William-NM
New member
Darn, it - it sure is hard to keep up with documenting all this jun-- er, uh, treasure! I had a bit of a surprise - my Jackalope, whom I had been calling Jack, turned out to be a Jackie. She delivered a litter of six little 'lopes! They're pretty cute when they're little, but breaking them in is about as much fun as herding cats, something else I know a little about.
It's a great hobby that we all share, but not without it's dangerous moments. We've all been there - you get a nice big iron signal and figure you're about to dig your 13th horseshoe or perhaps another '34 Pontiac. when WHOOPS - back away from the hole... your number just came up, and not in a good way.
The safest thing to do is to toss a handful of dirt over it & call your gullible hunting buddy over. Just ask him to check the signal with his machine. Odds are, he'll retrieve the hazardous find at virtually no risk to yourself.
One day last week, the weatherman was predicting a 100 deg. day, but I felt like getting a few swings in. I hadn't been up around Pinos Altos for a year or so, and it's a semi-ghost about 6 miles N. of here, plus a few more miles to a campground area that I hadn't detected. Just as I got up there, some dark clouds rolled in and it rained like mad for 20 or 30 minutes, finishing up with a little hailstorm. (We have a lot of micro-climates around here!). I was just getting out of the car when 2 young FS guys pulled over and said "Hey, Man, you better get your car out of there real quick, it's coming a BEEG FLOOD!!". As the creek had no flow at all, I made a leisurely job of moving my car out onto the main road. I was detecting in the rocky stream bed a few minutes later (earbuds firmly in place) when I felt a rumble and looked up the creek to see a wall of black water and logs rushing at me. I nimbly hopped up and out of the way, impressed by the medium sized boulders and tree trunks. About this time, I realized that I may have made a small tactical error by placing myself across the flood from my vehicle. Oh, well, on with the hunt & sure enough, a few hours later, I was able to safely rock hop across it. By the time I got the camera out, the initial excitement had moved downhill, but here are a few shots of the flood and area.
I didn't find a lot up there, though I did dig an older military button from the Civil War or Indian Wars era (pic further down). I also found an old iron survey marker (broken in half - which I photographed and put back, of course). I also started finding pottery shards and glass, but the targets were scarce, aside from the usual iron hunting and mining relics. (This is the general area of the first gold strike in the area). I hit the tent sites and scraped up some tips that the campers had left for the housekeepers. I'll hit the area again, as there's a lot of ground to cover and I feel sure that there are some better finds to be had, and it's a nice spot to hang out in, even if I only get a few square nails. The stone walls are the old privy site.
The monsoons arrived right on time with the month of July, so we get frequent, but brief, afternoon showers. You can find me looking soggy, wearing a bovine expression on my face, but swinging along and appreciating the lack of dust and ash. It's a good time to hit the dreaded cliffs of broken glass, ash, and trash. Sometimes, 'ya make a nice eyeball find of a marble or three, along with the ground up bottles, jewelry and other nice trash. I pulled a nice fat silver thunderbird ring out of it recently, and a number of the older bottles, dog tag, chauffer's license, etc.
Bottles;
Pic 1 - #1 "Omega Oil - It's Green",
Pic 2 - #1 "Orange Crush - Pat'd July 2, 1920" #2 "Murine Eye Remedy Co.", #3 "Campana's Italian Balm" #4 "Dr. Price's Delicious Flavoring Extracts", #5 "Evangeline Pepper Sauce, Made in St. Martinville, LA USA", #6 "Gebhardt Gold Eagle Chili Powder"
Pic 4 - #1 "The F.W. Fitch Co." (hair tonic)
Sometimes, those ugly coins get in the way of more important targets like rusty cans, so I dig 'em. Here's a 1941 English 3 Pence (hey, it could be worse, could be a tuppence!). The 1919 Merc was on the path where it could have bit me about a hundred times.
A silver dollar-size Boy Scout 'Good Deed' token (brass) also turned up. A nice addition to my scouting finds .
It says "On My Honor I Will Do My Best - Be Prepared" / "Secretly transfer me to your right pocket each day when your good deed has been done."
The world could do with a bit more of that kind of thinking!
Here's a higher- value Timkin Rock Bits fob that I found at the same site:
I finally found one of the bank vaults said to have been lost and never retrieved during the big flood...
I put a call into Geraldo, but I guess he was getting his hair done. As it turned out, I didn't need a key, especially since there was nothing but gravel in it. I don't think much of the William J. Burns International Detective Agency, either, if they let their clients' treasure be carried off by the creek!
I've been out a few times with the primary goal of getting used to digging targets with my scoop and trying out the wetsuit boots. I haven't dug too many keepers, yet, but I'm getting better at scooping those stay-put(!) and beavertails up.
I did hit some NITRO the other day, though... (also shows the Thunderbird ring on my fat little pinkie)
Too bad, looks like it was silver plated on copper. The stones must be CZ, not a hint of wear on them and they sparkle like the sun. <sigh>
John found a fishing lure, so I had to find one, too.
No idea what it's doing in our little 3" deep creek, heh. Speaking of John, here's what must have been his first attempt at a coin ring - it's a 2004 quarter, center cut out and edge pounded down. I just don't know why he'd drop it in one of our little parks...
Though I haven't been getting out as much as usual (upper 90s, ick!), I have sneaked up to the thriving metropolis of Fierro a couple of times. It's always very hit-or-miss up there - not that much activity compared to more populated areas - but I like clomping around the hills and occasionally find a nice relic or coin. These aren't in that category, but there you are.
The button is the one I found in Pinos Altos. The little round lead bullet, sword tip (?- thought I had an iron arrowhead for a minute when I found it), what used to be a horse bridle rosette (??), and the little mold (bullet?) were found next to the outhouse for the jail.
Oh, I did find a religious medallion at the end of a long, hot day of meager finds... The eagle was at a local park - it used to have a loop on it.
Hey, Tig - Wanna take a hike with me??? That's what I thought...
Heres' the dog tag, chauffeur's badge, and a key fob that I'm still trying to claim the reward for
..... also, a couple of thimbles - one says "Hoover - Home - Happiness" , the other "American Home Life, Denver" I don't know if the Hoover in question was the politician or the vacuum cleaner, probably the latter.
Here's some headstamps, a few drops (small one is a Western Luger), hard to see compass, cartridge clips, lead bale seals...and the second photo of a couple of tie clips, as if!!
While exploring an old homesite in the jungle
, I happened upon this collection of slabbed green rocks (this is a small fraction, but hauling more than 20# of friggin rocks on the hike out (only a half mile, but ...) when it's well up in the 90's just wasn't on the menu. Some look like they could be jasper and I haven't ID'd the others. Serpentine? Olivenite? At first, I thought they might be from a building facade, but they're all different thicknesses and shapes - that implies that they were intended for cutting and polishing. I also found the one small cabochon which is polished. ????
And, once again, let's have a moment of silence for the brave timkeepers who gave their lives in service to the pioneers....
The one in the second photo is from a Charles Lindberg 'Spirit of St. Louis' commemorative. It says "New York to Paris" and the back and front have airplane images and city images. It had a plastic 'crystal'.
3 more rings, 2 junkers and a little Silver claddaugh, found in the park. Oh, yeah - the Duck. I found this little porcelain figurine, but the cart pusher was headless. Fortunately, I had an appropriately sized duck head, gorilla glue, and a dremel tool, heh.
And, the rest:
(a bit of silver scrap in the last photo and a little brass gnome or dwarf - Christmas pin I guess. Oh, and I was packing up in the rain from my last hunt up near Fierro, and my AT Gold which was leaning on the car, fell over (into the sand!) and when I picked it up, it's little head was dangling. So, I'm giving the AT Pro some well deserved attention for a week or 2 while the Gold vacations in Texas.
Best of Luck in the Hunt to ALL!!!
It's a great hobby that we all share, but not without it's dangerous moments. We've all been there - you get a nice big iron signal and figure you're about to dig your 13th horseshoe or perhaps another '34 Pontiac. when WHOOPS - back away from the hole... your number just came up, and not in a good way.
The safest thing to do is to toss a handful of dirt over it & call your gullible hunting buddy over. Just ask him to check the signal with his machine. Odds are, he'll retrieve the hazardous find at virtually no risk to yourself.
One day last week, the weatherman was predicting a 100 deg. day, but I felt like getting a few swings in. I hadn't been up around Pinos Altos for a year or so, and it's a semi-ghost about 6 miles N. of here, plus a few more miles to a campground area that I hadn't detected. Just as I got up there, some dark clouds rolled in and it rained like mad for 20 or 30 minutes, finishing up with a little hailstorm. (We have a lot of micro-climates around here!). I was just getting out of the car when 2 young FS guys pulled over and said "Hey, Man, you better get your car out of there real quick, it's coming a BEEG FLOOD!!". As the creek had no flow at all, I made a leisurely job of moving my car out onto the main road. I was detecting in the rocky stream bed a few minutes later (earbuds firmly in place) when I felt a rumble and looked up the creek to see a wall of black water and logs rushing at me. I nimbly hopped up and out of the way, impressed by the medium sized boulders and tree trunks. About this time, I realized that I may have made a small tactical error by placing myself across the flood from my vehicle. Oh, well, on with the hunt & sure enough, a few hours later, I was able to safely rock hop across it. By the time I got the camera out, the initial excitement had moved downhill, but here are a few shots of the flood and area.
I didn't find a lot up there, though I did dig an older military button from the Civil War or Indian Wars era (pic further down). I also found an old iron survey marker (broken in half - which I photographed and put back, of course). I also started finding pottery shards and glass, but the targets were scarce, aside from the usual iron hunting and mining relics. (This is the general area of the first gold strike in the area). I hit the tent sites and scraped up some tips that the campers had left for the housekeepers. I'll hit the area again, as there's a lot of ground to cover and I feel sure that there are some better finds to be had, and it's a nice spot to hang out in, even if I only get a few square nails. The stone walls are the old privy site.
The monsoons arrived right on time with the month of July, so we get frequent, but brief, afternoon showers. You can find me looking soggy, wearing a bovine expression on my face, but swinging along and appreciating the lack of dust and ash. It's a good time to hit the dreaded cliffs of broken glass, ash, and trash. Sometimes, 'ya make a nice eyeball find of a marble or three, along with the ground up bottles, jewelry and other nice trash. I pulled a nice fat silver thunderbird ring out of it recently, and a number of the older bottles, dog tag, chauffer's license, etc.
Bottles;
Pic 1 - #1 "Omega Oil - It's Green",
Pic 2 - #1 "Orange Crush - Pat'd July 2, 1920" #2 "Murine Eye Remedy Co.", #3 "Campana's Italian Balm" #4 "Dr. Price's Delicious Flavoring Extracts", #5 "Evangeline Pepper Sauce, Made in St. Martinville, LA USA", #6 "Gebhardt Gold Eagle Chili Powder"
Pic 4 - #1 "The F.W. Fitch Co." (hair tonic)
Sometimes, those ugly coins get in the way of more important targets like rusty cans, so I dig 'em. Here's a 1941 English 3 Pence (hey, it could be worse, could be a tuppence!). The 1919 Merc was on the path where it could have bit me about a hundred times.
A silver dollar-size Boy Scout 'Good Deed' token (brass) also turned up. A nice addition to my scouting finds .
It says "On My Honor I Will Do My Best - Be Prepared" / "Secretly transfer me to your right pocket each day when your good deed has been done."
The world could do with a bit more of that kind of thinking!
Here's a higher- value Timkin Rock Bits fob that I found at the same site:
I finally found one of the bank vaults said to have been lost and never retrieved during the big flood...
I put a call into Geraldo, but I guess he was getting his hair done. As it turned out, I didn't need a key, especially since there was nothing but gravel in it. I don't think much of the William J. Burns International Detective Agency, either, if they let their clients' treasure be carried off by the creek!
I've been out a few times with the primary goal of getting used to digging targets with my scoop and trying out the wetsuit boots. I haven't dug too many keepers, yet, but I'm getting better at scooping those stay-put(!) and beavertails up.
I did hit some NITRO the other day, though... (also shows the Thunderbird ring on my fat little pinkie)
Too bad, looks like it was silver plated on copper. The stones must be CZ, not a hint of wear on them and they sparkle like the sun. <sigh>
John found a fishing lure, so I had to find one, too.
No idea what it's doing in our little 3" deep creek, heh. Speaking of John, here's what must have been his first attempt at a coin ring - it's a 2004 quarter, center cut out and edge pounded down. I just don't know why he'd drop it in one of our little parks...
Though I haven't been getting out as much as usual (upper 90s, ick!), I have sneaked up to the thriving metropolis of Fierro a couple of times. It's always very hit-or-miss up there - not that much activity compared to more populated areas - but I like clomping around the hills and occasionally find a nice relic or coin. These aren't in that category, but there you are.
The button is the one I found in Pinos Altos. The little round lead bullet, sword tip (?- thought I had an iron arrowhead for a minute when I found it), what used to be a horse bridle rosette (??), and the little mold (bullet?) were found next to the outhouse for the jail.
Oh, I did find a religious medallion at the end of a long, hot day of meager finds... The eagle was at a local park - it used to have a loop on it.
Hey, Tig - Wanna take a hike with me??? That's what I thought...
Heres' the dog tag, chauffeur's badge, and a key fob that I'm still trying to claim the reward for
..... also, a couple of thimbles - one says "Hoover - Home - Happiness" , the other "American Home Life, Denver" I don't know if the Hoover in question was the politician or the vacuum cleaner, probably the latter.
Here's some headstamps, a few drops (small one is a Western Luger), hard to see compass, cartridge clips, lead bale seals...and the second photo of a couple of tie clips, as if!!
While exploring an old homesite in the jungle
, I happened upon this collection of slabbed green rocks (this is a small fraction, but hauling more than 20# of friggin rocks on the hike out (only a half mile, but ...) when it's well up in the 90's just wasn't on the menu. Some look like they could be jasper and I haven't ID'd the others. Serpentine? Olivenite? At first, I thought they might be from a building facade, but they're all different thicknesses and shapes - that implies that they were intended for cutting and polishing. I also found the one small cabochon which is polished. ????
And, once again, let's have a moment of silence for the brave timkeepers who gave their lives in service to the pioneers....
The one in the second photo is from a Charles Lindberg 'Spirit of St. Louis' commemorative. It says "New York to Paris" and the back and front have airplane images and city images. It had a plastic 'crystal'.
3 more rings, 2 junkers and a little Silver claddaugh, found in the park. Oh, yeah - the Duck. I found this little porcelain figurine, but the cart pusher was headless. Fortunately, I had an appropriately sized duck head, gorilla glue, and a dremel tool, heh.
And, the rest:
(a bit of silver scrap in the last photo and a little brass gnome or dwarf - Christmas pin I guess. Oh, and I was packing up in the rain from my last hunt up near Fierro, and my AT Gold which was leaning on the car, fell over (into the sand!) and when I picked it up, it's little head was dangling. So, I'm giving the AT Pro some well deserved attention for a week or 2 while the Gold vacations in Texas.
Best of Luck in the Hunt to ALL!!!
HH jim tn