burned in the last few years , a huge dent has been made in our forests and it will become harder to find a secluded campsite surrounded by lush forest like we have been used to. It's sad to see it going so fast. ----Bob