Treasure Hunting

The Petersen Mountain range forms a natural border between eastern California and northwest Nevada just north of the Reno area.  In these mountains are a number of mineral varieties, but the area is most known for the beautiful quartz crystals that can be found here. In addition to clusters and smaller broken quartz pieces, scepter and elestial quartz can be mined in the locale that sits right next to the small highway stop of Hallelujah Junction, California right off of Highway 395.

While there are quite a few places in this area that are designated public BLM land, there are also some privately-owned claim areas here, too.  If you decide to travel out to these parts in search of your own quartz specimens, pay special attention not to trespass on any of these active claims.  The miners out here are friendly and knowledgeable, and they would probably be glad to answer questions or point you to a good area to dig.  But remember, these mining claims are how they make their living, so don’t abuse their generosity by sneaking onto their land.  

One particular claim atop a mountain in the Petersen Range belongs to Krystal Tips Mining.  Visit their website if you want to see some samples of the quartz specimens that they have uncovered over the years at this site.  In addition to the abundance of amethyst, citrine, and smoky quartz in the mountain, the scenery here is breathtaking.  Make sure to have your camera with you if you’re in the area.  

Ever wonder why there were so many ghost towns out west, especially in California, Arizona, and Nevada?  A lot of these places are old mining towns that were abandoned when the mines ran dry.  Some of these towns have been recreated to give visitors a feel of what it was like to live in the Old West.  Places like that can be fun to visit, especially if you have children, but I much prefer the ghost towns that have been left alone and abandoned. 

The site Ghost Towns and History of the American West keeps very detailed lists of ghost towns that fit both these categories, abandoned and reconstructed.  One huge plus that I love about this site other than the maps is that it provides information on best time of year to visit, what kind of vehicle you need to get there (if you need 4WD or not), and the state of decay of the location.  Their list for California is so comprehensive that it’s been broken down into two subcategories - Northern California and Southern California.  Within each of those categories, you can choose to view the listings by county.  This is particularly nice if you’re planning a trip and want to try to hit several ghost towns in California that are fairly close together.  There are also some great photographs there for several of the ghost towns - these will give you a feel for if that location is a place that you’d like to visit.

If you’re planning on doing a little treasure hunting during your ghost town explorations, make sure you find out if the site has been designated a national park or historic area first.  While it might be okay to pick up a rock or two at such a place, you won’t be able to do much else.  These areas are protected by the government and a high emphasis is placed on preservation.  So, if your plan for visiting ghost towns is to look for interesting souvenirs, you’re much better off looking for those that are off the beaten path.  

Contrary to popular belief, panning for gold did not die with the Old West. In fact, there are still tons of places that you can pan for gold in the United States. All you really need are a few simple tools and a good prospect. We’ll go into what those tools are and what to look for in terms of “prospecting” at a later date. If you’ve never panned for gold before, I still think it’s best to find a cheap commercial site to try out in order to get the idea of what you’re looking for. After all, you don’t want to find a pan full of mica and think you’re suddenly rich. Again, you’re probably not going to find much at a commercial site because, well, it’s commercial and geared towards making money off tourists. However, you will gain knowledge about the craft that you will need before striking out on your own.

One excellent commercial site to visit is Hangtown’s Gold Bug Park and Mine located in Placerville, California. It’s extremely affordable, too. You can rent a pan for $2 an hour and “practice” mining for gold. Will you find anything? Maybe a few tiny specks of dust. Just in case, take a small plastic bag or empty medicine bottle with you to hold your findings. (A small plastic bag will do in a pinch, but it’s really better to have an empty pill container or something similar.) Even if you don’t find anything, you’ll learn how to use the gold pan, and it does take a bit of practice to use one correctly. You can also tour the old gold mine there.