http://writingplaces.com/imagegalleries/bof/bofgalleriesindex.html

for a series of photos of Bents’ Old Fort.

Where are the flashlights? Not where they usually are. Oh, damn. I remember that I used them all on the camping trip last week. They are in the RV way out back… in the very dark. Okay. I know I have candles, yep. there’s one on the piano. I’ve got my hands on it. Now the matches are in the kitchen closet. It’s here… I’m a Helen Keller now, feeling my way to the shelves, around the bread machine, over the blender. Yea! Finally the big box of kitchen matches are in my hand that is not holding the candle. Found the dining room table. Strike that match on the side of the box, a lovely spark, then the flame. Lighting the wicks, a tiny area lights up, but enough so that I can hold the glass container and move around the room, finding other candles, lighting them. I’ve got light.

Over to the window, I still see no other lights in any of the nearby houses. The lights are still out over the entire town, but now a full moon is making its way over the black mountain tops casting white shadows over the lawn, deck and outside furniture. The cushions are turning into weird patterns. Are they moving? Come on. Who knew that there were white shadows. Okay, maybe grey, but it’s definitely lighting up my RV, some of the big boulders, pine tree branches. Oh…

You know… I’m getting a little scared. There’s not a soul around, and there’s no sound. Well, I’m guessing it is after midnight. I can’t even hear my little dog, Luc, but get the sense of movement as he follows me around. Or… gosh, I hope it’s Luc. I’m very scared now. Imagination on overtime. My dusk to dawn soft up-lights are gone. It’s dark. I’m waiting for the lights to come back on. It’s dark. Now my little Luc jumps onto my lap as though he knows I need a warm body, no matter how small.

Waiting as the candles burn down and get dimmer. Okay, I’m going to bed. This is silly. If the lights come back on, I certainly don’t want all the lights on all night long. Let me guess… I think the back porch light was on, is the switch up or down for off? I do switch off the lamp by my chair. Funny, switch off when there is no light on. I wander through the house trying to figure what was on, turning it off.

Up the dark stairscase and one more look outside. Boy, what a perfect take over for some evil genius. Seriously, fighting my beating heart. Talking to myself now. Finding my nightgown hanging in the closet, pulling back the covers and climbing into bed. The stars are really bright in my skylight. I gather what comfort I can from their beauty and slowly slip into sleep.

Bright lights blasting, the ceiling fan is going full blast. I’m up. Yep, all the lights are back on, stairway lights, the TV is droning on again as I go downstairs to turn everything off and back into my bed, snuggling in.

All is well again and I… have had a wonderful adventure in the dark.
Posted by dawnandluc at 6:28 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
End of the Day
A wall of windows peak toward the southern skies in my house. Although I tend not to even notice the view, it’s always there waiting for me. Out of the corner of my eye, a movement catches my attention, and the very frenetic hummingbirds, dip and whirl around each other vying for position on the many feeders.

Tonight, I just happened to glance up and in the twilight, an unbelievable color bathed everything as though you were looking through rose colored glasses. Intensifying the greens of the pines, the ochre and umber of the rock, and most of all the incredible blue of the sky. The clouds slowly turn from light orange, to amber, to pink, and then finally a perfect raspberry rose. It reaches into the deepest joy of my soul and adds a dimension of calm and happiness.

Isn’t it true in life, we sort of get caught up in our own mind and really the beauty that goes on all around is just not seen.
Posted by dawnandluc at 7:52 PM 0 comments
Crispness of early morning.
My sister in Northern California stays up late and gets up late. For me, I’m light sensitive and awake when the sun comes up. Makes it really hard to call her in the morning for I’m in Colorado and one hour later. From 6 am until 9:30-10 am, I’m watching the clock tick slowly around. I’m afraid I’ll get busy and forget to call her and sometimes I do. Then when I can’t wait any longer, I’ll call only to find, yes once again, I woke her up. She’s grumpy when she first gets up. Damn! Oh, well.

I’m happy when I get up, my little long-haired Chihuahua, Luc’s tail is wagging, and he’s smiling too. Sometimes, if I don’t just jump out of bed, he’ll come up and give me a quick, dry lick. Always makes me smile. We have our routine. Potty first for both of us, make the bed, open the drapes and windows, get dressed (me not Luc,) down the stairs, dish out Luc’s dry food with a little hot water to make it softer, espresso machine engaged. Then with coffee in hand I’ll read for a while by the bay window or turn on the computer to see my Twitter world, check my E-mail and Facebook. Sometimes I’ll turn on the TV for the news. Then out to water my plants, tiny green lawn and let Luc do his sniffing, and other necessities. I’d say poop, but one of my friends tells me I’m obsessed with that word. My favorite swear word is, sh#%! Maybe I’ll use the word, Ka Ka. Ha.

Here in this narrow valley surrounded by mountains at 8,500 feet, the sun rises in the West. I mean I watch the sun catch the top of the mountain to the west first then slowly light up the mountain downward. The sun doesn’t hit my south-facing deck until after 10 am. The early morning air is crisp and wet, sometimes just plain cold. It smells green to me in the morning. In the afternoon heat, the wonderful smells of pines fills the air as the sap rises in the huge trees around my house.

When I first moved to this small town, I was walking around the lake, tears dripping down my checks, despondent about moving from my horse farm in Oregon and my life there, thinking what a bad mistake I’d made by moving here. Thunder started over the mountain and a few huge drops joined the ones on my cheeks. Turning to get back to the house, I looked up to see a light show in progress. The setting sun has turned the tops of the mountain a golden rose color under the dark gray storm clouds. Thunder was roaring and lightning was flashing in a wild and furious dance on the mountain top that I’d never seen before. Then I knew why I was here. My soul has always lived here in the mountains around Georgetown, Colorado. I’d just come back to reclaim it.

Only one of my friends is an early riser like me but she has to go to work early. So I’m into enjoying myself and my dog for hours before anyone else gets up. Now I’m really excited because I have this blog and can talk to you. Thanks for being there for me.

Posted by dawnandluc at 6:51 AM 0 comments

We are so lucky to live in the day and age where information is right at your finger tips. A lot of research can be done right online as most of you know. The public library is also a great source of information. I look back at the old newspaper articles for information of finds back in the day. Many of the large mines would also publish stories of how well their mines were doing often in an attempt to lure investors. If you want to know about a specific spot you can go to the Bureau of Land Management and get information as well as many of the government agencies who all have records of the mines and how much and what they took out of the ground.

Local museums also can be a good source of information. They often have old journals and maps which can be useful in locating a good spot. The smaller museums often have ties to many of the locals who also can be a great source of information. I have found several good spots that have gone on untouched by most prospectors just by getting to know some of the locals in the areas. The old timers usually are native to an area, and families go back generations and can often give account of the activities in the past. More importantly, a lot of these folks own many of the old claims and with a bit of sweet talk you can gain access to the old claims which have gone untouched for a very long time. As most of you know, the old timers didn’t get all of the gold and often lost a good portion out of their boxes back into the streams and creeks. Getting onto an old claim can often yield great gold especially if you can find evidence of their old sluice box and dumps. A book I highly recommend is called “The Mining Camps Speak.” By Beth and Bill Sagstetter. The book is an valuable source of information on what you are looking at and for. Often times what most consider trash in these areas are clues as to what actually went on in a given location.

The last thing I would like to talk about today is getting up in the hills in the winter and doing some prospecting. I tend to go out and look at the creeks and rivers as they are freezing to help me decide where I need to dredge in the springs. During the summer months it is hard to tell where the river channel and the truly lies. It is easy to assume that it runs down the middle but this is rarely the case. If you go look at a creek as it is freezing during the winter months you can often see how the channel moves back and forth by where the water is still slowing and has yet to freeze. By taking photos and notes and drawing a simple map, it becomes easy to see where the flow changes directions. These spots where the flows change directions and slows are often a good indicator where to look for gold deposits that are usually not seen during the summer months as they are under a few feet of water. In the spring I take the photos and maps i have made in the winter, look for the spots where the creek cut back and fourth and did not freeze and dig those banks and bars where it slows or turns away. People often ask why I am dredging in a given spot in the creek. I did my research over the off season and know likely that these invisible bars can often yield good gold.

I am not saying that I am always right but I do know what I find and these things do work for me. The only sure way to find of is to get out and dig, after all gold is where you find it.