Do you volunteer?

[rjwalker]

I belong to the Pikes Peak Adventure League Metal Detecting Club here in Colorado Springs. Our club volunteers with various local Law Enforcement Agencies to assist them in crime scene investigations when they are trying to find trace evidence such as weapons, bullets, shell casings, etc. It's fun, interesting, and helps to put a positive spin on our hobby of metal detecting. I'm curious as to how many other clubs and/or individuals do the same? Other club members, including my wife and I also do volunteer work once or twice a year with the U.S. Forest Service on historical and archeological investigations under the www.passportintime.com projects. The word seems to be spreading throughout the Forest Service community that people with metal detectors are much more efficient and quicker in finding metal related objects than an archeologist with a toothpick and brush. The projects usually last a week and involve volunteer metal detectorists from across the entire U.S. Some of the projects we've been involved with include the Old Spanish Trail in New Mexico, Stage stops and RR lines in Colorado, and Cavalry roads in Utah. Most of the projects are in western states.It's a neat way to garner respect from a government agency that used to have a less than favorable image of metal detectorists, meet new friends from across the country with similiar interests, and have a tax deductible vacation. My best find to date was an ingot of spanish silver buried and hidden beneath a fireplace of an old Stage stop. Check out the details of current and past projects at: www.passportintime.com. Good luck!!