Hi, we're the Baker's, Ralph and Gloria, we have been Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding, Metal Detecting for over 37 years. This is a great way to have fun as a couple and have fun exercising by putting on miles walking, digging and scooping. There is no better way in our eyes to enjoy the wonder of God through nature and the great outdoors but through a hobby of Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding, and Metal Detecting. It is our "Dream Lifestyle."
Because of our love of Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding and Metal Detecting we have created this website to offer products for the novice Gold Prospector, Rock Hounder and Metal Detector to the experenced professional. We want to share with you the wonder and fascination along with some of our experiences to aid in the overall experence and pleasure of Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding, Metal Detecting.
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We are going to provide you with tips on where to look, to how to pan, clean, cut, and polish your Rock Hounding finds to ideas of making one of a kind pieces of art for you to enjoy, sell or share with others. All the while you are feeding your creative juices doing what you love with the added benefit of some fun exercise. In the process you get keep some of God's postcards (rocks). Each one is a one-of-a-kind, never been touched rare beauty. Feel that beautiful cold rock in your hand, look at its' beauty formed eons ago into precious gems and geodes, agates and crystals. To many they see a rock. To us Rock Hounders it's beauty of the greatest magnitude.
Each so precious...and I found it! They say "In life to do what you love, love what you do! " My wife and I celebrated our 37th wedding aniversary in April of 2008. We didn't choose an exotic vaction on the Carribean (though we would love that too), not a cruise, but a camping excursion with our RV in the southwest with our Yorkie dog named "Mee Too." Our way of celebrating was to go out Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding, and Metal Detecting. It's something we can do together, something we are both passionate about.
We like to camp out on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) it's land we all own and can use. It's free and you have to be self-contained because there are no services. It's like being a pioneer alone out there just us, nature and our Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding and Metal Detecting finds. Our first night on BLM land in New Mexico this past winter we awoke to the sounds of coyotes howling at our camper. We assume they smelled Mee Too. Later that night we awoke to something hitting the step on our RV. In the morning we saw that it had been a hooved animal that ran into our step. I'll bet it hurt!
This winter we towed a little old convertible Geo Tracker with tires for rock climbing. As they say "There's Gold in them there hills, Rock and precious Metals. Mind you I told my husband when we bought it there would be "NO" big rock climbing. His idea of big and mine are extremely different it turns out! There were only two times when I refused to stay in the Tracker and ride up or down that mountain. So I had to walk. I have to tell you I had difficulty walking so you can magine the grades I am talking about. They were NOT roads. I could only picture us rolling down that mountain end over end certainly not a pretty thought. It didn't happen and as time went on I began to trust not only Ralph's skill in driving the Tracker ANYWHERE, but I also started to trust the vehicle's stability as well. We had an absolute BLAST! We were able to load that little four-wheel drive jeep-like vehicle to the hilt with all of our equipment including but not limited to: Gold Prospecting pans, five gallon buckets for Gold laden dirt, zip-lock bags of various sizes for rocks and dirt I dig up (ok, the bags didn't take up room but I though of them), I'm a wimp and can't hoist a five-gallon bucket of Gold laden dirt and or Rocks, two Metal detectors, shovels, picks, scoops, Gold prospecting sleuce machine, Rock pickers, various hammers, Gold Prospecting Rock Hounding and Metal Detecting classifiers of various sizes. As time went on the Geo was loaded down with buckets of Rocks and Gold laden dirt, dried up desert iron wood roots, dead cactus branches and HUGE Rock finds we couldn't leave behind. I see beauty in most things. I failed to mention lots and lots of drinking water, snacks, GPS, cell phones, jackets, hats and spare boots.
The Geo was able to take us places our legs couldn't, ok I'll confess to have a bad back but I do pretty well considering. We made our own roads with a lot of Our Father's and Hail Mary's on my part. It was absolutley the BEST time!!!! A little extra thrill and excitement mixed in with the thrill of the hunt for Gold, Rocks and Metals. I haven't mentioned the threat of rattle snakes and other poisonous creatures of the desert. We were told various stories of "hibernation, to are you crazy of course they are out on a nice day" comments. Ok, I must confess that kind of freaks me but good boots, long pants and an attentive eye and especially an alert ear will prevent a mishap. We didn't see any snakes but I did dig up a lizard sleeping in the Gold, Rock and Metal mine. I screamed only because he surprised me but hardly moved...he was sleeping for gosh sakes and I so rudely woke him up. I retreated to the Geo after that. It was a darn cold day and it was drizzling all day long. But neither rain, nor snow....shall prevent me from some Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding, and Metal Detecting. Did you know that the desert gets green? Well, I didn't but it was absolutely beautiful and it happened in a matter of minutes it seemd right before our eyes.
My oh my, we got dirty and water was at a premiuim, after all we needed to reserve it for panning and sleucing for the Gold and washing our Rock and Metal finds. We have our priorities. Every couple of days we would have to leave the desert and go into a campground, fill up the water tanks, dump the trailer holding tanks (PU, I make Ralph do that), shower and head out again. We got a little too close to the cactus more than once. You can't teach an old dog a new trick I guess because we sure didn't learn the first time. Speaking of dogs...
Mee Too, learned the hard way also! She got tangled up with the nastiest cactus we have ever run into----you could hear her crying to the next mountain I think. I had just gone into the camper to make dinner. Yes, I cook sometimes even while on vacation but somehow it is so much more fun in the camper. I guess after a hard day of Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding and Metal Detecting a good meal tops off the perfect day! I digress. Ralph was calling me to come help. What I saw was not pretty and presenting quite a delimma in the desert for us. Mee Too was coated in these cactus balls of barbs. I have to research what kind of cactus they are but they were dropping little balls of barbs all of the desert floor and looked like they were nature's way of repopulating that plant...good grief! They were not rooted in and just walking by they seemed to jump at you and dig their (sorry plant lovers) "ugly" barbs deep ionto the flesh of unsuspecting man and pet. Mee Too tried to lick them away which connected them to her mouth and face along with all four legs, her belly and neck. She was definitely being held captive. Thankfully, I packed a tweezer though its intent was for picking Gold, or other precious Rock and Metal finds. I used it on her and all I could do was what seemed cruelest and that was just to grab those predatory barbs and pull with all of my might while Ralph held her tight. We both tried to avoid her squirms and the predatory attack from those barbs. She was bleeding a bit but I was her hero when all was said and done. She didn't leave my side for a few days. I think she has short term memory loss. Oh don't worry we babied her, cuddled her and took care of her superficial wounds. My deepst worry was that she may get an infection from those barbs from some form of nasty desert bacteria I conjured into my head. But, alas all was well and she never got sick.
On the actual date of our anniversary Ralph asked me what I wanted to do. No, not go out to dinner, to a movie or some such thing but I wanted to go Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding and Metal Detecting in our favorite spot in northern Minnesota. We always find some very nice sized Lake Superior Agates but we have to tell you there is still no Gold in Minnesota. At least we haven't found it yet, but it's not for the lack of trying. It was the first outting in Minnesota after a very long cold winter.
The products we sell on this site are some of the same products we personally use for Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding, Metal Detecting, the last 2 winters we have gone Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding, Metal Detecting, in Arizona and New Mexico. We plan to expand into California next winter--we hope. Problem we have is we find a place, like it and settle in and before too long we are out of vacation time and have to head back to the last of Minnesota's long cold winter days to welcome in spring.
This summer we are planing a trip to the Black Hill of South Dakota, to go Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding, Metal Detecting, and 4 wheeling with our married children (three daughters), their spouses, Michelle and Michael and our one grandchild, Andrew, Jeanine and Jeremy and Annette and Mike. Yes, two of our three daughters married Mike's. To remedy that we call one Michael and one Mike. It works. I am sure we will come back with more Rocks and Metal, than Gold. But that's not a bad thing. That's what's so neat about Rock Hounding you can "always" find some awesome Rocks to treasure and bring back home that you just can't live without. If you go Gold Prospecting with the idea of finding lots of Gold you may be dissapointed. It takes a nack to learn the lay of the land and lots and lots of practice. But remember its not all about how much you find, its about the hunt (and you're not killing something), not mention the fun exercise and good vitamin D from the sun. Please wear sunscreen though. When Metal Detecting don't get too discouraged because there are a lot of old Metal parts laying around out there that set off your Metal Detector. Things like old rusty nails, barb wire fence pieces, wire, pop tops, old coins, old jewelry, old buttons, old signs, Gold, Gold, and more Gold just waiting to be found! They all set off your Metal Detector so then you know it is working. It's the thrill of the hunt and then the dig and the hunt and the dig. You get the picture it takes a lot of hunting and digging but oh for the THRILL! If you want to join us on a hunt contact us and we will set something up with you! Just remember you have to dig every target, more of that fun exercise, because you never know whats down there. Happy Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding and Metal Detecting.
Watch our web site as we develop it and add more information. We will be including more information on places we have been and what we have found while Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding and Metal Detecting. New products will be added on a regular basis. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have. One last word from me..."HONEY" when can we go Gold Prospecting, Rock Hounding, and Metal Detecting again?"
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