Why gold?

The original gold rush took place around 1850. It's hard to believe there were actual large gold nuggets just lying around in remote places. Most of the obvious nuggets and veins were mined out years ago.

Back then, gold was $18 an ounce, so they weren't too interested in the small stuff. Today, it is over $2000 an ounce, so the small overlooked gold becomes worthwhile. What's nice is the gold belt out West stretches along the entire coast, so when it's 110 in Arizona and only 80 near Oregon, I can pursue my new hobby year-round, following the perfect weather.

Most of the mining hard work was done 100 years ago, so an old crippled person like me can check the thousands of waste piles with a metal detector. Will I get rich? Probably not, but you only need to get lucky one time. Hopefully, this decision will allow me to follow the weather, helping with my daily aches and pains while meeting interesting people surrounded by beautiful landscapes.