Oro was channel surfing one day and happened upon a show with this big man in beat up cowboy hat panning for gold in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. Oro began to reminisce about panning at Philmont Boy Scout Ranch when he was 14…then asked if I remembered Bob, the guy we worked with in Texas taking us into the high desert near Alpine to collect sand out of the dry washes and taking it home to process it for gold. From there his interest and curiosity grew until we were taking vacation time to go prospecting in North Carolina.

I had a great time with lots of pretties found and enough phone signal to do our radio shows with two smartphones and computer for battery power. I like camping, but also like a few creature comforts when I do. LOL

As life sometimes goes, Oro was forced from behind the wheel of Lil’ Pete and out of a thirty year career. That’s when Oro Expeditions moved from an idea into reality.

I must admit when the ideas started moving from paper and discussions into the real world, I was overly cautious. I was raised by the generation of parents where you worked a job for forty or fifty years, and lived your golden years on your pension, but that’s not the reality of my generation.

When Oro pulled out of the driveway on April 14, 2013, it was on a wing and a prayer. Thank goodness there were lots of bus trips this spring to keep the expedition going until it slowly began to support itself through the First Nugget Contest and the generous support of new and old friends, and Oro finding good places to mine for gold.

As we’ve gotten deeper into Expedition ’13, a few more things have come into the light. What started out as a new career path for Oro is slowing morphing into something else. Yes, it’s still about becoming self-sufficient through the retrieval of gold and gemstones, but it’s also become about other things…the continued access to public lands, teaching people a way to be out in Nature while learning a skill the whole family can enjoy (even if it’s just playing in creek), and that can actually add to your pool of resources as a ‘rainy day’ fund or those times when your retirement and Social Security whimper at the cost of living.

So Oro Expeditions is no longer just about Oro going out into the wilderness to bring home the gold–it’s also about sharing…stepping into the battle to retain the few individual freedoms that’s been left to us–sharing time with family and friends old and new in the breathtaking beauty that is the wild places of our country where we can breathe, and ground ourselves then carry that balanced and centered energy back into our everyday lives.

As Oro and I work to pull together funding for Phase II, we’re once again depending on those that can see the dream, and someday say, “If Oro can do it…so can I.” This time when he pulls out of the driveway to head South, instead of cautious, I am optimistic. It’s not just Miss Paula supporting Oro in his dream, but also being able to see all the things that can happen when that dream comes to fruition. That’s why I suggested crowdfunding to fund Phase II and beyond. I have seen the generosity of people when a dream catches fire, and hope they too can see our dream.

Blessings to Everyone and as Oro says on his Expedition videos…”More Later.”

Oro Expedition ’13 Crowdfunding Site