Creekside Ruins Hunt

[William-NM]

I headed down to the creek just below the town, to an area where there are several stone and adobe ruins. It's paved in iron & other trash from floods and because the town dump used to be just up the hill from it. I used the AT Gold & 5x8 coil because it's so good at picking through trash infested sites. This hunt was a mixture of detecting and then excavating when I hit an interesting spot. This area is still called "Chinese Gardens" because some Chinese families used to live here and they cultivated some terraced produce gardens along the creek. It also appears to have burned at some point, as the finds were mostly in a layer of ash, and many of the finds have a hard 'glaze' of black gunk. Here are a couple of photos of the area: Stone ruins, some vintage autos (there are about a dozen down there), and a giant Cottonwood tree that is munching on some big iron junk.

I found 15 military buttons, all the "Great Seal" design, these were produced from 1902 through WWII by a number of manufacturers, these came from three: Horstmann - Phila, Chas. Fischer Spg Co, New York, and The Stratton Co, New York. They are in various stages of being cleaned up!

Managed to find a few unsmashed / melted bottles, I like the 'Hinds Honey and Almond Cream' one.

Also turned up a few of my missing marbles, a little ceramic jug, Chinese figure, and puppy dog, along with some Nickel-Silver spoons (just started cleaning), and the base to a Carver E. Trip wildlife sculpture...

Found an old tin Pepsi sign:

And a spool of Copper florists wire on a copper spool, Brass belt buckle & keyhole cover-

...and the rest - a few Indian Wars era cartridges, lead spill, Copper rivets & odds & ends...

As usual, I also picked up a few pounds of Copper, Brass & Lead recycling, some modern coinage, and had a great time, despite my messed up right arm. I'm getting the hang of detecting left handed, but my digging is pretty clumsy with that hand. Hope the twice weekly physical therapy gets it fixed up soon!! Darn it!!

Best of Luck in the Hunt to All !!

 

[B.RATNY]

Awesome hunt, nice assortment of finds. Looks like a great day out..
HH Butch NY

 

[pulltaber]

nice job,I like that old nary tree with the car frame in it

 

[jmann]

Way awesome hunt,,,,,,!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SmallCent]

I'm blown away by the wide array of keepers you found. The pics and description are great. Hope you're back working with your right arm again soon, though by the looks of things, you're pretty darn productive with the left hand!

 

[William-NM]

Thanks, Guys! I'm sure that there's lots more down there - I was hoping for some old coins, maybe next time. I sure need to build some shelves, it's starting to look like a museum around here!

 

[mudpuppy]

What a beautiful place to spend some time! I love that rock wall, and the big cottonwood...boy they have both seen a lot..very nice finds, posts and pics!
Mud

 

[BigCatDaddy]

You hunt some of the most interesting places!! You came up with some excellent finds, thanx for the most excellent pics. Give Tigger a scratch for me!!

 

[William-NM]

Thanks mudpuppy & BCD! Anywhere with some shade is good - it's been a hot, dry summer and I love old ruins! BCD: give the Devil Cat a rub, too!

 

[Johnny Cache]

Nice hunting spot there, and I like the buttons. The picture of the tree "eating" the iron junk is really cool!

 

[William-NM]

Yeah, I wish it would eat faster and clear up the rest of the iron! It won't have to worry about anemic blood anytime soon

 

[Sailorman]

Really nice assortment of finds there, wish I had some spots like that here! I was wondering if those were my marbles which I lost years ago but then I don't remember any trips to your state....

 

[William-NM]

I love finding marbles and kids lead soldiers, etc. I hope Garrett's next detector has a 'marble' program!!

 

[TURNMASTER]

Great hunt. Awesome selection of keepers.

Only car I can tell what is, is the 61 Impala (I think). Are any of the bodies recoverable? Do not overlook the value of putting any odds and ends off of them back into the market. Could just be the one part that makes somebodies Rat Rod really stand out.

Jeff

 

[senda]

Hey William, as always, good hunting, good place and good pictures.
In one hour I leave for my expedition, I hope it's as nice as yours.
Regards

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

Awesome finds!! very very cool!