Today in the bradshaws


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Welp, went out today to a old area I found some gold in back in the 80s.

Took the minelab and the bug.....and my dad. :)

I hit the main creek and some tribs coming into it.

Man, that brush was sooooooo thick. I was either on my hands and knees crawling or holding the machine arms length above my head to get through. Nice thing though, I could just rest it on the bushes when I got tired! P.S. snake chaps are a good thing!

Finally got to my virgin trib...yup pure unadulteraded/undetected ground. Hit it hard but all I found was a lot of mining artifacts. Cant figure out why the heck they were way up there though. I know if there was gold there I should have found it because some of the really small stuff was 5 or 6 inches deep.

I dug everything....

Gave the 4runner a good work out. That dern thing is a mountain goat. NO FLAT TIRES THIS TRIP!!!!! :D

Did help a kid out that had a flat. Poor guy had called AAA to come get him. It would have been midnight by the time they found him. Schooled him on how to change a tire and you would have thought I taught him rocket science. Very appreciative.

Went to the old mine at the head of the creek.

Lots of interesting things. Lots of handstacked walls and truck parts. Really neat tailings. Lots of crystalized quartz/pyrite/copper. It was a old gold mine in the 30s

Got kind of toasty around 3 so we headed to Big Bug to play around.

Neither my dad or I could get the detectors to work very well due to hot rocks. Im not that schooled yet on the minelab and I couldnt get it to blank out the hot stuff. I tried with the bug and couldnt get it to settle down either.

Really tired and hot now.....so we headed back to the PHX furnace.

Hey! Look Bumble bee.....turned off and checked out a few spots I googled. Looks fantastic for a vacuum and crevise tool.

Got some great hits on bullet shrapnal in some fragmented schist.

Was blowing the cracks out but kind of made mud on my glasses.

Lordy its hot around there at 6:00.

Ok, I cant see out of my glasses anymore from the sweat and mud...lets go home. :)

All in all........ive got memories to last a lifetime.

No gold but had a lot of fun.

Tom

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Great story Tom, and super pics! Thanks for making me feel closer to home way up here in New York. I've haunted those areas in my dreams of late, and reading your story, and seeing the pictures really made me feel great! You did good for the kid with the flat, so Karma will bring gold to you - Terry

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Hi Tom...Nice pics! I like your story because they showed a lot junkies but some of them should be valued.

While detecting around the Bradshaws, anyone must be recommended to bring some snake chaps in case! There will be a lot rattlers during the summer.

Good posting! Thumb up! :)

MB

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That sounds great , Id go back and go over it again with all the trash in there, were there diggings around? probably real good finger benches in there. nice relics , those are fun too ;)

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Great story Tom, and super pics! Thanks for making me feel closer to home way up here in New York. I've haunted those areas in my dreams of late, and reading your story, and seeing the pictures really made me feel great! You did good for the kid with the flat, so Karma will bring gold to you - Terry

Glad I brought you back home:)

Im going to post pics of my trips....good or maybe not so good as far as gold goes.

Just having fun going out again and getting back in there.

Did it a lot in the 80s then life took over and......you know....BUT! im back at it:)

Tom

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Hi Tom...Nice pics! I like your story because they showed a lot junkies but some of them should be valued.

While detecting around the Bradshaws, anyone must be recommended to bring some snake chaps in case! There will be a lot rattlers during the summer.

Good posting! Thumb up! :)

MB

Didnt run into any leggless critters this trip, but I have in the past.

Snake chaps are great. Gives you some peace of mind and you can bust through the brush without too many scrapes. :)

The snakes seem to hang out in the sun in the morning and then hit the shade in the afternoon. Usually give you a nice rattle if you spook them. Most run and hide.

They dont really want you for dinner...too big of a bite. But, you got to respect them. Were in thier domain.

Tom

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The real treasure was that time out with Dad.

Glad you had fun and good on ya for helping a fellow traveler! :)

Yes sir. Im so glad to be back prospecing with pops.

Making lots of memories!

Well, at least the kid can change tire now on his own :)

Tom

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That sounds great , Id go back and go over it again with all the trash in there, were there diggings around? probably real good finger benches in there. nice relics , those are fun too ;)

Hey Border:

Its really trashy below the mine. Lots of tin.

There are some diggings from the 30s I would say.

They are all overgrown. Really thick now.

No new stuff. Its a pain to get too...but that is good.

Plan to take the drywasher up and run some dirt.

The main creek only has water for 2 months and I dont have a dredge now.

Tom

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Glad I brought you back home:)

Im going to post pics of my trips....good or maybe not so good as far as gold goes.

Just having fun going out again and getting back in there.

Did it a lot in the 80s then life took over and......you know....BUT! im back at it:)

Tom

Looking forward to them!

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Sweet, i like them trashy areas lots of work but lots of nugs too probably good chance of a multi weighter somewhere under that mine, hope you are sucessful ............Justin

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Sweet, i like them trashy areas lots of work but lots of nugs too probably good chance of a multi weighter somewhere under that mine, hope you are sucessful ............Justin

Hey Border:

Its just kind of a all round good spot for Prospecting.

Only has water 2 months of the year.

But, A drywasher would work good, and a small high banker also along with detectors.

I had to recirculate the dredge when I worked it before.

Will keep you all updated as time goes by on it.

Tom

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