What-cha Been Up-ta?

[Joe S (AK)]

We all know the misfortunes that have befallen our mining efforts over the last couple of years, but even so, our interests in mining pretty much continue, waiting for Stuff to resolve itself.

So what have you been up to lately? Retirements, new jobs, changes in the amount of free time you used to be able to devote to mining or maybe great wealth from your mining efforts? We all evolve in our activities as life goes on and I feel it might answer the old question we share "I wonder what happened to ....... ?"

As to me, I'm getting older now (77) and so it takes me longer to do what I used to do in much less time. I still have my claim in Alaska, just South of Denali Park, and while the Covid Hoax set me back in my travel plans a bit I still plan to be able to get back doing a little hand mining there starting this summer.

At this point I share my time between Idaho (a while back we sold out house in Indiana and so now it's Northern Idaho for the winters).
and Alaska, driving back and forth.

Just before we all were "Coviding" I started on an expansion to our small cabin in Trapper Creek and so I will be spending time on that project as well. Canada's "Boy King" sure did throw a monkey wrench in my travel plans for a while but with that all over now I plan to make at least a few more Spring/Summer/Fall trips back home to Alaska while I can.


So, How 'bout You? What'cha been up to? Great and wonderful things? More grand kids?

Joe
Counting the Days

[libertydave]

Hi Joe, Good hearing from you. Glad you are well and enjoying life. Me and Missus 'Liberty' are doing okay here in WA State and soon I will be turning 81. Summer plans are for some light duty mining adventures a hundred miles up along Blewitt Pass region on local creeks in that vicinity.

All in all life has been pretty good for us, certainly enjoyed recalling fond memories of DEF days dredging with friends decades back and I still enjoy some sluicing, metal detecting and trail hiking although my wife was getting concerned about me becoming lost and she gave me for Christmas a Personal Locating Beacon (PLB) with an SOS feature, that should I stray off the trails and get hopelessly lost. Never have before but who knows. All in all we both have some health issues but do what we can to enjoy life together and are blessed with good friends and six grand kids. Only one of the entire clan likes to follow me around and we do some prospecting together. He has enjoyed using my 'Gold Monster 1000' and we seem to find nice color on stream banks

And...how about the recent up-swing in gold prices. I've hung on to a some of the vintage placer recovered dredging long ago which has been stored in my bank box vault. Gone up a lot since those dredging days 20-30-40 years ago.

Anyway, passing along greeting to all that still read the Gold Dredger dot com website. Maybe a few others will post here and hope to hear about their summer 2024 plans.

Warm Regards, Liberty Dave

[Bonaro]

The last couple years have been fast paced with a lot of changes.

I got remarried 3 years ago, best decision I have ever made.

About the same time Washington passed rules that effectively banned motorized mining. My outfitted dredging trips and equipment sales went out of business overnight. Faced with a mountain of mining gear I could hardly use or sell, I was fortunate to find a buyer from the east coast. 9 complete dredges, 29 motors/pumps, hundreds of feet of hose and everything else you can imagine were paid for and loaded into a 16' box truck. The driver made a food stop in Federal Way and in 10 minutes time the entire truck was stolen, never to be recovered. Thanks Jay Inslee...

I retired in January and bought a excavator and dump trailer, started a new business. Retired life is crazy, I have never been busier, 30+ years of deferred projects no longer have any valid reason to sit idle.

I go to Montana next week for a fly fishing trip. Montana has imposed Hoot owl restrictions which mean I can't fish after 2pm. I'm planning on taking the pans and sluices, metal detector and also some screens for sapphires. After all, my afternoons will be open and I will need something to do