Howdy folks,

One of the few places it used to be legal to collect in California was a lakeside resort along Clear Lake in the central northern part of the state. Used to have to use a three pronged garden tool to scratch down to bedrock along the lakeshore and then it was bonanza time. Sometimes as many as 40 or so good pieces in a days hunt. The main tribe in that area was Lake Miwok but there'd be an occasional paleo piece too. Here are a few artifacts from the lakeshore:

Hey Sabre,
I never got as far north as Clear Lake but I had the opportunity a week ago to spend a day in my favorite paleo site in California. Here are a few pics. I came away with a Clovis base, a couple Silver Lakes, and a drill. The drill was unusual. Every once in a while a non-paleo artifact shows up in a paleo site. Here's a link to my photobucket of a "few" of my Cal/Nev pts. Hope you enjoy.

http://s462.photobucket.com/albums/qq345/mojave_pix/Great Basin/?albumview=slideshow

Wow Mojave! Thanks for the link to the sideshow. My collection pales by comparison. Viewing yours was an educational experience as I identified many of the types I've collected that I didn't know. Judging from some of the site ID's in your collection, you must have been collecting before the enforcement got so strict out in the west. Now days, I'd be a bit nervous about hunting some of those regions, whereas years ago. officials would actually advise you on where to hunt in some areas. Really liked your collection of non knapped artifacts too. Those are very cool and I've picked up a few in my wanderings too.

I collected in California and Nevada for about 22 years. I never dug and I never trespassed. I walked thousands of miles by myself and rarely told anyone about what I found while wandering around. Everything is from the surface. Now that I'm back in Texas I don't mind sharing my finds. I know of a few burials and caves but I always left them alone. I knew some folks who got greedy and found themselves in lots of trouble. If you don't buy/sell/trade and you don't behave disrespectfully, there are still lots of places to go and hike without fear.
BTW, I have been digging in Texas now for 15 months. I found my first point during the X-mas break of 2007. I have had very much more success in terms of quantity and quality in Texas that I ever enjoyed out west. That just goes to illustrate just how much time I spent exploring out west over all those years.

Hey guys, im 17 and i live in southern california and have been collecting arrowheads from inyo and mono county for the ast 4 years or so. do you have any suggestions about artifact collecting?