The early pioneers on the Oregon Trail were hearty souls indeed, but they took flatter safer trails than our one afternoon dare devil ride. Christa suited up in her back brace and we went off road 4-wheel driving along some narrow dirt paths with the Toad (Jeep). At a lookout mountain peak we got a glimpse of an Oregon Trail section. Look carefully above at the snapshot for the third path furthest right and you’ll see what few if any travelers discover today.
What fun we have had during our rendez-vous with JR’s brother Dennis and his friends at the Lost Dutchman Mining Association/ Blue Bucket Camp. Christa wasn’t allowed to ride the quad, but JR enjoyed roaming around on one. Gold mining and panning has been a hoot. The fellows have entertained us with fine meals, gold mining processing, and lots of prospector lore. Experimenting with our Nikon digital camera and birding have become new hobbies. The upcoming days find us on the scenic byways of Oregon at Hell’s Canyon (the deepest gorge in North America) and the Wallowa Mts. known as Oregon’s Swiss Alps before arriving to Glacier National Park in Montana June 
Stake a claim
Pick axe area to loosed rock to the bedrock
Shovel material over a classifier grate to separate dirt, smaller and larger rocks into buckets
Take material to a water source
Separate the smaller gravel and dirt through a high banker sluice box
with a water pump
Allow material to run down the screen on top to catch the smaller sands and gold
Catch larger runoff debris into a tub so it doesn't wash into the pondRun the remains left in the sluice box through smaller sized classifers
Pan wash material to separate the sand, gravel, and goldVoila.... Hopefully you have some gold for all your efforts!
