Jul 30

Written by: alaska
7/30/2007 12:00 AM 

Greetings from the Cripple River Gold Camp! Today is a beautiful day again! The light rains of yesterday and the day before are gone, and the golden sun is shining on our freshly washed camp. There are ten or twelve white birds sitting on the blue green water, with the sun shining off their snowy white feathers they look like pearls or snow balls bobbing and dancing on a sea of blue. The difference in the temperatures of the air and the water caused a silver mist to rise from the sea early this morning. I was awake and up early, about five a.m. and I walked down by the sea to inhale the fresh salty air and beach comb. I started watching the silver-gray ‘smoke’ rise from the water of the Bering Sea. Lost in the moment time seemed to shift, and I felt as if I was back at the beginning of time, watching the land being born. I was totally alone on the beach, except for the birds on the water and the salmon jumping in the sea. The only sound was the lap, lap, lap of the waves on the sandy beach. As the waves washed the shore I was mesmerized by the beauty of the moment. I took in deep breaths of perfectly clean invigorating air, and I felt truly alive in my innermost being. I don’t know how long I just stood still and recharged my soul, as time had no meaning. Finally I shifted slightly and my eyes alighted on a small piece of aqua blue beach glass washing to and fro in the gentle surf. As I picked it up, I found myself back in the here and now. For a brief instant I felt a pang of loss. Then, smiling as an inner peace suffused my being, I was off to the chow hall for some nice hot chocolate and chit chat with a friend.

Our camp is visited by some of the most interesting people, as prospectors come in all sizes, ages and with varied life experiences. One of these interesting prospectors is Millard Fox from Reno Nevada, who turned 89 on the fourteenth of May 2007. Millard decided to come up here to the Cripple River Gold Camp this year. Mr. Fox worked in Alaska for over five years in the mid 1950’s before Alaska became a state. He and other hardy souls like him built the camps for the Distant Early Warning System, affectionately called the DEW Line. These small ‘towns’ were built to be ready to move into by the military personnel who were guarding the United States and it’s territories from possible enemy attack. Millard worked first in Unakleet, then went on to Galena, Indian Mountains, and was at Point Barrow twice. (He spent three days in Nome prospecting and panning for gold on the beach. “I got some good gold too!”) Millard said, “Your camp here is terrific, I’ve been to many camps that were not nearly so nice. The people here are friendly and helpful. It was good to come to a camp already built, and not have to start from the ground up.” Millard explained the laborious process, “We started by building footings for the buildings. Due to the cold and the permafrost this was quite a feat. First you had to melt the ground with steam pipes as under the ground it is frozen summer or winter. Then you hurriedly trench for the footings. You quickly pour the cement into the hot water before it refreezes. Calcium Chloride (known in the ‘trade’ as cc) was added to the cement mix to heat the cement and allow it to set, even down to thirty below. Only then you could start to build the buildings. When we were finished each site was like a little town, ready to move into. I made many friends among the native people who lived in the area, and I liked to go fishing with them.” A carpenter by trade for over fifty-five years, Millard is now retired, but is active with his hobbies of gold prospecting and jewelry making.

Cripple River is a great place for people in love, and this week we want to congratulate several couples who are celebrating years of wedded bliss. Sandi and Jeff King are celebrating their seven year anniversary, and Elizabeth and Dan Cornett are celebrating their twenty-fifth or Silver Anniversary with us in camp. It is nice to know that love and commitment are still alive and doing well in today’s changeable society. And to all of you out there who read this and are celebrating your anniversaries---Many, Many Happy Returns!

All hats in camp should be tipped to Tim Telles operator of beach box number four! Last week he had his black mat literally covered with gold! Mr. Telles from Banning Ca., has learned some of the secrets of beach mining. Work smart and steady, and pick and choose the material you run by test panning. The black and red sand contain the most flour gold, amber or light brown sand is normally not all that rich. Tim, a very recent member of G.P.A.A. (May 2007) has already been prospecting three times and is well on his way to becoming an experienced prospector. “I enjoy being here at Cripple River; the people are all very nice and helpful. People will share their knowledge with you, show you how to run the equipment, and help with whatever you need. You do the work, that way you learn, and you get to keep the gold!” Tim may come back in a couple of years, but he plans to visit some places overseas first. Bob Fredlund, who is on beach crew this year (from Phelan Ca.) commented, “Tim is great to work with, he’s a hard worker, and willing to learn. He has really got good gold on his beach box, and he deserves it.”

Early this year Don Carr from the Lake Charles Area of La. was beach glass hunting in town by the mouth of the Nome River, and he found a large well worn US penny dated 1802. The coin has been sanded fairly smooth, but at two hundred plus years old it is definitely an interesting ‘artifact’ from days gone by.

Yesterday Clarence Hill from Cottonwood Az., also found a coin, this time in a “poop tube”. No this is NOT an obscenity, a poop tube is a device made from ribbed sewer pipe that is cut open so you can run gold bearing concentrates down the tube and the gold will be caught in the “riffles”. Clarence was running his red and black sand in order to get the fine gold out. This was sand he had dug up from the beach, and it had not been classified. He looked down at the tube, and there was a penny sitting in a riffle. And not just any one cent coin, but a rare 1908 S mint marked Indian Head penny in very fine condition. It is toned a greenish color from being buried in the sand, but is a real treasure, as the Lincoln cent was issued to replace the Indian Head in 1909. This penny was probably lost sometime during the gold rush and has been waiting patiently all these years for Clarence to find it. Yea Clarence. Think silver dollars and gold eagles next!

Gerald Beauchaine from Monterey Ca., who celebrated many “firsts” this year, (read the Chronicle 4th Edition 2007) has added a new first to his list. As he was riding down the beach on his way to the Sinuk River, he saw an unusual piece of driftwood sticking up out of the sand. It looked kinda’ like a rifle butt. He turned around and stopped his ATV. As he dug this treasure up, he saw it was an entire rifle. A 223 caliber rifle probably dating from the late 1950’s. It had a round in the chamber and was ready to fire. It is also extremely rusty, but still a great find. Not a usable firearm, it is a still a great wall hanger. One never knows what you may find on a prospecting trip!

Fishing while still good is not as fantastic as it has been in the past. Of course some areas better than others and many anglers have their favorite spots. The pink salmon (humpies), Dolly Varden and silver salmon are being caught.

Speaking about catches, John Henard the Third from Tx caught the number one draw at Friday’s gold draw. This nugget weighed in at a very respectable 22 pennyweight. This is a very pretty gold specimen, and one anyone would love to have. John and his loving spouse Marcia are both grinning from ear to ear.

Our animal sightings are going strong, with musk ox, reindeer, and moose being seen frequently on land. In the Bering Sea right by camp there have been Killer Whales, Minke Whales, and porpoises, seals and seal lions, and the odd walrus or two.

Well, I’ve found a new place to check for gold, so until next time may your life, and the bottom of your pan turn golden.
Your friend, Arctic Annie

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