Building a subsurface that will capture fine gold is a tough job and requires the understanding that pressure drives the flow of water/material unlike a surface unit which benefits from gravity flow and angle to help move material over the sluice. This type of system has been deployed on surface designs also but does require considerably more design than a standard subsurface dredge. This type of system will achieve much better recovery than a standard submersible because the flow rate to move the smaller material is much less than the requires flow to move the large rocks. The sump is then run as a separate system with it's own suction jet drawing from the sump and feeding the sluicebox. I believe material is brought to a screen separator which allows the larger material to be discarded and the smaller material is caught below the screen in a sump. This was a wonderful day trip.It was hard to see much of the "Dragon" on the show to give a good description, but from what I saw I think he is running a 2 stage system. The road ends at a ranch, but my car could not make it that far up. There are also abandoned cabins along the road and other sites worth noting. Upper Loon Road, which is accessible by the Yankee Fork Road, is rather treacherous but if your vehicle can make it, is a nice drive with some incredible views. There is some interesting machinery laying around and the General Custer Mill is sitting past the refurbished buildings on a hillside. This town has been restored and pathways and information signs are readily available, making it more kid friendly…and also not as original or interesting (in my opinion). The Boot Hill cemetery is also outside of this ghost town and worth stopping at. I especially enjoyed Bonanza because it has not been reconditioned, but left alone, which proved more interesting in my opinion. There is an extremely cool cemetery outside of the Bonanza and there are many buildings still standing. Further up the Yankee Fork is the restored gold dredge that is responsible for the tailings on both sides of the road. Nice hikes along the river and interesting mining remnants from days past. The Sunbeam Dam on the Salmon River was partially dynamited in the 1930’s, making the Salmon River the last free flowing river in the west. The drive was *stunning* and there was a plethora of wildlife and interesting sites. We visited the Sunbeam Dam, the ghost towns of Custer and Bonanza, the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge, and drove along Upper Loon Road. My husband and I stayed in Stanley, Idaho in August 2009 and spent one day driving along the Yankee Fork Road. Don't let this keep you from a land and place you will love. Even though this review will show that we visited OCT 11, this is not correct, it was over 25 years ago, I guess to write a Post, (my every first) the visit must be within 1 year. Just remember, leave it like you found it, so all will have the chance to share in this most excellent adventure. It's been years since we have slowed down long enough to return, but soon, real soon we will be back to share the fishing, nature and beauty and the pioneering spirit that make the Land of the Yankee Fork, and the rest of the USA. I suggest that you find a book titled, "Land of the Yankee Fork" and find a warm cozy spot for a few hours and get lost in many stories where the colorful folks of the past helped settle, build and develope one of Gods most beautiful places on the planet. Back then, as I am sure today, the folks of the Yankee Fork made the real story. Edna and her daughter took us in their arms and treated us as one of the family and shared many of their stories of the days long ago. Edna Mcgown on one of our many trips to Custer who is the wife of "Tuff" McGown one of the first children ever born in the twin cities - but that's just one of many other stories. The landscape, wildlife and nature of the area is what you would only expect to filnd in your dreams. Back in the 80's my wife and I would spent a week every 4th of July outside of Stanley ID camping on the river and these were without a doubt some of the best times we have ever spent.
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