Dan the Postman

On a recent trip to Colorado gold country I met Dan the Postman.

He delivers mail north up the Arkansas River Valley to several post offices

and has to wait a few hours to get the days mail and return south again.

Well the two or three hour layover got boring after a while and he found a way to get

some exercise and reward. He started gold prospecting the Arkansas River.

Here he's in one of his claims screening the gravels for his sluice.

This is one of his experimental sluices to recover the gold. He makes most of

his equipment as do a lot of prospectors. This one was made

from a damaged roadsign.

It has three sections of recovery but he showed me not much makes it past the

first section.

This is what made it to the third or last section, nothing.

Then the second section gets checked for my benefit.

Quick washout in the tub.

Not hardly a speck showing.

Then the pay section or first section is checked.

Dan can speed pan this tub down in no time.

Then he transfers the black sands to a gold pan, the golds already showing here.

A quick wash and flip or two here's some of the yellow stuff.

Not bad for a couple hours at the claim. Man that's some pretty gold Dan.

Dan thanks for showing me some new methods of gold recovery and these photos!