A new past time and reason to get the TC out!! A friend in Great Falls MT invited me over to MT to do some gold mining this July. I don't know a thing about it, but I will. I am fortunate enough...
We often see folks in the Sierra who are using motorized vacuums to slurp up gravel from under the rocks in the mountain streams. It looks cold and difficult, but they seem to be enjoying themselves.
Someone mentioned Mark Twain -- I strongly recommend "Roughing It," his description of the era just after the California Gold Rush. Very interesting, and some of it is laugh out loud funny, which is amazing for something written 140 years ago.