Davey Diggins

04/26/2026

We are back from an amazing and relaxing vacation. While I had great time I am looking forward to trading the salt life for the dirt life.

04/15/2026

Not sure which is prettier, gold in the pan or this view from over 10,000'.

04/14/2026

Making some new friends out in Colorado.

04/13/2026

Most folks are looking at Virginia gold maps the wrong way…

They find a marked spot and head straight for it.

Truth is, those maps don’t tell you where the gold is — they tell you where to start thinking.

Over time I’ve learned to treat maps like clues, not answers.

Old reports, creek bends, elevation changes… when a few of those line up, that’s when things start getting interesting.
I’ll spend more time studying before a trip than I do with a pan in the water some days.

That prep has saved me a whole lot of wasted miles.
Curious how the rest of you use maps when you’re scouting new ground?
Do you trust the markings… or read between the lines a bit

Historic mines, faults, favorable rock, and LiDAR on one interactive map. For prospectors and anyone tracing Virginia's first gold rush belt.

04/09/2026

I need to find one of these! (or learn to weld)

03/26/2026

Coming soon to a creek near you.

03/20/2026

For you Deus runners out there!

Just got a small shipment of the Xp Deus II WSA Stereo Headphones. 👍

03/18/2026

Just opened the gates a bit on VirginiaGoldMaps.

If you’ve been curious what’s really out there… you can now get 3 days of full access just for signing up. No guessing. No scattered info. Just clean, organized ground to study.

I built this for folks who take their time reading the land before stepping into the creek.

You’ll start noticing patterns real quick… where gold likes to be, and where it just plain isn’t.

I’m curious...

If you had full access for 3 days…
what’s the first thing you’d look for?

Drop it below 👇

Gold mapping and geologic survey. Virginia gold-pyrite belt, historic mines, lithology, faults, and exploration layers on interactive maps.

03/17/2026

🍀 Creekside Luck or Creekside Skill? 🍀

St. Patty’s Day always gets folks talking about luck… but out here on the creek, I’ve found it’s usually not luck that fills a pan.

It’s paying attention.

Reading how the water slows just enough behind a bend…
Noticing that subtle line of black sand…
Taking the extra minute to test a spot most folks walk right past.

That’s where the gold tends to be hiding.

Now don’t get me wrong—I’ll take a little Irish luck if it wants to drift my way today. But more often than not, it’s the folks who show up prepared and patient that head home with a little color in the pan.

So here’s a question for y’all this St. Patrick’s Day:

👉 Have you ever had a “lucky” find that turned out to be good instinct instead?

Drop your stories (and maybe a pic of your best pan if you’ve got one). Always enjoy seeing what folks are pulling out of Virginia waters this time of year.

Stay safe out there, respect the land, and may your pan shine a little brighter today 🍀

Send a message to learn more

03/16/2026

One thing the creek will teach you pretty quick is this:

Gold doesn’t like to travel any farther than it has to.

When water comes around a bend, the fast current usually rides the outside bank, pushing gravel and everything else downstream. The inside bend is where the water slows down… and when it slows down, heavy stuff like gold finally gets a chance to settle.

That’s why you’ll often hear prospectors talk about checking inside bends first.
But here’s the catch — not every bend holds gold.

There still needs to be something there to catch it. Bedrock cracks, clay layers, tight gravel, big rocks… something that makes that gold stop moving.
A lot of prospecting isn’t just digging.
It’s standing there for a minute and watching the water.
The creek will usually tell you where to start if you’re patient enough.

Now I’m curious about something 👇
When you walk up to a new stretch of creek…
what’s the first thing you look for before you even put a pan in the water?
Everyone reads a creek a little different. Let’s hear it.

03/15/2026

Here’s a weird one most beginners don’t think about.

You start digging for gold…

…and suddenly you’re finding relics.

Things like:

• old bullets
• buttons
• tools
• coins

At that point the activity can shift from prospecting to artifact recovery, and Virginia protects historic artifacts pretty heavily.

That can bring in:

• state archaeologists
• conservation officers
• law enforcement

Even on private land there can be rules about disturbing historic resources.

Experienced prospectors usually stick to one mission:

Gold.

If relics start appearing, it’s usually a sign you’re digging in a place with deeper history than you expected.

And that’s a whole different world.

Ever found something unexpected while digging gravel?