Finding The Goods in Cisco, TX

"'You get about 15 pieces of trash to every coin you find, if not more,' said Vance Gwinn. 'But my collection is growing and growing.'

Using patience and a metal detector, Gwinn, 53, has found hundreds of bullets, belt buckles and coins, not to mention jewelry, gun parts and just about any other metal thing you can think of.

'I started when I was 19, I hunted the Easter Pageant grounds out here, it was my first really good hunt,' he said."

Read more HERE.

Image Credit: Ronald Erdrich / Reporter News

Ring Returned from San Antonio Lake

"Gerald Hewitt, a 1955 Harlandale High School graduate, has enjoyed his favorite hobby of metal detecting for many years.

In July, Hewitt took a drive to Jacobs Creek Park in Canyon Lake to hunt for rings.

'I had just got in the water and that was the first signal I got,' said Hewitt, who found a 2011 class ring from McCollum High School."

Read more HERE.

TX High School Champtionship Ring Found

Not sure why this news story came up, as it's actually from 2010... maybe because finally some closure with it? Either way, it's a great story to read, so give it a look.

"It's a mystery that begins in one of the prettiest places in all of Texas, along the Blanco River in Wimberley.

That's where Brad Bieler of Forney was last August, killing time with his kids and his metal detector.

'This gives me something to do while I'm watching them,' he explained."

Read more HERE.

Image Credits: WFAA

Decades Old Champiosnhip Ring Found

"It's a mystery that begins in one of the prettiest places in all of Texas, along the Blanco River in Wimberley.

That's where Brad Bieler of Forney was last August, killing time with his kids and his metal detector.

'This gives me something to do while I'm watching them,' he explained."

Read more HERE.

Image Credits: WFAA

TX Hobbyist Unearths Human Remains

"Rockwall County deputies are trying to piece together information that will help them identify the victim whose bones were found Wednesday in a wooded area in the northern part of the county.

Lt. David Davis of the Rockwall County Sheriff’s Office said the bones have been taken to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office. A forensic anthropologist will be called in to help determine the sex and approximate age of the victim."

Read more HERE.

Houston Hotel Goodness

For the past few days I've spent my time at the Baymont Inn in Houston, TX. The g/f is having a PAM (Passive Acoustic Monitoring) course here for work and I decided to tag along.

First thing, definitely should have brought the metal detector. I was only a short walking distance from a rather large city park, known as Tom Wussow Park in the Greenspoint (aka Gunpoint) section of town. I provided an aerial of the place, and though it's newer, I wouldn't doubt the amount of clad and occasional jewelry that would show up here because the park is very well used.

Anyhow, it was a nice few days away from home. Just walking around I found $0.04 in memorials and even found this cool Lions Club dolphin motif key chain.

Trip to TX

Figured I'd update any and everyone on how the trip to TX went. Simply put, it was a great time... but I'll get more specific than that.

At 6am on Nov. 20th, Ash and I caught started the journey. By 1045a we had landed in Dallas/Ft. Worth. My parents picked us up and off to Uncle Julio's for some fine Mexican cuisine in Ft. Worth. It was pretty yummy, very fresh tasting. A little pricey as far as I'm concerned for Mexican food, but it was good.

After that we drove down by where the new Cowboy's stadium is STILL under construction... and then made our way home... to Granbury.

The next morning we woke up late, and then headed over to the beach at Lake Granbury to get in some MD time. You can see my post from Nov 26th for more info on that.
It was really just to waste time while waiting for the 2:30p showing of the new Disney Pixar movie, Bolt. Which, if you have the opportunity to see, was pretty sweet. Rhino the Hamster makes the movie!



After filling up on popcorn, candy and soda... it was time to make it back home. My Dad was off to the DFW area to watch High School footballs playoffs, so we just went home and fizzled out. The plan was to hit up CiCi's Pizza after for food, but the movie snacks had canceled those plans. After recovering a few hours later, we were hungry. And much to my surprise, my mom shuttled us over to Hammond's BBQ in Glen Rose. MY FAVORITE #1 BBQ place EVER! Nothing like brisket perfection, fried okra, and drinks out of a mason jar!

The next morning, Saturday I believe, we all woke up early and made it to a local diner called The Firehouse. Their country fried steak and eggs is the only place that rivals IHOPs version in my opinion. Anyhow, it was our yummy breakfast before heading out to Arlington and spending the majority of the day at Six Flags Over Texas.

We had a great time at Six Flags. Since we were there when it opened we were able to ride pretty much every roller coaster in just a few short hours. We met some cartoon characters, had a half decent lunch, and bought a supergirl cape, haha.







We left the park about an hour and a half before it closed. After riding all the coasters and wandering around, didn't see much use in staying just to stay. So since I guess we had time to kill on the way home, my dad took us by the Ft. Worth Stock Yards... were sadly, there was no cattle to see. But it was neat walking around the shops and stuff.



The next day was a lazy day. We drove over to Cleburne and had lunch with my Grandad. It was good seeing him. Twice in one year is a new record for me.

Monday morning, we started our 3.4-4 hour journey down to San Antonio. It was a long, boring ride. Nothing exciting to report on the way down. We stayed at the Drury Plaza Hotel which has a River Walk entrance. It was a nice place. Room was big, had WiFi (which I used to download a few movies, hehe) and they gave 3 complimentary cocktails for each person per day. What's not to like!? We spent the rest of the day checking out The Alamo, the River Walk, Ripley's Odditorium and Louis Tusaud's Wax Mueseum. We also made the rounds at the River Center Mall.







Our last full day in TX and we were headed off to Austin, the state capitol. We spent about an hour at the capitol building, where we got lots of neat pics. Then made it north to Round Rock near the Dell Diamond baseball field to eat a BBQ place my buddy Shane, who lives in Austin, recommended. I rated it maybe #3 on my list.





And there you have it. That was pretty much our trip to TX. Can't wait to do it again in a few months, maybe when it's baseball season again. Hope you all enjoyed the story and pics!

TX Huntin', Nov 21, 23 & 25

I was able to get a good 3-4 hours of MD'ing in over 3 days of my week long trip to TX. I had been in contact with a guy by the name of Aaron Mclain of Granbury, TX's Parks and Rec Dept. about detecting in the town. And he graciously replied, short and sweet:

"I can only speak for the city parks and city athletic fields. We do not allow digging in the city parks. It can create uneven playing surfaces and hazards for others. You can visit the city beach and use the detector in that area and dig holes as long as they are covered back up. unfortunately, most of the Brazos River shoreline is privately owned and access is limited."

That being said, I took it upon my first day there to hit up the towns' beach upon the man-made Lake Granbury. Sadly, there wasn't much to be found there, only 4 coins... but hey, apparently the beach has only been there a few months. That same day I found a few more odds an ends, 30-06 brass casings, 4 more coins... and old iron tool pieces in my parents front yard. Nothing exciting.


Two days later I decided to try my luck in the area right next to my parents where I know there used to be a trailer that had been rented out. It's no longer there, but surely the people that lived there left something? The finds there were meager at best. A few coins, 40oz bottle tops, pull tabs, and lots of trash.


My last day of hunting ended up being a night hunt. We didn't get back from Austin until the sun was setting, so I grabbed a flashlight and made the most of it. All these finds were in the front yard and side yard. I'm glad I stuck at it, 'cuz I pulled a '41 wheat! WOO!

Galveston: 3 Days Prior to IKE

As most of you know, my ship pulled into port in Galveston on September 9th, 2008. We were to have a quick crew change, so the next crew could get the hell out of there and head south. Fortunately they did. But being there only a few days prior to destruction really humbles you.

Now being back on the boat here in Alabama, I thought I'd share some images taken from the boat as we sailed into Galveston.

Me with the Galveston sunset in the background.


Our Pilot boat speeding off.


This really cool Pilot boat, dubbed the Hummer Boat.


Lightning strike as the storm showed up from behind.

All images below are random dolphins bow riding my ship as we entered port.

From The Archive: Back From Texas 8-4-08

I only really hunted for maybe an hour on two separate days. The 100+ temps were brutal while I was down there. I hunted mostly the front yard of my parents 1930s farmhouse, and to tell you the truth, I was rather disappointed. I almost felt like I was hunting wet sand. I had to set the sensitivity wayyy down and the entire yard seemed to be hitting every swing. I found tons of iron items, like nails, an old trowel shaped tool, a few license plates (wierd). A handful of 30-06 casings, along with some slag. I only found 2, yes TWO pieces of clad. A 1970 penny and a 1989 dime.



The only really two things I found worth keeping in my stash were a bent pin that either says Lucky or Luciky, and a 1991 Bacchus token from Mardi Gras in New Orleans.



Otherwise I just managed to swing around aimlessly with my X-Terra 30. I checked the places you'd expect to check an old house for... near the front steps, within a few feet of the house in the back yard, and even the nice big shady tree in the front. There just wasn't much to give up I guess. I was really hoping for at least a wheat penny if nothing better.

Oh, and when i was digging up the license plates, I think they were covering up a hole in my parents water well. Because when I got the last one out, I heard what sound like dirt falling into water, and sure enough... that's what it was. I know the front portion of their house is sinking, and is no lower than the rest of the house... hmm...