The massive 2013 theft, in which tens of millions worth of gems were stolen from the hold of a departing Swiss-bound plane, had all the hallmarks of an “Ocean’s Eleven” operation. And it still might still get a Hollywood ending.

Data mining involves processing huge amounts of digital information to find hidden patterns and financial relationships. To executives, the findings are like gold, but on the weekends, I prefer seeing the real thing in the bottom of my pan.

…let’s dive in and take a closer look at these rich gold and silver-bearing minerals to find out what they are, where they form, and how to identify them.

This second trip down was a challenge. It started in Colfax on the Stevens Trail, where the distance to the river is four miles with an elevation drop of about 1,000 feet.

Because waiting for spring seemed to be taking forever, my 15-year-old granddaughter Grace and I decided to pan for gold sooner. The thought was…even if we did not find any gold, we would set a new record for absurdity—gold panning in the coldest weather!