Tag Archives: treasure

Relic and Treasure Hunting

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Relic and Treasure hunting…

  • You never know enough
  • You never have it totally figured out
  • Always dependent upon the weather
  • Batteries can make or break your day
  • Always something new to learn, today it is LIDAR imaging software, yesterday it was Ojibwe and Sioux languages, the day before it was the Spanish, French, British history of discovery in my backyard, and the mechanics of my truck and ATV on top of that.
  • No matter how much you spend on a metal detector, it is the flaky rusty nail that will always ring up as silver.
  • You never truly know what exactly lays beneath your toes in the sod.
  • No matter what the treasure you seek…you will find more treasure you were not looking for in the first place along the way.
  • Everyone wants to see the goods, but only you will suffer through the daily grind.
  • You will always give away more than you hold close to your vest.

And yet, through it all the experience is priceless as long as you enjoy the ride.

In Response to an Inquiry to purchase my “pretty rocks”

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Grizzly Relic & Treasure 001

Honestly, all the rock here is still sharing secrets of this site or the site the glacier carved them up from. Yet, most are site specific to where they are found. My hope one day is that they will be able to be read like our own emails are read today.

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They seem to be Jesuit in origin so 1300-late 1800′s but they may just be way older. They seem to be the only remnant of the enormous civilization that was once here in North America. Agate, Flint and chert are found but they are the off casts or pieces that just did not fit their needs so they are carved into a useful memory tool or message and left for the next generation or visitor to the site. Since this site had a more modern Ojibwe and Dakota dwellers their language is found here but the Jesuit language is also found here.

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This is telling us that the fur traders, and mining was done here apart of New Spain and French Fur Trade as well as the much later British merchant interests. Do they reach even further back as well? I think they do but it is like peeling an onion since they are used and reused and every damn piece of stone up here has something intelligent carved into it.

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It is so frustrating not being able to pick one up and read it like a modern email but I pray that comes in time. I just wish I was more of a language nerd. But being an artist seems to serve me well in picking up through observation something no one wants to touch, yet there is evidence that others know this, they just don’t talk about it.

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So, that is the life of a relic and treasure hunter. I have something here more valuable than gold and silver but until I educate one and all, they are just field stone that are better stacked at the end of the field to most.

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The Grizzly Relic and Treasure Hunt Season of 2013 has Commenced

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Grizzly Relic & Treasure BPH 1 244I was able to get out today with Onslo and Daisy for the first time since last December.  I had a really good research season and I was very happy realize the most significant area of interest is now high and dry for the most part.  The point is I don’t have to swim to get into it which is always a plus.  There is still a good layer of snow in the shadows that will go up to your knee, but the sunshine spots are high and dry.

Daisy found something good to roll in and Onslo found a Deer leg bone to crunch on.  All three of us are out of fighting shape, but it won’t be long and we will be up to speed once again.

Grizzly Relic & Treasure BPH 1 193 Grizzly Relic & Treasure BPH 1 194 Grizzly Relic & Treasure BPH 1 195

I had a chance to visit an old friend and lay my hands on top of those left behind.  I was impressed that my hand fit almost perfectly into the hand that was left carved on this tree.  It is a special site that I am honored to tell its story.  But before I get that chance, there is a lot of hard work that I am excited to finally be able to get grizzly with here.

It was interesting and reassuring that once I got my bearings, all the research really came together.  You start walking on a lay line and you can predict when the next stone will appear.  Then you damn near trip over it, but your so happy to find another of these monolith’s that you can’t wait to clean it off and start studying it.  The property owner found 3 or more stones today himself that had yet to be documented.  With the great snow cover we had the tall grass is all matted down and even the lay of the land is now almost evident.

The photos above are rocks that have been apart of the crossing of this creek ever since the property owner has owned this land.  This Summer we will try to Probe History and see how far back they really reach along with the rest of the site.

The pups, the land owner and myself found a number of trail trees today on our adventure.  Research told me where to look and sure enough the trees where right there where they should be.  A few were worse for wear, but this one is still standing proud.  It was across the creek and only Onslo was silly enough to go for a swim to get to the other side.  But soon the water level will fall and reveal all that was washed out of the banks and creek bottom.  The water runs pretty clear so if there is something interesting it will surely catch the eye.

Grizzly Relic & Treasure BPH 1 264The wildlife that surrounds this hunting site is amazing.  Here is the Belted King Fisher, a bird that is elusive to capture on film and rarely seen in our area.  This and the eagle that buzzed us earlier today is just icing on the cake.

 

Response to Lisa MacIntrye guest post on Stout Standards Blog

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In response to a post on Stout Standards blog:

Lisa Hume

I applaud the post by Lisa MacIntrye where she lays out some of the fears archaeologist have with metal detectorists.  But I can’t deny the misconceptions she has with metal detectorists and relic and treasure hunters. I do agree with her that cherry picking a site of its valuable finds with no regard to the entire story found in the context of other finds on that site. The grid is merely a strategy to employ that has proven to work well if you have the resources. A relic and treasure hunter employs multiple strategies to uncover the story of a site an the metal detector is usually one of the first strategies we throw at a site as it is a good tool to tell us the lay of the land.

I do a lot of Farmsteads because I have no interest in city folks and find the Pioneer Spirit that our nation has lost needs rekindling. So this is an example of what I throw at a site to recover its many stories.

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First, I walk the site and photograph it paying special attention to trees, landscape and stones. Being able to read these three aspects will reveal where you need to spend your time quickly.

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Second, comes the metal detector to see how well I read the landscape in step one. This is an exhaustive step because it is not just a merry romp but instead multiple approaches that also employ a grid strategy. These sites are also metal detected in different seasons and weather conditions as humidity in the air and soil really aid or inhibit results. Some strategies employed are the following: A. A test the intuition approach where you go where you feel you will find something. All targets especially those of note are gps located and photo documented in all these steps to reveal later their relation to other finds as the story reveals itself of the site. B. The Grid strategy is repeated North to South, then East to West and diagonally in all directions. C. Seasonal revisiting the site strategy to do all the above over again especially on plowed fields because with each turn of the plow the landscape changes and it is a whole new ball game.

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Thirdly, The above strategies only cover above ground and down anywhere from 4 to 18 inches if you are very lucky. But it is those 4 inches that will inform you where you need to dig deep to recover the rest of the story. The third step is to dig deep, privy, dump, foundations, rock formations, and in areas where the number of finds at 4 inches is great enough to inform you that there maybe something to help tell your sites story below.

Horse Coin Field

Fourth step is a continual step of research that actually is never ending. With each find you find a new path to research and with every challenge your site throws at you a new need to find a solution through research. This could be a conversation with a local elder to hours and hours scouring the internet for that one photo that confirms your gut instincts. There also is a need to understand the historical context the site endured along with its residents. Again, a never ending step that is never set aside.

Kathryn "Kat" Catlin and Christiane Campbell, UMass Boston Historical Archaeology graduate students, use the Måla 400 MHz GPR antenna

Fifth step is one of resources that can not be afforded.  It is that Ground Penetrating Radar and all the great gifts of technology that is out of my reach.  One day I pray I can afford this technology but what if archaeologists offered this technology to the relic and treasure hunter to find middle ground and join us in a joint venture on a site rather than trying to become our masters?

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The Sixth Step is Innovation where you think outside the box and take strategies and methods in desperate other lines of work and apply them to overcome challenges you are facing in the field.

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The Seventh step is a thick skin and a sense of humor as you will be inundated with those that are only set on destruction rather creation because of their own inadequacies and tunnel vision.  Have fun with it but don’t let it take up your valuable time.

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The bonus to all of this is that we do not rely upon tax dollars and agenda’s but our own. We share what we legally can share for others to learn from and are readily available to assist others learn this craft and art.

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The way I see it is that the relic and treasure hunter has made archaeology as we know it today redundant. The tell tale sign of this is their use of the government and law to limit our access yet we still out perform and if unregulated we could share more of what we are finding without the fear of being criminalized or have our finds ripped from the hands of the rightful owners, that is the land owner and the relic hunter depending upon their agreement.

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The issue we have with archaeologists is that they bring nothing to the table in their current structure. I envision a relationship where archaeologists instead realize their role of assisting with ID, documentation and research rather than dictating and criminalizing those of us that are out performing them to no cost of the tax payer but benefiting the land owner, themselves and the community as a whole as we recover the stories and history no archaeologist would bother to dirty their hands or facade of credentials.

 

Don’t Fall Prey to a “One Trick Pony” Approach to Hunting Relic and Treasure

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One trick pony approach

 

The metal detector industry geared it’s products from early on to focus on the coin shooter.  This was very successful in order to sell their metal detectors but it is truly only the first step into hunting relic and treasure.  The “coin shooter” seeks to find unintentional dropped coins.  They improve their percentages by hunting sites where great numbers of people congregated with money in their pockets knowing that there will be a certain percentage of coins dropped and lost.

This beginners step in hunting relic and treasure relies upon a vast number of individuals crossing over that site and being careless with their valuables.  It is simply a numbers game that relies upon the constant that where ever people are, there will be evidence left behind.  This constant is utilized with all of relic and treasure hunting.  Where ever people are, there will be evidence of them.

Now, don’t get stuck and simply believe that when you master being a coin shooter you have reached the pinnacle of relic and treasure hunting.  Because you have simply only mastered the first step into relic and treasure hunting.

Coin shooting relies upon the unintentional dropped valuable.  The next step into relic and treasure hunting is taking on the hunt for the intentional placement of valuables in caches.  This next step takes you from highly traveled parks, beaches and public spaces into the country side where that farmer hid his life savings in fruit jars, or that outlaw cached his ill gotten gains to recover once the heat was off.  It also includes military caches and peoples caches of valuables and relics that may include wisdom and their story cached away for coming generations or the initiate to recover.

While the intentional cached relic and treasure is a totally different animal to hunt.  Simply knowing the settings on your metal detector is not going to guarantee your success.  You will still have to know your tools, metal detector settings and you will have to increase your grizzly arsenal so that whatever the site throws at you, you will be able to discern and find the treasure and relic that you seek.

Depending on the age of the cache, you will have to understand ancient tools used to set the cache site.  You will have to understand dowsing rods.  You don’t have to use them, but you have to understand how iron, metal and stones can be found using dowsing rods.  Yes, you can find foundations and metal with dowsing rods.  You can also find water.  Knowing how to differentiate the metal target from the underground water source is important.

One tool that I have to really learn better is how to navigate with a compass.  The older the cache site, the more low tech or ancient tech you will have to rediscover.  Tree carvings, trail trees, thong trees and rock carvings and rock formations will have to be a new language you will have to master.  The Spanish or Jesuit mining and Kings road signs, symbols and code you will have to understand.

The hours of research and interviews you will have to undertake increases with the deeper you get into hunting relic and treasure.  If you think that making sure your batteries are charged is all you have to do to jump in a car to go out to the public park to hunt you are just sampling relic and treasure.

You will have to learn how to dig a dump or privy.  You will have to learn to tell the goose from the greenery.  You will have to learn that each site is unique and yet one site will lead you into another.  If you just throw your non coin finds in a bucket and never question and research what they are, you are not diving deeply into relic and treasure hunting but only sipping or cherry picking.  You will not be able to tell the sites story.

In order to tell the sites story you have to dive in deep to relic and treasure hunting.     Please don’t fall prey to the “one trick pony” approach to relic and treasure hunting.  Get Grizzly with your Temerity and dive into the deep water of relic and treasure hunting.  Fill up your Grizzly Arsenal of knowledge and tools that will allow you to tell the sites story and find the relic and treasure you seek.

Apophenia, essential tool for the Relic and Treasure Hunter

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As a Christian, artist and relic and treasure hunter, I pride myself on teaching others to see in new ways, think outside the box and to shed light into the darkness.  This is one of those subjects in relic and treasure hunting that I feel I need to shed some light upon.

Estes Brook Hill 172Skeptics, Sentinels, anarchists, outlaws and simpletons try to throw out the “psychological disorder” terms like Apophenia and Pareidolia to attempt to silence the information getting out on how to see “the goose in the greenery”.  They rely on the stigmata of the terms to dissuade research and conversations on the subject.  Why?  Because it is key to unlocking these cache sites that are found all across this nation and if they can keep you from using this tool in your grizzly arsenal, then it will severely handicap you in finding the treasure you seek.

It is much like Temerity.  Temerity only appears foolish to those that will never attain or embody the characteristic.  Well, you will never find relic and treasure intentually cached to be recovered at a later time unless you fine tune these tools.

Yes, Apophenia is a relic and treasure tool that can be developed even in the most linear of thinking minds to distinguish the goose from the greenery.  A great example of seeing what others don’t and if they do they don’t follow through with it or are bullied into setting their observations aside.  A lovely British student utilizes her Temerity to become the leading expert in the world on WW2 Tree Carvings.

“WW2 tree carvings and bark grafitti unveil private lives from the past”

“Chantel Summerfield, an arbolglyph reader from Malvern , Worcestershire, 24, said: “You can walk down the streets and see the carvings on the trees and not think anything much of it but when you actually look into it it tells you an awful lot.

“I’ve followed many of the First World War soldiers’ carvings from trees that once stood a few miles behind the front line on the Western Front, through to finding their graves in Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries.”

Those that deny the very existence of their fellow man utilizing this ability to hide the goose in the greenery are simply ignorant or just enslaved to someone else’s agenda.

Leonardo Da Vinci, a genius in many fields of study had this to say about this effective tool of observation:

his notebooks, Leonardo da Vinci wrote of pareidolia as a device for painters, writing “if you look at any walls spotted with various stains or with a mixture of different kinds of stones, if you are about to invent some scene you will be able to see in it a resemblance to various different landscapes adorned with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, plains, wide valleys, and various groups of hills. You will also be able to see divers combats and figures in quick movement, and strange expressions of faces, and outlandish costumes, and an infinite number of things which you can then reduce into separate and well conceived forms.”[11]

In order to master and perfect this tool of observing not only the natural world around you, but to discern the hidden goose in the greenery there are many examples online and off that you can train your eye and brain to venture where few have the temerity to go.

However, this tool is only as good as any other tool in your grizzly arsenal of tools to hunt and find relic and treasure.  If you don’t know how to use your metal detector, you will not find the treasure for which you seek.  It is the same with this apophenia gift that you develop.  Remember on any sight, but especially cached sites there is one question we must continually answer and test:  ”Is it the goose or is it the greenery?”  or “Is it the mirage or the reality?”

Every cache site is created to look ancient, to blend in with the natural and provide a simplistic cover story to protect the relic and treasure cached away.  So you are going to run into a higher percentage of mirage than you will find in its reality.  For example a 1920-30′s bootlegger will cache his property or his neighbors so that if anyone does notice something is out of place, it will appear like it was a remnant of the past dwellers of the location.  They will try to make things look as if the natives that the land was taken from had left some remnant of their civilization behind in rocks, tree carvings or landscaping.

So always test what you are observing with what you are actually finding as you dig.    All the wonderful stone and tree carvings are meaningless if you can’t test them with finding what they are telling you should be there.  Remember, what is above is also below.  So if it isn’t then you have found the mirage, and not the reality.

 

Tree Carvings & Strategy

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Estes Brook Hill 172

When you get onsite, it is always beneficial to pay attention to not only the stones on the site but also the trees.  If you are in the right place, you will see signs, symbols and code almost everywhere.  The example above is that of a tree section where the bark is carved, shaved and manipulated to communicate a message.  Now most of the message maybe gibberish but take it all into account and compare and contrast your historic and contemporary aerial photos with clues found on rocks and stones in that area.  Even if you only know the basics you can still make heads and tails of what is there if you are diligent and observant.

In the field I could only tell that something was here so I documented it with a photograph.  Utilize your camera as you can really never have enough photos come research season.  Take photos from the 4 cardinal directions as different distances.  If you find something that you know is significant take photos from as many angles as you can approaching it as degrees on a compass.  An object has 360 degrees that you could be taking photos from to document the find.  You will thank me later.  Remember to take photos in different lights, and times throughout your hunt day.

You may not be able to see the clues out in the field, especially on dirty stones.  Later the photo’s will reveal what you missed in the field.  If you can always take photos of the stones and trees before you clean off dirt, moss, twigs and other items that may cover what you hope is there.  The reason being is that sometimes it is in the greenery that clues can be found.  I have many stones that clues utilizes even the moss or algae on the stones to give you the clue someone else may have missed if they just went to clean the stone without that quick snapshot before hand.

Tree carvings are difficult but can really help you see through the mirage.  For instance stone carvings are hard to date.  They appear ancient even if only twenty years old.  Rocks that sit under water or in wet areas have more moss and algae growing on them so they can appear much older than they really are.  Trees however can be ring dated and fresh code on saplings can tell you quick that you are working a maintained cache site and not some ancient forgotten site as it may appear to the untrained eye.

Every hunt site you have to go into like a forensic detective.  More than likely if you are hunting a cache site, it is and was a crime scene.  Some of my valued finds are tools of the trade finds.  I enjoy bringing light into these dark sites and telling their story.  This threatens a lot of Sentinels.  Good.  They should be worried because I am sharing with you my methods and strategies so that you can shine some light on the darkness that may infest your Grizzly Backyard as well.  Use this information and get out there and find the stories and treasures that await you.

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Above is a sample of what I do.  I insert the photo into Microsoft Publisher then I import smaller sizes of the photo and change their color so I can discern bettter what is present.  If your software has the ability a negative image works wonders as well in revealing their secrets.

I generally use one of the images to mark up with the paint tool so that I can keep track of the information that is on the tree, stone or aerial photo.

Once you have this information compare what you are finding on trees and stones to your aerial photos.  You will be amazed when the imagery starts duplicating itself and then you will understand better the actual lay of the land.

But your work is not done there.  Most armchair treasure hunters stop with the aerial photos.  A few consult the stones and even fewer turn to the trees.  But none of this really matters until you start to dig.  Remember what is above is also below.  So the only true way to test you ability to discern Aerial photos, rocks and trees is to test them with digging for the treasure you seek.

If you don’t find what you think you should be finding then you have to figure out what wrong turn you made.

Some more Tips:

  • The imagery used is like a fractal.  It can be scaled up and down and fit into millions of different topography features and the natural world.  What you have to do is identify not only the image on a stone for example.  But also surrounding registration marks or other images that will help you lock it into the correct and intended location.  So if you find that hand I outlined on this tree that is also a shadow hand gesture for a barking or howling dog.  Look for that same hand gesture to be in the local topography.  Maybe it is a field or a swamp, maybe a clump of trees or a depression.  Usually it is not hard to find many locations that this one image could represent.  But chose some more images on this tree to test your theory.  Off to the right there is a line that takes the form of a profile of a man.  Now check or test your positioning on the aerial photo to make sure that that man profile also lines up in relation to the barking dog hand.  If it does, then choose something else and continue testing until you are satisfied you have the right location.  ***But remember not everything on that tree is going to found in the area.  Most if not all of it is the mirage put there to confuse you.  So test and retest.  But the final test is always what is found in the ground.
  • Take tons of pictures, you can never have enough.
  • Change the color of your photos to reveal code you can not see.
  • Be diligent.
  • Never, never, ever let the bastards get you down.
  • These sites are set up with a bunch of fail safes that are duplication of the information needed to recover the intended cache by the initiated.  Use this to your full advantage.  They did this so if the current land owner clears a field or is really good at rock picking their field, they still have a way to find what they have hidden away.
  • Never take anyone’s word for it.  Always test and then retest.  Even this information I am freely giving you here, don’t take my word for it, test it over and over again until you are satisfied that I know my shit.
    • The 4 relic and treasure hunting resources that helped me out greatly are:
      • Bob Brewer’s Rebel Gold
      • Bart Jeppesen’s Ancient Ghost
      • Charles Kenworthy’s Signs, Symbols and Code series

      • Elaine Blohm Jordan-Indian trail trees

    • Yet, each of them I have tested and re tested their work to differentiate the dodge from the real deal.  All 4 of these resources stand up pretty well.  But remember you are on a site neither of these 4 nor myself have set foot on.  You won’t know what will work and what won’t work.  So you throw your whole arsenal at it and determine for yourself your hunting style.  Then when you have it figured out write a book to help the next generation.  Until then, join us here or in our group on Facebook as we all help each other and have fun toying with the sentinels and simpletons along the way.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/TemerityMagazineGroup/

Well research season is coming to a close here as the snow recedes.  Soon the 2013 Grizzly Hunt Season will be upon us!  I hope I have given you some strategies you can include in your own hunt.

Excitement is Building for the 2013 hunt season

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Do you see what I see?

Estes Brook Hill 016

 

I usually don’t share images of finds on current hunt sites but since this research season is dragging on I thought I would tease you a bit with this great stone monument that I have to look forward too recovering, digging and researching here in 2013.  It is damn fantastic and just one of many great stone monuments on this property.  It is very similar to the 200 rock fish effigy I discovered on the 4 private wood lot acres next to Kensington Runestone Park in Douglas County, Minnesota, but so much better.

I am simply going a bit nuts with cabin fever here awaiting the hunt season.  There are so many great sites to hunt and recover that sites story.  I just pray that I can accomplish it all in this very aggressively planned hunt season.

What part of “Entertainment” Don’t YOU Understand?

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Today I enjoyed a “Diggers on National Geographic” Marathon.  I watched all the full episodes I could find online with little help from National Geographic.  Thank God someone posted them on YouTube or I would of never had the opportunity to enjoy this show.  I don’t do cable, and only watch on demand online so I have watched all the available “American Diggers” and their new better version “Savage Diggers” since Spike TV understands today’s viewers.

I have humored myself by listening to all the jealous and small minded bitches complaining about these shows and other than Jealousy and fear mongering I just don’t get where these people are coming from.  They play right into the hands of the Sentinels and Archaeologist stupidity trying to steal our history from us and protect the ill gotten gains of their outlaw agenda’s on federal, state and county protected lands.

Out of these shows, I still don’t see that “Probing History” or “Grizzly Groundswell” show I am envisioning and creating.  But I thank these shows for pioneering this genre and building on all those old great shows that brought this relic and treasure niche to enormous audiences.

However, each of these shows and their formats deserve a closer look.  Digging deeper into each of these shows and share with you what I enjoy and what I see working as well as what misses the mark.  The really cool thing is that both of these shows “entertained” me and I enjoyed all of them.  Hell, I even picked up some tips from them.

For instance:

  • The 80/20 split on American Diggers is spot on.  I had been doing a 50/50 split and that was fitting when I first started, but now 80/20 fits what I bring to each site and the amount of work I put into each site.
  • The Diggers finding the coin honey hole in that old bar was really interesting.  It never occurred to me that drunks would throw coins over the bar and for them to find a way to get too them was really impressive.
  • The use of burning barrels to thaw ground I really enjoyed with the American Diggers and will use this in future.  Actually I just used this approach today with a grill on a very icy driveway today.  It worked like a charm.

American DiggersAmerican Diggers

This show aired for a season and was the ALL STAR WRESTLING, Rock & Roll Pyrotechnics approach to introducing the viewing audience to relic and treasure hunting.

Pro’s:

  • Fast paced and entertaining with a whole host of larger than life characters
  • Their Grizzly Arsenal of big boy toys they throw at a site is impressive and awe inspiring.
  • Promotes the benefit to the land owner to grant permission to relic and treasure hunters as they will be rewarded with a monetary gain.

 

Con’s:

  • Lead Character outshines everyone else and with so much info to get through in one show, there is no time left to get to know the supporting cast or the land owner.
  • The overall message is the value of the relic and treasure recovered.  If all relic and treasure hunters were value driven there would be maybe 10 relic and treasure hunters in the entire US.  While it maybe what the viewer wants when competing against other reality shows, it just misses the mark in focusing on the value of the find and not the story recovered.
  • This format was good, but it needed many tweaks.  They tried to do too much with the time they were granted and to do so, their finds come off as staged.  But remember this is entertainment.

Diggers

Diggers

Now this format fits the YouTube hunting video a bit better, less rock and roll and more about two friends sharing their addiction with you.  The format feels like “American Pickers” just switched over to metal detecting.  The two leads are hilarious and not quite as annoying as the two American Pickers leads, but I have not watched that many episodes yet.  Sometimes over the top personalities wear on you if they don’t mix things up enough.

Pro’s:

  • More realistic finds and if you only do metal detecting, this show is for you.
  • Two leads fit the format and show well.
  • Very entertaining and the side bets are a great shtick.
  • A bit more focus on the story than the finds value which is promising.
  • Interesting sites

Con’s:

  • The over the top glossary and lead actors may get old fast.
  • The limit of just throwing metal detectors at these sites is like dipping your toe in the pool and going home saying you swam the ocean.  It is just not enough to recover the story!
  • The format feels like an “American Pickers” rip off.  It works well, there is something to be said about not reinventing the wheel, but it is just a bit too shallow of an approach to really depict what I feel is relic and treasure hunting.

The Savages

The Savages

I have only seen a few of these episodes but I am really enjoying the new more realistic format and having Ric and Rita along with their family out hunting together, how could they go wrong?

 

Pro’s:

  • Small Family Business depicted and we need more of this!  Love it!
  • Women hunting Relic and Treasure!  Rita rocks it.

Con’s:

  • It is still a Spike TV over the top show and each of their productions have the same pyrotechnics and attract a specific audience.  Not for everyone, but I enjoy it.
  • Still focused on the MONEY and not the STORY

 

Honestly, all 3 of these shows have been great successes.  My hat is off to them and honestly, there is not a lot that I can complain about with them.  They are all entertaining and they are doing what YOU and I can’t do at this time.  They are reaching an enormous audience and doing what they love.

My advice to those that put down these shows is to remind them that this is still America, put your money where your mouth is and create something better rather than tearing down what others have invested their total Temerity into bringing forth to entertain a massive audience.

If it is entertaining and done well, I will even watch it!

 

 

Looky there, Do you See, What I See?

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around the dream fulfilled backyard 172 (2)My guess is you don’t, and probably think I am nuts.  Hey, you are granted your own opinion.  Although, hear me out.  Our eyes are the best “detector” we have out on the hunt.  Whether you swing a 100 dollar metal detector or a ten grand metal detector, it is your eyes that if they are trained can put you over the good stuff quicker than if you hunt blind.

Now I know that some of our fellow relic and treasure hunters are not graced with the best eye sight.  So I hope you are not offended because even with terrible eye sight with today’s technology, a digital camera and computer, you can be legally blind and still be able to see enough if you know where to look.

Why do you need to look anywhere other than your find’s pouch and your Metal Detector’s display?  Because there are clues all around you.  One of the best visual clues is the lay of the landscape.  Sunken depressions in the sod or a well compacted path in a park or between the house and the old barn.  These are the places where you can visually see that you need to swing your coil there!

Where else do you need to train your eye to look?  One of the first tips I remember getting when I started metal detecting was to look for the biggest tree with exposed roots and metal detect around it.  The thinking was that that tree has been on this site the longest and if the roots are exposed, there has been no fill added hiding the old coins and relics lost there.

Trees are also a great place to look for clues, signs, symbols and evidence that someone was climbing them, or manipulating them.  Indian trail or thong trees were not only used by Native Americans.  They were used by many generations of peoples including those nefarious outlaw types.

Indian Thong Tree

Here is the post I found this illustration from.

The Best book I have found on this subject of Indian Trail Trees with great pics and a hinting narrative:

Indian trail trees 

Elaine Blohm Jordan

Try eBay for better pricing!  I think one of Elaine’s daughters still sells the books but I could not find her memorial site.  Talk about a lady who embodied Temerity!

Here is one of my favorite Trail Trees I found in my Grizzly Backyard!

Trail Tree

The older the tree carving the harder to decipher it will be, but take a picture and look at it again when you get home.  Blow it up big and make it small, change the color to all blue and you maybe happy as hell when the signs and symbols are revealed.

When looking at trees, look for circles, lines that break the barks grain, and locations on the truck where bark has been shaved off.  Not all carvings are crisp and clean.  Many depending on age are so subtle that if you never knew to look you would never see them even if you pass by that tree 100 times a day.

I have found trail trees in down towns, shelter belts, and in some of the strangest places.  Be careful though when your driving, because knowing what to look for, they will jump out at you and you need to make sure you keep the pickup on the road for the safety of yourself and other drivers.

The first image in this post is a snapshot I took of a pine tree bark back in 2009.  I was just interested in taking some photo’s with interesting textures for backdrops to be used on my websites.  Going through some old photos, this one caught my eye. Do you see what I see on it?

Stones have been very good to me as well.  It is a bit harder to gauge the age or era of a stone, but if you look, they will reward you.

Spes et Fides StoneThis is the Spes et Fides stone I found while hunting 4 private acres adjacent to the Kensington Runestone Park in Douglas county, MN a few years ago now.  This is a master work and just one of about 200 stones that lays out a giant fish effigy on the temple mound that shared the Olof Ohmstad farmstead.  Olof is the founder of the Kensington Runestone.  While there are many Viking images on this stone it is more than likely a KGC or Outlaw Cache site.  I found a great many things there, but none of them were of my proud Viking Norwegian heritage.  But I only believe in what I find in the ground.  The evidence just was not found, but a more nefarious evidence was found.

An even greater find was the Estes Brook Stone I found just last year.

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This Estes Brook Stone is just heads and tails above anything I have found to date.  It is a remnant of New Spain, has evidence of the Jesuit Fur Trappers, and a few different Native American Tribes.  It sits on the trail between Mille Lacs Lake and Rice Lake two major food resources for the native and pioneer alike.  In this area roads and cars really did not replace walking for the major form of transportation until after the second world war.

Just passing either of these stones by would of been a tragedy.  I pray I inspire you to open your eyes and see what I am seeing in your very own Grizzly Backyard.  If you do, please let me know what your finding!