Where they take gold-panning (and dredging) fairly seriously.
To put this in pespective...I have panned the Alaskan paydirt (2 pounds) I received down to about a cup and a half left...and this is what I have so far
Total.
An assay might give me $50. for it. If I were very lucky. Gold now going for 1,300 an ounce (more or less) and this panned is between 18k and 24k.
And here is a bag of the same type of flakes and nuggets presented by a panner to a Nome assay office
A literal bag of gold.
I can't even imagine how long it would take to pan this much placer and flakes. Or what a bag this size would be worth. Or how heavy this would be. It is amazing how heavy even a small amount is.
Nome. Where panning today is as alive as it was for the Gold Rush years.
And for those of us who want to join in the excitement from home the mines sell paydirt. Bags of the sandy yellowish soil. Bags of the rich black sands. No guarantees. Unsorted. Just dirt. Not expensive and...no...you're not going to strike it rich. But it is a LOT of fun to pan...and finding a larger nugget or flake is still exciting as hell!
Located on the Seward Peninsula by the Bering Sea, the sandy soil here is littered with tiny flakes of gold. You can see very small flakes not much more than 1 mm (many smaller) just by scooping a handful into your palm. Much like the beaches on the California Coast.
The real treasure is settled beneath. larger placer flakes and nuggets.
Of the dirt I have panned so far, I have found several small nuggets...the largest being about half the size of my little fingernail. The bigger flakes (more common) are around 3-4 mm.
Still, when I panned in Sugar Creek and Brown County you might go hours without finding anything at all...or something very small.
So (to me) the idea of panning a half hour and having several flakes or maybe even a small nugget is great!
The city is named for an Inupiaq word "Naami" meaning: Where at? It doesn't take much imagination to add "are we" to that query.
Nome is subartic. Meaning long cold winter and short cool summers.
Winters can be as cold as -54 degrees. Summers rarely get into the high 50's.
In the summer of 1898 three lucky Swedes discovered the gold in Nome and triggered The Rush.
Although there is highway in and out of Nome these signs tell you everything you need to know about travel outside the immediate area...
Reminding me of maps of olde that warned
"Here there be DRAGONS"
A video of gold dredging (and the sights) in Nome
https://youtu.be/kubQSLgwWnk
And now I must pan!
More anon...
