The beginning of our Light Parade "God Bless America"
Beautiful sunset on Christmas Eve.
Getting ready to leave on the Light Parade. Duster can't decide what's happening.
Duster is starting to have some fun.
Here we go!
After the parade we gather at the Opera House for hot chocolate and cookies.
Headed back home.
It was a great parade. Let's do it again next year.
Christmas
On Christmas Eve we had a light parade here at Stanton Camp. Twenty-two of us decorated our ATV's with lights and paraded through the camp. Everyone was so creative. There are about 200 people here, so we had a nice crowd. It was so much fun. Duster (our cocker spaniel), rode in the back wearing his blinking light reindeer horns. Willard had on our Santa stocking caps and sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to each group we passed. After the parade, we all gathered at the Opera House for hot chocolate and cookies.
On Christmas Day we had a wonderful potluck dinner at the camp and visited with our neighbors. We called or received calls from family members throughout the day.
Weather
The weather has just been wonderful this year. Warm days, cool nights, and no rain. The night sky is beautiful as we walk Duster before we turn in for the night.
The Outing
The Gold Prospectors of America has an outing here at Stanton each year the week after Christmas. About 150 more people invade our camp. They bring their motorhomes, fifth wheels, trailers, campers, tents and vans. They also bring their kids and pets. It is a busy place. We serve breakfast and lunch for those who don't want to cook. I worked in the camp kitchen cooking and serving breakfast for three mornings. It was tough getting up at 5 am, but I managed. Vendors displayed their goods from jewelry to prospecting equipment. I bought a new hat, some gold nugget earrings and necklace, and some new badges. Willard jammed with other musicians each afternoon. We didn't participate in the common dig or the gold panning activities. Willard would rather go out and find his own gold. The common dig participants share the gold they find. We had our Indiana friends (Jeannie and Jim) from Vulture Mine and our Oregon friends (Peggy and Ray) from North Ranch visit today. We all spent most of the day visiting, shopping, and enjoying all of the activities in camp. Our Texas neighbors (Mary and Allen) had a catfish fry at lunch. I fixed the coldslaw. We also had red beans and cornbread. It was delicious.
My New Hobby
I am learning to wire wrap to make jewelry. I have made four necklaces so far. I wrap sterling silver or gold wire decorativly around polished and cut gems and rocks. If you want to get an idea of what I'm talking about then search wire wrapping jewelry on Google.
Willard has been finding gold just about everyday he goes out. He spends a couple of hours digging in the dirt and dry washing it to filter out the gold. Then he comes back home and pans the concentrate to recover the gold. Most of the gold he finds is flour gold (about the size of kosher salt crystals). He has found pickers, nuggets and quartz/gold specimans. It all adds up over time. I have no hopes of getting rich or even breaking even after purchasing the equipment, but he loves it! I think it is the hunt and getting together each afternoon with other prospectors to share their stories and show their daily results.
What Tomorrow Brings
Tomorrow is my last day in the kitchen. Then we have to go into Congress and get the mail. We have it forwarded and it usually arrives at General Delivery each Friday. After we get the mail, we plan on going to Prescott to do some shopping. It is about 45 miles northwest of Stanton. As you can see I used the word "plan." Our plans can change on the spur of the moment. We have to get back to Stanton and decorate our ATV again for another light parade for the visitors. It will be a busy day.
