Prospecting

April 13, 2015
Gold Panning at Merced River, Mariposa County

Since Chris retired, we’ve been embarking on fun adventures every couple of weeks. In the first week, we went to Yosemite to view the blooming dogwoods. This week, we drove to the Merced River to pan for gold.

Living in a drought-ridden county and state, water is a constant concern for me. However, that worry momentarily faded as I listened to the river’s joyous roar of spring. I felt an overwhelming gratitude for the abundance of water before us.

Chris settled near the river’s edge, where drought-tolerant California poppies flourished between the rocks.

Upstream, a swarm of vibrant, delicate butterflies flitted from flower to flower and crawled on the ground, adding a touch of enchantment to the scene.

Chris started digging, and I set to work with the Nugget Bucket. With a scoop of dirt, we began the process. It wasn’t long before my shoes were off and my feet were in the cold water, toes curling in the sand.

He poured buckets of water over the rocks, funneling sand (and hopefully gold) into the concentration bowl below.

Cleared of debris, the upper and lower screens captured larger rocks (and hopefully nuggets).

We panned the dirt collected in the concentration bowl beneath the screens, hoping for pay dirt. “Look at this, is this gold?” Flecks of fool’s gold swirled like glitter in the pan.

Panning the dirt took a long time, but as we became more familiar with the process, it started to go much faster. Alas, there was no pay in the dirt, but we never really expected to strike it rich.

Anticipating

Pay dirt?

Our true goal was to enjoy the experience of prospecting together, and in that, we absolutely succeeded.