I was very warmly welcomed as a Newbie by all of you a couple of days ago...and spent a couple of hours on the phone with cjoej this morning...what a wealth of information...thanks Joe! I found an old Grange Hall a few miles away and after calling for permission spent a couple of hours enjoying the afternoon. I dug up a penny...not old - 1989 - but let's face it - who doesn't say "OH YEAH" when ANY coin shows its face

...but the best part of the afternoon was when I dug up a piece of quartz (parking lot is hard-packed gravel) with a glittering gold vein running through it! I'll post pics as soon as I dig out my digital camera from whatever box it's still packed in! Thanks again to everyone who has made me feel so welcome - and I hope to meet some of you in person at various activities around the country - as my wife and I plan to experience all the good stuff associated with this great pass time!