Writing,film,gold prospecting,history,travel,reading,music,ideas,interesting people,treasure hunting,archeaology,and many other things.
Music
I like all kinds of music but some of my favorite bands are as follows.
The Police,
The Doors,
The Who,
Sting,
Peter Gabriel,
U2,
Bruce Springsteen,
The Rolling Stones (only up to 1979),
Oasis,
Pink Floyd,
Roger Waters,
and many others
Movies
Favorite film of all time is Raiders of the lost Ark.
other favorites.
The Empire Strikes Back,
Star Wars,
Blade Runner,
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,
JFK,
The Doors,
Never Cry Wolf,
First Blood,
Revenge of the Sith,
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,
Lord of the Rings,
Conan the Barbarian (yes its true),
and the list goes on...
Television
Seekers of Gold Part I and Interview with Daryl Friesen and TW Patterson about the Lost mine of Pitt Lake.
Seekers of Gold Part II
Books
Martin Eden by Jack London,
The Treasure Hunter by Robin Moore,
Danger My Ally by F.A.Mitchell Hedges,
Valverdes Gold by Mark Honingsbaum,
All Gold Canyon by Jack London,
Is that It by Bob Geldof,
No one here gets out alive by Jerrey Hopkins,
Broken Music by Sting,
Inca Gold by Clive Cussler,
Conan the Conquerer by Robert E Howard,
The Black Stone by Robert E Howard,
The Outsider by Colin Wilson,
Lost Cities of North and Central America by David Childress,
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell,
and the list goes on and on but that gives you some idea.
Heroes
Jack London,
Mitchell Hedges,
George Lucas,
Oliver Stone,
Anyone who trys to create,
Howard Jennings,
Bruce Springsteen,
Sting,
Jim Morrison (his lyrics not his excess),
Sorry Jim but the road to excess leads to palace of morons.
and I don't care what Blake said.
Volcanic Brown,
Steven Spielberg,
Pete Townsend,
Mel Fisher
Clive Cussler
and the list goes on yet again...
Two of my driving passions in this life would have to be writing and exploration. My drive to explore has lead me to some of the most incredible experinces. It has taken me the tops of British Columbia's snowcaped mountains in search of crashed B25 bombers to deep inside the earth in search of lost gold. When I have not been seeking for crashed airplanes and lost gold mines. I have been exploring the jungles of Central America. From the caves of the maya,to the jungle islands of Honduras in search of pirate treasure.When I am not in search of lost history I am trying to write about it. One of my obsessions over the years has been with the lost mine of Pitt Lake a local legend of gold here in British Columbia. I have published a book about it called Seekers of Gold. I also run a company called Spindle Explorations dedicated to my publishing efforts as well as my adventures into history.
Below is one of the chapters from Seekers of Gold. You can google it to read more. If you like it or hate it please at least let me know. Thanks
Chapter One:The legend of the lost mine of Pitt lake
Chapter Two:
A Quest Begins
Chapter Three:
Gold Fever
Chapter Four:A
Location Revealed
Chapter Five:Into the Unknown
Chapter Six:The Real World
Chapter Seven:Lessons Learned
Chapter Eight:The Mystery Deepens
Chapter Nine:Victory
Chapter Ten:The Heart
Chapter Eleven: Outlaw Prospecting and the search for Slumach's Lost Creek Mine
Chapter Twelve:A
Prospectors Philosophy
hhhhhh
..
From Seekers of Gold:
A Prospectors Dream
You see we prospectors are a dying breed. The world doesn't function around us anymore like it used back in the gold rush. The people who care for you cant understand. What in the world would make you want to risk your life to look for gold? They don’t understand the dream, but in the old days everybody understood.
You didn’t have to worry about your wife leaving ya or your friends scorning you because you wanted to find the gold. Everyone was doing it. Everyone dreamed of the day when they would be the one to strike it rich.
The Prospectors dream represented freedom for all, but what does it mean to people today? I’ll tell you, a big house and a nice car. People don’t see that it’s so much more than just finding the golden score. It’s not seen as a building block for freedom. It’s been twisted and messed up to the point of being stuck on a scratch and win ticket. That is what is left of the prospector’s dream in today’s world. All the people around you don’t understand, they can’t see the freedom and the hope it brings you when you chase the dream. They just think you’re dreaming, but we know the truth don’t we?
The truth is you’re living and they are the ones that are dreaming. Their search for the big car and the nice house. Ha! Illusions I tell you brought onto their brain less minds by a media machine.
How I wish I could chase after it still, but the fight’s over for me lad. I’ve got a bad ticker you see, but you can, can’t you son?" he explained eyeing me almost enviously, "there is nothing better than standing high up on a mountain top and gazing down upon the world. It makes you feel like your own man. Free from all prison that the world tries to make of your life.
You see the world doesn’t want you to be your own man. If they did, they wouldn’t be trying to make you swallow the lie all the time and you know how they do it. Through that little box over there," he said pointing to the television across the room.
Look at those people over there," he explained pointing to the people staring at the TV. "They’re swallowing every word of it and it makes me sick. Our pioneer brothers are rolling in their graves I tell ya. They wouldn’t have wanted it this way, this isn’t freedom. People today don’t know what freedom is. That little box over there tells them that they’re free, but they’re not. You see when somebody tells you something enough times you’ll start to believe it.
Tell me you won’t give up, tell me you will follow the dream to the ends of the earth. If not for yourself then do it for your pioneer brothers who help create this world and you become one of them. Remember freedom is worth dying for and I’m not talking about dying in a war fighting for some illusionary freedom that your government tells you have. I’m talking the real stuff that comes from the open spaces and when you spent enough time in the mountains you’ll no what I’m talking about. It will grab your soul and won’t leave you until the day you die. It’s what pushes all great men and once you see it you’ll chase it for the rest of your days
p> The Following videos where made by Daryl Friesen in August 2009.
In the Gulf of Honduras, Scouting the location of the Mitchell Hedges Chest. Read the story in my blog. Digging for the Mitchell Hedges chest near Roatan
Digging for Buried Pirate Treasure near Roatan Island
By Daryl Friesen
After my first trip to ....Roatan.., ..Honduras...., I wanted
to return as quickly as possible to try to search for the missing Mitchell
Hedges' chest.Who did I know had the
courage to go to a third world country and search for pirate treasure?After all, we all had jobs, responsibilities
and other things that keeps dreams from coming true.Who could step out of their life and gamble
some money and time on the quest for buried treasure?The answer was simple.I had to convince my old treasure-hunting
partner from the past, Shawn Gryba.....
Our first
adventure had spawned enough excitement that the two us were willing to try our
hands at a second adventure.It was to
find the Mitchell Hedges chest that Sammy Hedges told me was still there.When I called her on a spring afternoon in
1996, she revealed to me the location of an old pirate chest that her father
had left behind in a 1930s archaeological expedition to ....Roatan. Her father Mitchell Hedges was one of the first to investigate some of the Pech or Paya archeaological sites that can be found on the....Island...... (See
part Roatan Part One for further details)....
Before
Shawn and I even left the ground back in ....British Columbia.... to go on
this trip, we had the feeling that if nothing of value is discovered, it would
probably be the last adventure we would ever take together.The world of responsibilities was..s
c..closing in on both of us even faster than when we
tried to find gold in ....Spindle....Canyon....
back in the early days.If we failed
this time, then it was all over.The
days of treasure hunting would be put behind us.There was a great deal riding on this
expedition.....
We arrived
on ....Roatan....Island....
and quickly made our way to the ..West End..
where we spent our first night in ....Honduras.....It was strange to be back and it felt really
good.I was excited about the adventure
to come.Shawn and I discussed the up
and coming search for lost treasure that evening.....
How do you
know its there Friesen?You are not
telling me a fish tail about this Anna Jennings thing are you FriesenShawn asked.....
....
No, it's
true man!I told you she told me the
name of the key on the phone and as far as she knows, no one has gone back for
the last chest.I explained once again
trying to reassure him.
"So what more can you tell me
about this David guy anyway?Do you
really think he can help us?Shawn
asked.....
David
operates a resort called the Reef House in ....Oakridge on the east side of Roatan..., ..Honduras.....He will help us.David is a treasure hunter at heart. Will you
just trust me already!>I
explained.besides, we can rent a
small boat in Oakridge that can take us out to the key if he has better things
to do.....
Look,
we'll talk about it in the morning I have to get some sleep, the jet lag is
killing me.So with that I laid down on
my bed and tried to sleep.I was then
thrust into the strange realm of dream.As my unconscious took over my mind, I was back in my Langley,British Columbia, and I
saw my father He was fishing on the Fraser River and he was
fighting a great salmon.I could see myself walking beside him as a child.He seemed to be the master of life, a god who
had all the answers and could ever die.Then out of nowhere came a great big blast like a nuclear explosion,
which seemed to destroy the great scene and I found myself upright and
conscious sitting in a hotel room bed screaming at the top of my lungs.I didn't know it then but my father had just had a heart attack around the same time I had the dream.....
Suddenly
the whole building started to shake, the windows rattled and the lamp fell from
the night stand with a crash as the light bulb shattered on to the floor.It all happened very quickly, Shawn and I
were both in shock.The shaking quickly
brought me back into reality.What the
hell's going on?What was that? Shawn
said, sounding shocked.Maybe it;s the
curse of Henry Morgan, I grinned.Felt
more like an earthquake to me,explained Shawn.....
The next day as we made our way out of the hotel and towards
Oakridge in the cab of a crazy Honduran who drove a hundred miles an hour down
the windy roads of Roatan. He was driving faster then all the other cars on the road and as
he passed by the other cars in a cloud of dust he cursed at how slow all the other drivers on the road
were. and all he talked about in broken
English was how the earthquake scared the hell out of him last night and how that
was nothing compared to the one he was in back in ....Nicaragua.... back in
the 1980s.This trip was already starting out with that special brand of chaos, which is the lifeblood of adventure.....
When we finally arrived a the Reef House, David was there
and greeted us with a loud,Well look who is back in town!It's the hosers!When I first met him, I knew that deep down
inside he was a treasure hunter at heart.He lived on Roatan most of his life and he knew that there was treasure
out there somewhere just waiting to be found.Â
David had never searched for it because he was always too busy running
the Reef House.When you first meet him,
he is so in your face that its kind of a shock.He has no problem speaking his mind or trying
to pack as much vulgar language into a single sentence as possible.David does not care what anyone thinks of
him,He also knows everyone and everything about the ....island.. of ..Roatan...., so you
couldn't ask for a better guide.....
<..[endif]>...The warm water was splashing up onto my face
as we cruised into the old ..Port Royal.. in search of treasure.The thoughts I had inside as we got closer to
the small key were of Mitchell Hedges daughter telling me about the treasure
that was still buried there.It was one
of complete wonder that finally my childhood dream is about to come true.As the salt water dripped down my face and
into my mouth, the taste brought back such a wonderful feeling of adventure
that I wanted the moment to last forever before we touched down on the beach of
the small key.W
The key
was littered with garbage.There were
pop cans, metal wire, a beat up fridge, old buckets and buoys.You name it and it was there, washed up on
the key.The first thing that came into
my mind was that metal detecting was going to be very difficult.I didn't want to share that information with
the other two treasure hunters who had come on this adventure.Their morale about this whole idea of
searching for treasure was already low enough.....
David was
the first to let out hi..s c..cynicism
at the reality of what we were trying to do."Man!We are not going
to find a dam thing!" he said as he looked around the key.....
Don't
worry, this metal detector has discrimination.I said with fear in my voice as I really wanted to find something....
I quickly
started scanning the beach of the key as soon as we got to shore.I searched for several minutes with no
hits.As I moved closer to shore we got
our first strong hit, but as Shawn started digging we hit the remains of a
rotted old tin can.I saw in his eyes
that he was looking doubtful.I searched
for almost a half an hour and found nothing, but more junk.I threw the metal detector down in
frustration.Shawn walked over and
picked it up and started searching.He
dug one hole and found nothing, then he dug a second and found nothing.Slowly he made his way down to beach where we
had landed the boat.....
The metal detector
let out one more of its irritating screeches and Shawn started digging and
within moments he pulled a very old rusted piece of chain out of the sand.At first I thought nothing of it as he held
the chain in his hands.It looked like
another piece of rusted metal, and then it hit me.....
I remember
in the Mitchell Hedges story that when he found the first three chests they
were wrapped in chains.He had to cut
the chains to open the chest just before loading the chests onto his boat.We landed near the area where Hedges was
because it was the only open in the mangrove to enter the key.The metal chain had to have been once wrapped
around an old pirate chest.I quickly
shared my news with my partners and everyone's spirit seemed to go up a
little.....
If the
theory is true, here is a piece in our hands that was a link to the
treasure!It brought the hopes of a
successful conclusion to our quest closer to reality.Iâ€,,ve always found treasure hunting to be a
struggle with reality because for me it has always had a parallel with
religion.If you don't believe in the treasure,
then it will not exist for you.You will
never search and never experience the divine as you pull ancient gold out from
underneath the sand.For gold is the god
that we all search for, even the church has a collection box.....
<>We continued our search for
another hour or so when David started staring at the black clouds that were
forming in the sky overhead."Ah
man, there is going be a storm man. , we have to head back, so hurry up and find
the dam treasure.Hey!You forgot to check the fridge he said
running over and checking inside the old fridge that was resting on the ..East
Side.. of the key.I
tried to ignore David 's rant, but Shawn was laughing hysterically.As I swung the metal detector back and forth
across the sandy key I could feel any hope of finding a treasure chest filled with gold doubloons slowly slipping away.....
The
detector then made one louder screech that sounded different than all the other
screeches it had made that day.This one
sounded more successful, so I started digging when out of the sand I pulled a
small silver statue of a carving of a naked woman.This sent a shiver up my spine.Come and have a look at this one boys! I
yelled.Shawn and David came running
over to where I was digging.They
glared over my shoulders at the curious object I had unearthed which I had come
to the conclusion was the handle of a dagger belonging to a pirate.Shawn and David looked at the object in
question and quickly agreed that, yes indeed I had found an object, which once
belonged to a pirate.....
The
treasure must be close, so we all assumed searching the key.Within five minutes the detector rang off
again and this time we all started digging and almost at once we started
finding large pieces of broken metal.We
cleared away several pieces of the metal and came across what looked like the
top of a treasure chest buried in the sand.My heart was in my throat and my palms where sweating as the three of us
tried to pull it out from the sand.We
dug around it in a moment of excitement that I will never forget.No one said anything because none of u..s
c..could really believe what we were seeing as we tore
the chest out.....
<
..[endif]>Shawn smashed at the lid with the shovel, which broke
into pieces of shattered metal.We all
looked inside and it was..s c..completely
filled with muddy water.I reached
inside the chest expecting to pull gold and jewels from the muddy water.For a second I felt something, but when I
pulled my hands out of the water and there was nothing but mud."There has to be something inside!
Shawn said reaching into the chest.When
he pulled his hands out he also found nothing but mud.....
<As my mind came to terms with the reality of the situation,
I could feel my heart rip open and the hope of finding the Mitchell Hedge..s c..hest slip into thin
air.We had found the chest all right,
but it was fucken empty.How typical,
I thought, as images from other failed expeditions raced through my mind.I came all the way to ....Honduras.... and found nothing but
mud.What will the people at home think
when they hear this one? I told you where dreaming would probably be the
answer.Best to keep your head out of
the clouds and stick to the meat and potatoes is how my father would so
eloquently put it.....
As the
three of us sat on the key with wallowing in our defeat, you could see the
clouds rolling in and the ocean starting to get rough. We better get out of here,David said,
as a loud crash of thunder echoed across the key.We all quickly piled into the boat and
started making our way across the ocean.The boat bounced across the waves and I could taste the salt in my mouth....
Rain
started pouring down on us and within seconds we where soaked to the bone.It was great feeling though, a feeling of
being on an adventure and of being free.Searching for treasure has a way of thrusting you back into a different
age and that feeling which is so hard to come by makes this defeat a victory
itself.....
That night
Shawn and I sat in front of the Reef House drinking ..Port
Royal.. beer and watched the lightning storms off in the
distance.David stared off with a look
of fright in his eyes, watching the lightning flashing down into the ....bay.. of ..Honduras..... lightning man! he said, sounding scared it almost
killed me once.I was living in ....Tegucigalpa.... at the
time and there was this huge lightning storm and one of those
bolts hit my house and burned it to the ground man.I came home that night and my house was in
ashes.It burnt right to the
ground.He then turned and walked back
into the Reef House.Shawn and I didn"t
know how to react other than to almost roll
off our chairs in drunken laughter.....
Later that
night as we got drunker and drunker on ..Port
Royal.. beer, which is very foul stuff, if I do say so
myself.David returned with a friend of
his named Terry who had heard about our treasure hunting fiasco that day and
was interested in what we were hoping to find on the island.He pulled up a chair beside u..s
c..racked open a ..Port
Royal.. for himself and we began a serious discussion of
treasure, which lasted deep into the Honduras night.....
I heard
you where out .. Comfort today man, he said.Yes we were.Shawn answered.You were on the right track my friends, let
me tell you that,†he said, which really perked our curiosity.Why do you say that?Shawn asked.Last summer a strange ship entered ..Port
Royal.. and took up anchor near Key Comfort where you were
searching today.Everyday when I would
make my trip to ....Helena....,
I would watch em.I would see them
unloaded a bunch of gear on the key where you fellows were.One of the locals, a fisherman from ....Helena.... was out there and he told
me he watched them pull a heavy chest from the ground and load it onto their
boat.Terry replied.....
I couldn't
believe what he was telling us. I could
feel my heart sink.He continued to tell
us more, When I went out there the following day to do some snooping around
the boat had gone, so I went to the key myself and those fellows forgot to fill
in their hole, man.Those fellows had
taken a treasure out of the ground I can assure you that.It looks like you two were to late.....
<>So close!We were so close!Do you realize the last time I was here with
Rob in 95, I sailed by that key and the treasure was there I said.I took another swig of my ..Port
Royal.., but I was really craving something stronger.I am not lying to ya man.It is the truth I am telling ya.Too bad you didn't dig in 95 man.You would have been rich!Terry rubbed the
salt in the wound even more. ....
Shawn and
I got lost in a sense defeat and began to drink more and more alcohol.We traded in the ..Port
Royal.. beer and moved to Henry Morgan rum.I thought about the great pirate himself....
as I drank
his brand of poison.He would have
laughed at us today because his quest did not fail.When he sacked ....Panama.... and
robbed the Spanish Empire of their riches and sailed off across the blue waters
of the ..Caribbean.., he must
have felt like he had become a king.A
feeling most of us, including myself will probably never feel because most of
my attempts to seize the throne end in defeat ....
Terry
watched us drink like we were punishing ourselves.Just because you are not rich today does not
mean you may not get rich tomorrow man.Terry said.And why do you say that? I asked, trying
not to slur my speech. ....
Because
this island still have loads of treasures.I know all about that, I guarantees you.Terry said, trying to reassure
us.....
That's
great, but do you realize leads like the Mitchell Hedges treasure do not fall
into your lap each day. I explained.....
I can see into that man, but let it go.I know where you can find more treasures.
Said Terry.....
And what
would that be? I slurred.....
In the
ocean man!Shipwrecks all over this
country! Terry said with enthusiasm.....
Our conversation was interrupted by a new and strange deep voice of in the
distance. We looked over and noticed a large fat man who wore a ripped white
shirt, which was open in front exposing his fat belly.
Nazi gold and the B25 Bomber Part I and II with Daryl Friesen
Thanks for the invite. Check out my blog for "Dream Warrior ~the Beginning" and then please leave a comment. Thanking you in advance, chat back anytime, Emmyfox! P.S.: Thank you and it is finally starting to go well; I will know more after this Thursday!
hello my friend...i am not able to get out and do any huntin for the good stuff no more; but thru looking at yur pictures and writin I feel like I can still get that excited feeling that a man gets when he sees that glitter....you really have a neat operation going threre being able to travel and such...thanks again...your friend Charlie ol carolina prospector
Thanks for having me as a myspace friend...I really need your help.I'm Nominated for the QC awards and I need your Vote..Please go to www.queencityawards.com enter site click on nomination,scroll down to Country Artist (Male) and please throw me your vote.. Promoted by Missongwriter Promotions NOW BOOKING 2010 South Carolina ,North Carolina,Virginia,Georgia,Tennessee Call 843-450-0171 for submission details and requirements
If you want to know first where my next shows will be , watch new videos and hang out with other fans. Then join the Jeffrey Allen Edwards Fan Club Go to or click on the link below and I will see you there soon. This is all very new to me and I look forward to any and all things that bring me closer to my friends and fans.
Thanks for having me as a myspace friend...I really need your help.I'm Nominated for the QC awards and I need your Vote..Please go to www.queencityawards.com enter site click on nomination,scroll down to Country Artist (Male) and please throw me your vote.. Promoted by Missongwriter Promotions NOW BOOKING 2010 South Carolina ,North Carolina,Virginia,Georgia,Tennessee Call 843-450-0171 for submission details and requirements
If you want to know first where my next shows will be , watch new videos and hang out with other fans. Then join the Jeffrey Allen Edwards Fan Club Go to or click on the link below and I will see you there soon. This is all very new to me and I look forward to any and all things that bring me closer to my friends and fans.
Will Do, Hmmmm A Grave Robber? Mitchell Hedges Didnt Say Much Along The Lines Of Thomas Gann In Danger My Alley, Just Mostly References To Being A Colleague.
Although Thomas Gann And Hedges DID Set Fire To The Forest Surrounding Luubantune To Free The City Of Brush But I'd Hardly Call That Grave Robbing. I'll Grab The Book When My paycheck Comes In "Whenever That is" Lol
Hi Daryl~! Lol Yeah was awhile ago but hey no worries, lol i just commented on a video someone did for me in July earlier so lol no worries. "Better late than ever"
Hey i forgot to mention, Adventures Unlimted Press who released "Danger My Ally" have got alot of other great books out too, lotsa interesting ones. I ordered "Secrets of The Holy Lance" from them and its a mind boggling book if true. I think next im going to order that one book Mystery Cities of the Maya by Thomas Gann the colleague of Hedges
Great to hear from you! Thanks so much for your sweet note! What have you been up to lately? I'm busy working on my album and I'm so excited about the way its turning out. My first single comes out on Jan 12th along with 4 remixes! I hope you'll check it out ;-) I may be playing in Cyprus in December and Portugal in January or Feb. Wendy
Bask in the
universal message of unconditional love free on my seeds of love
podcast, left side of my profile "Magdalene Speaks On Love" Guided Meditation and Channeled Message In Grace Sheila
Sweet, I'll Check back. Ugh Waitign For Things ot Cool Of Round Here, Blazing Hot, The Last Couple Times I Havent Taken A Camera On my Trips So I'll Have To be Better About That.
hey Daryl, thanks for your comment. yes.. there are plenty of great haunts in the Vancouver area & lower mainland. we are in the midst of a few private home investigations as well as making arrangments for larger & popular dwellings. with the history of our area being fairly young, it's quite interesting how quite a bit stems back to the goldrush days & the influx of people from California in the late 1800's. hope your adventures are proving to be successful! interesting myspace you have! -- kati (VSPI)
No we didnt because at the time there were many people coming off the area with metal detectors. even the mine itself was worked recently buy someone using a detector, only thing was that the HEATON MINE is a iron mine. so we didnt think much of bringing one to it.
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