IN DEPTH Gold Panning
With another wash of water over the pan, I cleared away the last of the pebbles, leaving only sand behind - together with a bursting sense of anticipation, which all gold prospectors know so well. ‘Could this pan be the one that holds a fat, gleaming nugget under it all?’ I thought to myself. 'Or at least reveals a few flakes to keep the dream alive?’
More than anything, for me, panning for gold offers active anticipation. It’s a different feeling to waiting around to find out if your number was picked and you won a ton of money. Indeed, particularly in its natural form, gold has elicited a strange sense of awe throughout human history; which not only seems to transcend mere monetary value but awakens notions of adventure in the quest to find it,
