Robert, Gold Panner – wk10

This week I am posting some images that I made last week. Last Saturday, we went down to the Platte River for an afternoon stroll. Angela with the objective of viewing new water birds. Myself to capture some images. Whilst walking beside the river, we were rewarded with a new experience. We met Robert, who was panning for gold on the banks of the river.

Robert, Gold Panner

Robert explained how panning is done. In fact, he was using a sluice box as the first step of the process; this can be seen at the bottom right of the above image. He explained the process to Angela. As an ex-mining engineer, I was familiar with the process. Robert has been panning the area for several years. This is probably a good time of year to pan the Platte… but Robert said the water is very cold! When the snow melt starts in earnest in the coming weeks, the water level in the Platte River will rise by several feet.

Robert

Here is a close-up of Robert’s sluice box. Looks like plenty of material from the hardware store went into the box. The first step is to screen the gravel by passing through the green screen (at the back). Robert then transfers the gravel that falls through the screen to the top of the sluice box. Water from a pump flows over the gravel. Lighter sands and gravels are washed away. Heavier materials, including tiny flakes of gold, are trapped in the riffles in the base of the box.

Sluicing The Gold

We left Robert and continued along the riverside. There were several puddles of water that have frozen during the winter, trapping colorful leaves and stones under ice.

Frozen Under The Ice

In the distance, I noticed something colorful and headed towards the area. Someone had run the supermarket cart and buggy down the bank and into the river.

Abandoned Buggy

Heading back towards the parking lot, I noticed this colorful garage adorned with graffiti.

Orange Garage And Graffiti

Nearby, at an adjacent house, was this window box. The plants were looking worse for wear and withered from the cold winter.

Window Box

We both enjoyed the afternoon walk, made more rewarding with our encounter with a gold miner. Angela commented that there are some really interesting people here in Colorado.