Agent 54 : December 2015

Friday, December 25, 2015

Treasure Hunting

For Christmas 2007, my wife gave me a Bounty Hunter, Fortune Hunter model metal detector and I’ve been hooked on Treasure Hunting ever since. Today she gave me a Bounty Hunter, Elite 2200 model to replace the old metal detector that I had joyfully worn out over 8 seasons of Treasure Hunting. Thank you, Dear.

I have made a real science out of Treasure Hunting. I have created Word files for each year or season and have documented the dollar amounts and the unusual treasures I have found. I include treasure I find without the detector and things I find just by observing while using the detector. I also include dollar amounts for treasure items I have sold to friends or the local Jewelry makers who buy some of my silver & gold. To date I have found $2766.47 in 8 seasons. Not bad, eh!

Bounty Hunter, Elite 2200

The beautiful thing is that I get to spend time outside in beautiful settings looking for treasure. I get my exercise and fresh air while enjoying the thrill of the hunt. I’ll probably never get rich using my Bounty Hunter, Elite 2200 but, I get lots of “me time”. I like to write funny stories for my Agent 54 blog. Often story ideas and jokes come to me when I’m in the field doing my treasure hunting thing.

I enjoy cleaning and sorting my treasure when I come home too. I often find foreign coins that I look up on the internet. It’s fascinating to learn about different cultures this way. I keep the foreign coins and other treasure items in different cigar boxes around my treasure (formerly office) room. I have a necklace and ring rack and many small jewelry boxes for post earrings. It gives me great satisfaction to look around my treasure room and see all this and 4 jars for American coins and Tokens, “No Cash Value”.

Necklace Tree

I’m looking forward to many more years of Treasure Hunting with my new toy. I’m sure I’ll have more great pictures to show you in the coming seasons.

Wish me luck!

More Treasure Pictures

My “Wheaties” are in the box on the right. More “Wheaties” in blue collector’s pads. Foreign and special coins are in center cigar box with Canadian coins in far right box. I found all these coins. I never buy coins.

A good day of "Coin Shooting".

Toy Cars and Keys

I dug up this Golden State Mint "Copper Round" today (2/13/16).

It's not legal tender or very valuable but, it is very cool.

Prescott Arizona

Abandoned in Oatman Arizona

Abandoned Along Old Route 66

More Rusty History from Oatman Arizona

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Merry Christmas

Hey there America. You’re looking good.

Former Presidential Candidate, Ron Burgundy has made this seasonal statement:

In this time of giving, I want to remind you that there are many Americans out there who aren’t as fortunate as the rest of us and we should all do something to help those Americans this time of year. Personally, I bought and gift wrapped two new doggie chew toys, one goes under the tree for Baxter and one goes into the Toys for Tots box that the Marines put out in the mall. The Marine Corps will make sure the toys go to children and dogs who may not have received anything this year if it wasn’t for your generosity.

I want to tell you that I know this country was starving for leadership and I wanted to feed it. America needs a real man with brawn and great hair. We face many challenges in the future down the road and I wanted to be behind the wheel. I wanted to steer America around the potholes and through the toll booths to greener pastures. It is in those pastures that I wanted to milk the cows of human kindness so that no child is left without milk. I wanted to be the Duct Tape that repairs the split we see in our society today.

Well, that’s what Wendy wanted me to tell you but, it’s really more like what I told Elvis when I met him in New Orleans. Elvis asked me why I really wanted to be President and I thought about it and it was pretty simple. For years I’ve thought that I was, you know, quote a pretty big deal but, then someone showed me that I really hadn’t done much in my whole life for anyone else. So, when someone suggested that I had Presidential hair, I thought this was a way to really do something good for other people.

I’ve met some very interesting Americans on our campaign tour of America. There was Fred Sanford in St. Louis who may become the next “Junkmaster General of the USA”. I met a hairdresser at Fenway Park and race car driver Ricky Bobby in North Carolina. I partied with Kim in Green Bay and talked to Carl Spackler in The Great North West and I even met Cher in Sedona Arizona.

What I’ve learned on the campaign trail is that we’re really all the same. We all want the freedom and the opportunity to do our own thing the best way we can. We all want to be safe and we all want a secure future for our country and our children and we all want to spend the holidays with family.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Ron Burgundy

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

Ron Burgundy in St. Louis

A Day at The Races

Easter nEggotiations

New Orleans

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Piestewa or Squaw Peak

Agent 54 here again. I enjoy hiking the mountains of Arizona. These pictures are from Squaw Peak which was renamed Piestewa Peak in honor of Army Spc. Lori Ann Piestewa, the first known Native American woman to die in combat in the U.S. military, and the first female soldier to be killed in action in the 2003 Iraq War.

The mountain is imposing from the parking lot.

Agent 54 near the summit of Piestewa Peak.

Awesome Cliff Face. Those are 40 ft tall Saguaro Cacti growing on the slope.

Nature's ancient layers turned almost 90 degrees.

Looking at the back of famous Camelback mountain in Phoenix from near the top of Squaw Peak.

My truck is somewhere in the foreground parking lot. In the distance through the haze it downtown Phoenix with South Mountain along the Horizon. A golf course provides a nice patch of green in the upper middle.

If you like to hike, you must visit Phoenix for great hikes with spectacular views.

Usery Mountain Regional Park

Superstition Mountains of Arizona

San Tan Mountain Regional Park

Happily Ever After

Prescott Arizona

Reno-Lake Tahoe

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

Agent 54 here again. I once visited the White House in Washington D.C. as a civilian, on a tour where I said "mmm, meatballs" while lifting the lid of an antique serving tray. My kids thought that was funny however, someone in the basement of the White House, spent a month trying to decipher the “secret coded message” I had left.

Now that I work for the NSA under the DORD I was able to look up the old incident report for my visit. The report’s stated conclusion was that the messenger was “probably mentally challenged”.

Now I work for them.

Anyway, we’re having an Ugly Christmas Sweater contest at the NSA Christmas Party next week and I have to wonder, do I have a chance to win?

I could wonder why anyone would have a contest for wearing ugly clothing but, it’s obviously good clean Christmas fun until someone pukes egg nog on your Ugly Sweater and then it’s good disgusting fun. Some of the Sweaters I’ve seen, puke on them would be an upgrade.

Will anyone’s aunt Ethyl be insulted this season because her nephew Phil, won his company’s Ugly Christmas Sweater contest wearing her latest creation? Probably but, if you’re going to make an omelet you have to crack some eggs and if you get some egg on the Sweater, all the better your chances of winning.

I can imagine the Sweater my buddy Billy Idol will be wearing. Surely it will have some leather and some studs and probably a few holes. He will definitely be a contender for the title.

Flo’s Ugly Progressive Sweater will be mostly white. That is until the puking begins. But then, who knows what vomitous works of art people will be sporting by the end of the night.

Inspector Gadget’s Sweater will be neat and have a device built in to automatically clean any puke or egg or egg nog stain. He will not win.

My friend, John Rambo won’t win either. He’ll undoubtedly be wearing a Sweater with the sleeves ripped off but, he looks so good that he’ll make the raggedy Sweater a sure loser.

El Guapo has a chance to win, especially if he gets some good red and green Guacamole and Salsa stains on his Sweater. Nothing says Christmas like Guacamole and Salsa.

The Joker’s green and purple Sweater with his multi-colored face on it will be tough to judge. Who has the guts to tell the Joker he has an ugly mug or that his sweater lost the contest. Talk about getting caught between the egg and the nog.

Lady Ga Ga’s Sweater will surely be too revealing and my boss, Max may have to make her cover-up. After all it’s a Christmas party at the NSA and not a strip club.

Nurse Ducttaper will probably be wearing her normal ill-fitting blue Sweater that she wears over her white uniform. It’s her face that makes that Sweater a contender despite its lack of creativity.

Of course the Minions will look cute in their ugly sweaters. They're a top contender for the crown.

With so many great contenders it’s not going to be easy to be the Ugliest. So, I’m off to the Goodwill store to pick out a winning Ugly Sweater. Wish me luck.

Merry Christmas!