On my weekends off I spent many hours dredging the Second Broad River from Cane Creek Road up to the headwaters. I used a three-inch dredge with air and graduated to a five-inch with air.

There are clubs with claims in the area and there’s a section of the river open to the public, but the rest of the area is claimed up so do your research first.

I have a bunch of ideas about what to do in the near term and then other thoughts about what things might look like a few months from now when I hope the situation will look a lot better.

This was “pocket” country. All around were “pockets” that had been hand dug by old and new miners.

This wash was not far from where I once dug a half-ounce nugget, so I knew there was gold in the area.

He began hiking my way and was as astonished as I was when he saw it. Another high five moment! It makes you wonder how long this gold had just been sitting there on the ground.