Enjoyed a really fine day exploring and prospecting. The land is lush and green with all the spring rain and warm sunshine - a bit of snow remains on the mountain tops, wildflowers grace the hillsides in wild abundance.
My mining partner, Starr and I, found several Calypso wildflowers (Calypso bulbosa) on the Bonanza Gulch claim. These delicate little blooms, when discovered in the mottled woodland light, most resembles a minature orchid. The orchid family, a group of primarily tree-dwelling, tropical plants, boast more members than any other plant family; but in all the world there is only one Calypso species, so it is quite rare.
The Calypso's presence in the forest indicates that the woods are relatively old and undisturbed, for it requires a thick, humus rich environment and mossy, damp ground in deep shade.
Finding a Calypso in the forest is magical! These were located around the remains of an old wooden mining flume that has not been touched since the time of the Cedar Creek Gold Rush - if these woods
could talk, what tales they might tell.
The creek has gone down a bit since last week and I thoughly enjoyed digging and panning in the creek at the Hard Times Mine. The weather was absolutely perfect; clear, sunny and a slight breeze. The creek is still mighty cold from the snow melt. I couldn't ask for a nicer day!
I stopped in to visit with my neighbors, Kevin and Todd. They were hard at work, testing gravels and feeding a sluice box; mentoned they were having good results and some nice color in their pans.
Twenty miles from the town of Superior, the claims are accessible from Cedar Creek Road. The road is in good shape and although we encounterwd a couple of muddy holes, we made it in with out incident.
Several trees had come down, however, we ran into Curt, a mining friend and he had gone in ahead on his ATV and cut and cleared the road. Great job Curt. Thanks a bunch!
There are several nice campsites on the claims, so next weekend I will set up camp and really get to work.
There are several pronounced out croppings of bedrock and some enticing gravel bars that I can't wait to check out.
Do you have gold fever?
Do you want your own claim in NW Montana?
Please visit the sites below for full information on the claims for sale.
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