there’s gold in them hills!

SoCalSteemit had a meetup to pan for gold. @derekrichardson plans fun events for southern Cali steemians. From meeting up for BBQs, pizza parties, to sports events and concerts. When he posted an outing to go spend a day out in nature and pan for gold, I was curious. Gold? In Los Angeles? Yup, yup, yup. We went prospecting in ole timey style like granddaddy may have long ago. D opened a fascinating world where people have a hobby of mining. Picks, axes, pans, sluice box.

We first met for breakfast. Our gold panning site was only twenty minutes away in the San Bernardino mountains but this would be our last bit of time to connect with steemians before entering the no cell phone zone: NATURE. For those that couldn’t make the early morning meetup, a picnic was scheduled for the afternoon at The Oaks; last bits of communication and arrangements were made as we enjoyed breakfast burritos and Gold Education 101. 🤓

The drive was stunning. Here, you can see how our recent rare rainy season has literally embraced the trees.

Hanging out with fellow steemians, I learned more about the steemit universe, it’s economy, and it’s drama. Talking about wallets, blockchain, and geeky stuff almost distracted me from the gorgeous drive. We soon arrived to East Forks. It was cool, slightly overcast and the park was teeming with visitors. I hung out with the mining gear while cars were parked and took photos.

We hiked only a couple of minutes from the parking lot. It was an easy and manageable walk. @derekrichardson did well in planning an event that your grandma could’ve managed. And though the park had lots of visitors mostly heading to The Bridge to Nowhere, only one group of people came by us in the four hours we were panning by the river. That group had a GRANDMA, two young women, a small inquisitive boy, and a baby girl. They visited with us and ooohed and aahed at our set up.

It was a very physical day, playing in the dirt, moving rocks around with hopes that something brilliant would wink at us through a magnifying glass as we stood in a refreshing stream of water. I caught exciting flashes of gold between splashes. Yes, there is gold in them hills after all.

It motivated us to continue digging.

Sifting rocks.

Hoping this bit of earth held treasure.

The sluice box was faster than panning. Sometimes, I panned, swirling water, and separating the pebbles and dirt, and then swirling again and again, reducing the dark earth til we saw a wink of gold. It was a workout that tested my patience. I leaned toward using the sluice box (faster) plus I enjoyed being in the water.

Listen to that water!

Even though I did a lot of squats and lifting in the great outdoors and feel like I’m recovering from “leg day.” I would definitely check out prospecting for gold again. It was a gorgeous day out in nature and I made a couple of new friends @brian.rrr and @csusbgeochem1.

We definitely found gold in them hills and part of the treasure I left with are the real people who are steeming along and are now my friends. The steemit universe is huge and intimidating to me but making friends along the way makes it feel like I’m part of a neighborhood. Each upvote is a special howdy that makes me feel grateful and blessed to have met such kind and creative forward thinking people IRL. We have a group shot that I will share soon. If you have an opportunity to check out a meetup with fellow steemians, go! Meet the fellow citizens of this blockchain world we are a part of.

You just might find gold.

JNET