[meteorite-list] Re: Thanksgiving find November 24, 1995

[Notkin]

Twink posted:

> It occurred to me today that it was ten years ago when my friend and 
> neighbor Jim Kriegh asked me to take care of his house . . .


Dear Twink:

Thank you for reminding us of this most excellent anniversary! Wow, ten 
years since the first Gold Basin stone was found. Can it really be 
true?  : )

I think the Gold Basin discovery generated one of the most enjoyable 
modern-day meteorite adventures. Thanks to Jim's generosity in sharing 
strewn field information, and your invitations to have visitors to hunt 
with your team, a good number of people here on the Meteorite List 
found their very first meteorite at G.B.! The discovery demonstrated 
that non-academics could carry out important strewn field mapping work, 
and the interest in the find brought new collectors and enthusiasts 
into the field.

I met you and Jim as a direct result of the Gold Basin find (I 
interviewed Jim and Twink for a "Meteorite" magazine article in 
February, 1998). We became friends and -- years later, when I moved to 
Tucson -- neighbors as well! I hunted at G.B. three times -- twice with 
you and Jim, and once with Steve Arnold. I met Suzanne Morrison up in 
the strewn field, and she is now also a close friend and neighbor. My 
visits to G.B. generated two published articles for "Meteorite" ("The 
Great Gold Basin Rush," May, 1998;  "The Midas Touch: A Return to Gold 
Basin," August, 1999), a few nice stones which I eventually managed to 
find (after some very patient coaching from Jim), some great photos, 
and lots of fine memories.

The first time I met my future friend and expedition pal Matt Morgan, 
back in 1998, he was examining some G.B. stones he'd just received from 
you and Jim in a trade.

I once sat up way into the night around a roaring fire of dead cactus 
parts at G.B., with Steve Arnold and Jack Schrader, drinking something 
strong out of tin cups, swapping meteorite-hunting stories, and 
laughing madly. Of course we slept in too late the next morning, and 
were awakened by Jim at about 6:15 am with a polite but stern, "Come 
on, we're burning daylight!"

I guess Gold Basin ended up having a pretty big effect on me. When I 
moved to Tucson, my new neighbor and fellow meteorite hunter Jim Kriegh 
even came over with his ladder to show me how to fix my swamp cooler!  
: )

Good friends and great times. We were lucky to be part of it.


Geoff N.