Kansas Meteor Field

"He may be looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, but at least Don Stimpson has an extra large metal detector.


As owner of the Kansas Meteorite Museum, he's searching a six-mile stretch of Kiowa County known for 'Brenham Meteorites,' named for the little town of Brenham once located here, the site of a huge meteor explosion.

'The idea is this all came in at one time, maybe 20,000 years ago, and it probably started glowing over Colorado, the western border of Colorado, and burned thru the atmosphere, broke up. It would've been a massive event,' Stimpson explained."

Read more HERE.

Image Credit: First Coast News

Kansas Trip - Diggin' It With Friends

Day 1: The Drive (04/08/2011)

Picked up Brea's G'ma and was on the road by about 830a. About three hours later we had made our first stop in Goodland, KS to drop G'ma off and ate a delicious Fried Chicken Buffet at Hank's Cafe.

After lunch we were back on the road and made it to the Cedar Court Motel there in Clay Center, KS just before 5p. After unloading the truck we walked out over by the pool for a brief meet and greet with the handful of folks who had shown up already (Harold, Dave, Rhonda, Vlad, Carol, Bob, Jason). Dave and Harold answered my call on FMDF for a few of the remaining slots I had open ion my 50 State Quarter book... it's now finished, thanks guys.

Most of the group headed over to El Puerto, the Mexican restaurant. Me and Brea where still full from the trip, but did take a ride over to grab some alcohol for the next two nights. Around 9 we finally migrated to El Puerto, and though the food wasn't bad, we were totally disappointed that there were NO MARGARITAS!!!???

Day 2: The Hunt (04/09/2011)

Started the day off by meeting everyone up at Huntress Park by 8a. We spent the next four hours or so scouring the park (which had obviously been hit before).

The day was spent digging pull tab after pull tab for me, resulting in $1.58 in clad over 36 coins and not much else in the way of goodies.

But a few folks were able to grab an Indian Head penny or two and even a Mercury dime while two other hunters landed a gold plated ring and a delicate necklace.

Around noon it was time to head on over to Utility Park where we had our lunch planned. On the way over, Brea and I stopped by the Clay Center town square and took a few pics of their old courthouse and a neat pic of the marker for a time capsule.

Over at the park everyone gathered up as the food was cooked and set out. It was a great little feast full of burgers, dogs, ziti, 7 layer dip, potato salad and loads of cake. After the eating, it was time to dish out the goods. Raffle tickets were sold for a chance to win a Minelab Explorer SE Pro donated by New England Detectors with all the ticket proceeds benefiting Brian Duvall's Clad 4 Kids Charity.

There were a few other prizes handed out (all of which were generously donated by New England Detectors) for categories such as "Oldest Coin", "Best Jewelry", "Silver Coin", "Weirdest Object". I ended up bringing home prizes for "Most Pull-Tabs" with a winning total of 31 for the morning, and also for "Farthest Drive" which we trumped the 2nd place people by almost 150 miles... as Denver was a good 455 mile drive. One of the prizes, an 1864 2 Cent donated by Harold was the 3rd of it's kind now in my collection.

After all of that was said and done, most of the group followed Dave up a farm field he had gotten permission to hunt (Pictures HERE). In the meantime, since Brea and I had a dinner appointment with my cousins John and Susan later on in Salina, we opted out and visited the small, dilapidated Clay Center Zoo. The animals all looked miserable and the larger ones, like the bear and wolves just did not have the space to do much more than pace back and forth.

That evening after dinner at Logan's in Salina with my cousin John, whom I hadn't seen since around October 2003 when we were both in Scania CSC in Iraq, and then my cousin Susan of which this was our first time meeting each other... ever... but anyhow, right, so on the way back, around 8p and just turning on to Route 24, I was pulled over by a Sheriff. HE said I was doing a 51 in a 35 and a construction zone. He didn't give me a ticket, but I swore the only posted speed was 65 MPH. Sure enough, the next morning on the way out... there was no 35 MPH zone posted on my side... so WTF!?

Day 3: Back to The Farm (04/10/2011)

We said a few goodbyes and left the Cedar Court Motel around 11a. Having seen a wind-farm that stretched for miles, we decided to see how far it really went... turned out to be 15 miles along the interstate... that's a lot of real estate.

Our first stop on the way back to the farm in Goodland was one of The 8 Wonders of Kansas... the St. Fidelis Church, better known as "The Cathedral of The Plains" in Victoria, KS (a fun fact about Victoria.. the first Black Angus steer in the US were raised here).

Wanting to add to our pressed penny collection, our last stop before the farm was at the Oasis Travel Center in Colby, KS where we picked up our lovely "Kansas Oil" pressed penny.

Day 4: The Hunt Continues (04/11/2011)

Started the morning with some delicious homemade biscuits and gravy just before we were out the door and headed out to "The Smoky Gardens", otherwise known as Soldier's Memorial Park. This park has been here and been in use since at least when Brea's G'ma was a child, so we thought it might be a good place to metal detect. We didn't leave with too much, and with all the trash it just ended up a big disappointment. Even the water that was once here was dried up, but the bed was so littered with trashed, finding anything good would have been a yearlong chore.

We drove back to the farm and I got to thinking, I'm gonna boost my pre-amp gain on my XLT up to 4 and see what happens. So I started hunting around the old farm house (which used to be a one room schoolhouse way back in the day) and started consistently pulling clad around the 6" mark. Sadly, I was getting any deeper. I ended the day with a multitude of finds, and the oldest coin being a '52 wheat.

Day 5: On The Road Again (04/12/2011)

We were to leave and head back to Denver by noon, and we were right on time... but not before we stopped by Main St. in town and picked up an antique 1919 C19 Edison Disc Phonograph. Why? Well because we could I guess, and it was free.

Our only stop on the way home was in Genoa, CO to check out "The Wonder Tower". This place is just wierd. The guy who runs the place is an eccentric old fellow and he has SO MUCH STUFF. It's definitely worth checking out and paying the $1 to climb the tower for the view.

So that was the Kansas trip. Hope you enjoyed the read and pictures.

3rd Annual Diggin' It With Friends

The 3rd annual FMDF Diggin' It With Friends Treasure Hunt is being held at Huntress Park in Clay Center, Kansas. Saturday, April 9th. We are meeting when the park opens at 7:00 a.m. We'll start hunting when everyone is ready to get after it... rain or shine.

We never charge an entry fee or sell tickets to raffle off any prizes and this will not be a seeded event. However we will be giving away a few prizes after the hunt and having a bbq/picnic. Bring your spouses, your children or your best hunting bud, everyone is welcome to attend our event! If you are interested in meeting and socializing and having a great time. Make your plans now to attend. It is going to be a diggin' good time and we're looking forward to seeing you there.


Now a little about the park we plan to hunt.

Mr. and Mrs. Orville Huntress came to Clay County in 1861 and bought a farm on what is now called Huntress Creek. Since the Huntress home was on a road traveled by soldiers going from Fort Riley to Indian outposts such as Scandia and White Rock, these men often stopped at the Huntress well for water. The first post office in Clay County was in the Huntress Home. Early settlers from England began homesteading in Clay County in 1862 in the area now, Clay Center. Clay County was named for Henry Clay, the famous U.S. Statesman. In 1886 Mrs. Huntress sold the Huntress farm, but reserved eight acres which she gave to Clay Center for a park. A Chautauqua was held in the park in 1904 and has been the site for thousands of picnics and family reunions over the years.

The original homestead of Orville Huntress is now a portion of the city of Clay Center and is built over, with the exception of eight acres, which was given to the city for park purposes and is named "Huntress Park." The old Huntress home, built in 1861, is located in this park and is preserved by the city in its original condition, as a monument of her first pioneer. It was not only the Huntress residence, but Clay Center's first post office and hotel. The widow of Orville Huntress, born in Canton Me., Aug. 21, 1821, married for her second husband, C. M. Anthony, a distinguished member of the Kansas bar and a resident of Clay Center. She passed away Dec. 6, 1894.

The closest accomodations to the park is the Cedar Court Motel located about 1/5th mile East of the park at 905 Crawford St. Be sure to mention to them, that you are there for the Diggin' It With Friends Treasure Hunt.

The number to call for reservations is 1-800-999-5774.

The economy: 1 queen bed 52.00 per night, 2 queen beds 57.00 per night.
The middle: 1 or 2 queen beds 62.00 per night
The new section: 1 king or 2 queen beds, recliner, whirlpool tub, 70.00 per night.
All of the rooms have a refrigerator, coffee pot, ironing board and iron.
Continental breakfast included.

There is a Mexican restaurant located next to the motel.

Leave a comment for answers to questions and/or concerns.

K & M Discovery Team

I'd like to welcome all the fine members of the K&M Discovery Team here to Jimmy's MD Blog.

"The origin of the K & M Discovery Team actually began Labor day weekend 2009 when a few guys from the friendly metal detecting forum made some plans to hunt together. This group of guys lived in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri and they all met in Clinton, Missouri that year for a hunt. In 2010 some of the same guys made plans to have yet another group hunt, this time in Sedalia, Missouri. These guys involved more friendly metal detecting forum members from the Missouri Hunters social group and the Kansas Hunters social group. A decision was made that year for our second annual hunt to hold a t-shirt design contest on the forum and call our event the Mo-Kan Hot Treasure Hunt. We later found out, the name was "taken" only after our event and contest was over and done with.

We came up with an idea to bring all of our treasure hunting friends together to create the K & M Discovery Team. With that idea in mind, we took the K and the O and then the M from Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas and developed those letters into our logo and team name. We have since become known as a specialized group of your average everyday treasure hunters. A team made up of guys and gals, husbands and wives, friends and family members. We have also chosen not to charge anyone a membership fee to join the team.

That is how we became known as the "K & M Discovery Team." We do our best to, not only get together for our annual hunts, but to meet up with members for other hunts throughout the detecting season. As a team we will be detecting sites that have taken a lot of research and special permission just to get onto. These sites usually require walking long distances to and from and for the most part, they don't have facilities to accommodate you when nature calls.

The K & M Discovery Team holds their annual Diggin' It With Friends treasure hunt for all members of the forum in our area. We try our best to find a location that is central to as many of the forum and team members as possible and with all the creature comforts of home. Our annual event is the time when we can all get together for a day of hunting and socializing and have the chance to put a face with a name. This is a great time to strengthen friendships and make new ones. We give away prizes and hold a picnic of some kind at our events. We would like all team members to contribute whatever you can with making this annual event happen. Help us make this (always free) event grow!"

I'm more than happy to have you guys on the site, and just as happy to be a member... see you all at this year's hunt!

Those of you interested in becoming a member of the K&M Discovery Team, give a look over at their social group on FMDF: HERE.

As a side note, here are my entries for their 2011 T-Shirt contest... if you're interested in voting please click HERE.