Your Hosts

 
David & Betty

I became interested in prospecting in 1994. My children and I would go and spend time checking out creeks and camping. Since my children lost interest, as they became teen-agers, I still went prospecting by myself.

A friend of mine was not too happy about me being out in the woods alone. She set me up on a blind date, a date that David knew nothing about. I came to The Cotton Patch Gold Mine with my friend Alice and her husband Joe. Alice introduced me to David, however everyone knows him as Moose. After a short while Alice finally told Moose I was here to meet him. Boy, was he embarrassed .

We talked about prospecting and metal detecting, what type of detector was best to use in this area. However, David didn’t seem too interested in me, so I left early. The next time I returned to The Cotton Patch Gold Mine, I had a shinny, new Gold Bug 2 in my hand. Of course I needed someone to show me how to use it. So, David agreed to teach me.

We seemed to hit it off then. When he finally asked me for a date, he took me dredging to see if I was a real prospector. I must have passed the test.

The Cotton Patch Gold Mine was to close down, and be put up for sale.  In January David talked to the owner and she agreed to lease it to us. It was a dream come true, we both loved to prospect and a passion for metal detecting.

So, we decided the only place for us to get married was at The Cotton Patch.

Our wedding was a unique one. Our rings were cast from the gold we had found together, we were opened for business that day. All our guest were prospector’s with dirty, muddy clothes, the most dressed was a friend that had on overhauls, white shirt and a tie. They took time from their panning to see us marry on the porch of the log cabin.

So, as the story goes, we met at The Cotton Patch, got married here and intend to spend the rest of our lives here. To maintain a place people can go to learn about panning for gold.

I cannot guarantee you will find your true love here, as I did. I will promise you, you will find new friends, and a warm welcome.