Friday, June 24, 2016

A HITCH IN THEIR GIDDY UP





One of my reasons that I try to keep this blog is to encourage and inspire everyone.  George and Dave have had quite an adventure and they are always talking to people who say they would love to go to Alaska.  I say to everyone: Follow your dream.  Everything starts first with a thought; so think of your dream. Then like headlights driving in the night, just start your car and drive.  Like your car lights, you can’t see your final destination but still you drive knowing you will get there and you enjoy the ride along the way.  Just as your car breaks down during your trip, George and Dave have faced some wild and crazy adversities.  Some funny, many scary but they kept going.  Their trip this year will be delayed due to health issues for both of our gold miners.  It seems their timing is impeccable because without any planning they both are out of commission at the same time.  Dave and his wife just returned from vacation a week or so ago and they both have been deathly ill.  Since Easter, George has been battling some heart issues with a condition called A-fib.  He has been in the hospital for 1 procedure after another and I know he has been disappointed he never had that iconic nurse with the big boobs and short white uniform delivering a soft and healing touch with a bed bath.   Instead he’s been cardioverted (shocked) twice with no resolve, donated vials of blood and is sick of IV’s and a shaved groin with everyone in his “business.”  His heart cath was great and showed no butter in his veins (George loves real butter).  Our latest hospital adventure was a heart ablation.  This is where an electrophysiologist (Doctor) maps out his heart and goes in through the groin with lines that go to the misfiring cells in the heart and burns an area to create scar tissue around them to stop the A-fib.  George never complains but those straw sized sheaths they inserted in his groin would make anyone shiver.  It’s not that he doesn’t feel pain; he just doesn’t look.  After his trauma with a foley catheter I know he would rather be in Alaska dealing with the bears than go through that again.  So now at breakfast with the guys every morning, on his days off from medical procedures and appointments, George has been like every other “old person” that talks about their medical issues instead of gold mining.  He’s chapped that his record is ruined because he now has to takes medicine for the rest of his life.  The guys will cancel their airline tickets and reschedule for August.  I don’t really want to keep a blog on this adventure but what I want for everyone to take away from this is that we never know what the future holds so again I say: Follow your dream. 


Monday, June 20, 2016

10 days till the Gold Miners take off 2016

Sorry for the delay in posting. I didn't post because there just wasn't much going on.  They missed getting their heavy equipment into the site again this year due to El Nino.  The rivers didn't freeze solid this winter due to El Nino again.  It was a tragic winter with the news media warning to stay off the rivers but several Alaskans still lost their lives trying to cross.  I have to say it is frustrating to have our equipment sitting 60 miles (as the Eagle flies) from their site for a second year.  You might reread their harrowing experience trying last year.  They almost lost everything in one of their river crossings including losing their own lives.  Their were several close calls.  When you think of what the old gold miners went through in the olden days and the lack of equipment, you might think these guys are just whining, but I guarantee it has been a long hard road.   Our gold miners are getting ready for their annual migration.  I'll call it the goldcation when they get to the mother load.

  George and I did go to Portland, Oregon to the GPAA.  Here we are happy because I have designed so many T-shirts and products and I just know I will make more marketing these than the guys will make mining gold.  Yeah, well that smile turned to tears for me when I had to reload the truck for the long trip home.  I guess it paid for our trip and we did do some great site seeing and visited some museums along the way.  But I lost my bet. 
 We met some well know gold miner celebrities and I snapped this staged pic of Jim Thurber (From Gold Rush) and George.  I think Jim is asked for a picture so many times he goes into his trance pose automatically.  You can see George was excited and thought he was in the presence of gold mining royalty.   
 Now, this is gold mining royalty in my book.  The guys from Ice Cold Gold, Jesse and Josh Feldman, were at the show and they were so personable.  They are even too young to even be my kids but they were the cutest and nicest gold miners you will ever meet.  I tried to get them to go to George and Dave's claim to do their next show.  Cross your fingers and hold your tongue just right and who knows.  This is Josh and I.  That is a true legit 35 ounce chunk of gold.  And guess where it came from?  Just 4 miles from George and Dave's site at Moore Creek.  35 ounces!  Holy moly.  That's a dollar bill in my right hand.  The nervous guy in the background is the keeper of the nugget and he cancelled our transaction. 


                                      
Our next celebrity came all the way from Nome.  Steve Pomrenke from Bering Sea Gold.  He was asking questions about George and Dave's heavy equipment not because he was interested in their adventures; but  rather to rattle off his vast knowledge of bull dozers. 


                                     
                                   
These are my favorite guys to hang with.  They are the Wilson Brothers.  They had their booth right next to ours and they are the sweetest and most caring gold miners I have ever met.  Since George and I were novices at gold shows, these guys gave us pointers and support when times were slow.  We love them.  Also my maiden name is Wilson so I am sure we are related somehow. 
  
 If you faithfully read your Gold Prospector magazine then I don't need to tell you who this is. 
He is history.  Boo Coo and George, Buzzard, Massie are responsible for all this modern day gold rush.  He is