What part of California are you in?

I left California in 05. I live in Montana year round.

Hey, Donald, I am up in Helena, looks like you are down towards Dillon Maybe? Probably the closes claims for you will either be over by Bozeman, or over my way. We have one practically in the city limits, that is relatively new, so I haven't been to it yet, but will soon. We also have several about 10-15 miles West of us in Rimini, one, 35-40 miles away from Helena in Radersburg, and one roughly halfway between Helena and Butte. I have not been to the one between Helena and Butte yet, but have been to Radersburg and Rimini. Radersburg is small gold, but a fair amount if you work at it. Rimini is fun and beautiful, but don't expect to find much, if any gold. I will keep you posted on the other nearby claims as I check them out. My daughter and I get out to some other spots that aren't GPAA claims and do okay as well. Good luck and heavy pans!

Thanks for writing back, Live in Ennis. Just got my dry washer today. Waiting for dry weather.

Bobby

Saw your post on the forum, I’m a greenhorn myself. I live in Helena and have been looking for someone to pick the Brian, my wife doesn’t like it when i go out by myself. Would like to chat over coffee someday, give you a chance to judge me. I want to learn the local area without getting shot or a ticket. Call or text if interested 406-202-4573, if not i understand a happy prospecting.

You bet. I've got a week or two of Spring cleaning to get taken care of and then I would be happy to meet up and show you around. 👍

Looking forward to it, just reach out at your convenience.

Hello Gentlemen, Here’s my two cents worth of information to you from my experience in the INCREDIBLE State of Montana…We love that place! Now spend our prospecting time in Northern California and Colorado. Met a VERY nice couple (GPAA members!) …first name Walt (?) and his wonderful wife back in 2015 in Cooke City, Montana. We hadn’t had any luck at the then GPAA “Ole Miner” claim, and shared with them that we were excited about traveling to Glacier NP…they in turn shared their experience of success prospecting the (then GPAA “Golden Back Achers”) claim on Libby Creek, south of Libby. Wow! Prior to that, I had never seen so much gold in a pan! After Glacier, we headed for Libby Creek. Wish that the “Golden Back Achers” was still GPAA, but the Libby Recreational Gold Panning Area is farther upstream from where we/Walt were at. Even though it’s farther north than where you are at, that’s my recommendation for consideration. Check the area out and stake your own claim nearby!?? I was relatively new to prospecting then and lost as much as I found, which was quite a bit 😢. Got into some untapped bedrock crevices with the Gold and Sand suction bucket and tore it up…visibly saw a large “potato chip” flake go up my suction…talk about excitement! I wanted to cry when I blew it and a lot more out of our sluice. Large flake gold and too fast water flow DO NOT mix! Good luck, let me know what you find. Brian Williams 🤝