For over 20 years I have cultivated many hobbies that complimented my husband's addiction to metal detecting and gold prospecting, however, many of his trips now take us places where I cannot bring my hiking buddies(our dogs), and I have been running out of ideas, so I relented recently. We were, by all accounts, going to plan a gold prospecting trip and I would use a metal detector right alongside him! After my husband's research and insistence to metal detect up at AKAU in Nome, Alaska, and after watching a rambunctious Minelab user promote the experience on YouTube, I eagerly made travel arrangements for our weeklong trip. I knew full well I'd be with 20 other men who collectively prospected for 100 years, and I was ready to be the rookie in camp. I was ready to hear all the gold stories again, and hear the lists of do's and the don'ts. I had heard about the Minelab Equinox 800 and thought this machine might be a good fit for me so without much ado, my husband gave me a new Minelab Equinox 800 for my first ever metal detecting experience. I knew he was excited for me to learn this new hobby, but had trepidation I would come away from this without any finds, much less gold nuggets. I was barely comfortable even turning on my Equinox once at AKAU, but the Minelab prowess of the AKAU staff gave me simple instructions to follow and that bolstered my confidence. With the Equinox's stock 11" coil attached, I was finding some really awesome pieces of lead, nails, and railroad spikes. I was happy! Finding targets was fun. The rest of the guys from camp, meanwhile, were finding small gold throughout the property. Minelab Week was here at AKAU, and Debbie, our incredibly gifted rep, offered me the 6" coil as a demo, so off I went. I begin swinging that 6" coil and soon heard a target. I scuffed the top soil with my boot, it was louder, and so I used my pick and dug down several inches. Yep it was a stronger sound. I ultimately dug 5" down discovering a rusty sluice tooth! Pretty cool find, right?! Well as previously instructed by the many mentors on the trip, I put the smaller 6" coil back into the hole and heard yet another target. What? Really? Cool, another relic. So again I dug with the pick. 4" further down I dug up a 2" rock that sent my Equinox into a screaming frenzy. I had been looking forward to that 2nd tooth of the non-existent sluice, but all it seemed to be was a chunky rock. I knocked of the dirt and mud and held it high above my head to show my husband; 'What in the world is this', I asked. Having not cleaned it off with some guttural spittle (advice I didn't use), my husband proceeded to do so and the 1.3oz specimen of gold was revealed! Needless to say, I have never seen my husband dance around like that, ever! And as for all the men at camp; yep boys, who is the Nugget Virgin now?!! In all good fun they teased me every day for the rest of the week; hailing me as the Nugget Queen, it was an enjoyable time for sure. And due to the fact that Wyatt Earp history and lore lurks all around Nome, I paid tribute to his true love, Josephine Marcus, and named this nugget in her honour.
Tracey - Idaho, USA
