From Panning to Tours, Gabe is the Jack of all Trades
Gabe, one of our resident tour guides and Colorado gold panning experts, began his gold journey in high school, working as a tour guide for the Georgetown Loop before finding the Phoenix Gold Mine.
“[The Phoenix Gold Mine is] an incredible mine for how much you can see… [it] truly is world class,” Gabe exclaimed about his experience as a tour guide.
He has worked for the Phoenix Gold Mine for two seasons, exploring the mine and panning for gold in Trail Creek. Gabe loves maintaining the mine, expanding the tours and reflecting on the amazing mining history.
Mining history often comes in many shapes and sizes, and all of our tour guides have different interesting facts to offer. Gabe was excited to share the origins of Jack jokes as they relate to mining:
A lot of that is references to the era when Americans would make fun of people from Cornwall, calling them Jack… they were very talented at mining and would get better positions in the mine. [This] slowly lead to more and more Americans making fun of Jack.
The next you are going to get jacked, use a jackhammer, or say Jack of all trades, remember it came from miners and keep an ear out for some of these jokes and snippets of mining history on our tours!
Colorado Gold Panning
In addition to being a tour guide, Gabe is a Colorado gold panning expert! When it comes to gold panning, Gabe wishes more guests would “spend more time at the creek… you would be surprised how much gold is actually in [Trail] Creek.”
Panning is an art form, like fishing, patience is the key to success. If you are able to get in the swing of things, as Gabe describes, you will have a better chance of seeing gold in the pan. Lucky chances do happen on occasion though! Gabe once saw a child who “pulled a two-gram nugget out of the creek” on one of his tours!
"The gold is naturally replenished throughout [the] seasons; it is really about the panning,” Gabe explained. “People who find gold nuggets go through forty to sixty pans. The more time you spending honing your skills the better chances you’ll have over time.”
The Heartbeat of The Phoenix Gold Mine
In addition to gold panning in Clear Creek and giving tours, Gabe enjoys exploring the paths of the Phoenix Gold Mine.
“The tour itself is only 500 feet, but the walkable paths the Phoenix has is over two miles,” Gabe shared! Although some are unavailable to the public, Gabe loves to explore the Phoenix Gold Mine’s walkable paths.
This eye for exploration, history and geology has made Gabe the perfect fit for the Phoenix Gold Mine. He hopes one day to show the rest of the mine to his tours.
Gabe is truly unique; his expertise and passion make him a loved member of the Phoenix Gold Mine. Next time you stop in, make sure to say hi to Gabe!
Book a tour online today and come see us soon!