04x19 - Grandpa's Last Wish

[bunniefuu]

John:
time has run out, more or less.

I have a very aggressive
prostate cancer.

I know how my body
is being pulled down day by day.

We can't live forever.

But if we're gonna stay alive,

We have to have a dream
that we work towards.

And I want to make my dream
a reality

And find gold in smith creek.

Narrator:
after 25 years of mining

This hallowed ground
in southeast alaska,

John schnabel is convinced

That smith creek still holds
millions in gold.

He's 93 years old.

His health is failing.

His dying wish is to give
smith creek one more shot

With his grandsons,
parker and payson.

John: payson, parker,

I want to find out
what there is in smith creek.

And I am hopeful
that you can find gold

At least as big as this.

Nuggets like this
in smith creek?

That's right.

Before the weather
chases us out.

I want to know what's down there
pretty bad, too,

Just because of how much effort
and time and money

We've put into that thing.

But it was just too much
for us to deal with.

And what do we have now
that we didn't have then?

We have grandpa
refusing to give up.

[ Chuckles ]

-- Captions by vita c --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Narrator: it's november.

The mining season is over.

Parker and his brother, payson,
head up smith creek

To see if it's even possible

To deliver
on their grandpa's dream.

After two seasons
mining smith creek,

Parker gave up


This summer,
payson only managed to shift

Another 30 feet of overburden.

Parker: you know, I haven't
been here for seven months,

So I haven't even been thinking
about smith creek.

Payson: I say it's doable.

Yeah, I mean we have to move
pretty quick

If we're gonna do this,
though.

Yeah.

[Bleep] me that's
still a lot of dirt to move.

We don't have what it takes
to move that kind of dirt.

I just don't know if the weather
will let us, you know?

I totally disagree with you.

The weather is
a major concern,

But we'll work through that
together,

Because my whole goal
is just to get to bedrock

Because that's
what grandpa wants.

You know, I get the point
of trying to figure out

What's down there.

I understand that completely.

But we don't have time
to get down to bedrock.

So why are you back?
Grandpa.

So then, why don't just do
what grandpa wants?

He just wants us to get to
bedrock and prove there's gold.

Grandpa needs to know.

So?

I don't know.

Narrator:
for parker and payson to realize
their grandpa's dream,

They would have to excavate
an area


By 100-feet wide by 50-feet deep

To find out if there's a channel
of gold nuggets

Lying on smith creek bedrock.

That means loading
and hauling away


Of worthless dirt.

I mean, my grandpa's done
so much for me.

Under normal circumstances,

There's no way in hell
I'd say no.

But I mean,
it's 20 degrees right now.

It's snowing and, you know,
I'm burned out.

Narrator:
back at the family business,

Parker and payson meet john

To discuss what they've seen
up at smith creek.

Hey, grandpa.
Hey, parker.

Hey, grandpa.

Hello, payson.

How are you doing?

Today I'm a little distressed,
but I'm doing all right.

I refuse to pass on yet.

[ Chuckles ]

So, we went up
and took a look around.

Oh.

And, I mean, there's
a few issues in my mind.

I'm not trying
to be pessimistic,

But you couldn't really ask
for worse conditions

To start a project like that,
you know?

I mean, it's just --
it's a big ask.

Mm-hmm. I know.

You do what you feel
is the right thing to do,

And I'm with you
all the way.

One of my biggest fears
this summer

Was coming back here
and you not being here.

Oh, I'm glad I'm here.

Yeah.

And so, I feel like I wouldn't
have gone up there.

I wouldn't have had the
opportunities I did without you.

I owe you everything.

So, grandpa, I'm in.

Yeah.
[ Chuckles ]

Grandpa,
I've always been in.

Sorry, I can't say
what I want to say, but...

...thank you.

For now, we should probably try
to get up there

And start moving some dirt,
huh?

Oh.
[ Chuckles ]

Good to be back.

Don't run off without giving
old grandpa a hug.

[ Chuckles ]

Payson, thank you.

Narrator:
back at big nugget...

...there's been a break
in the winter weather.

Payson and parker need 10 days

Of temperatures
above 10 degrees.

Parker: let's do this.

Narrator: if the temperature
drops below 10,

Their wash plant will freeze up,

Ending what could be
their last chance

To prove their grandpa right.

The time constraint
that we're dealing with

Is my grandpa and his health
and the fact

That he doesn't think
he's gonna live past the winter.

Came up with a pretty simple
plan to move all the material,

Get down to bedrock.

Just dig down
with this excavator

And keep on hauling it
with the rock truck.

Narrator:
payson has called in some help,

Gary grogan and gary hinkle,
to run the rock trucks.

Parker brings the second
excavator up to the cut.

Payson: let's do this.

Parker: now we're moving
some dirt.

It's awesome.

Got to love it
when a plan comes together.

[ Laughs ]

John: when I came to alaska,
I didn't have any money.

Just the desire
to try to make a life for myself

And build an unbelievable
determination to succeed.

I spent 23 years working
up at big nugget mine,

And I mined
very large and rough gold

In all of the high benches
except smith creek.

And so, hopefully,

Payson and parker can find
smith creek gold.

It would be
the most rewarding thing

That I could have happen
while I am still here.

Narrator: day 2, 7:00 am,

Payson and gary
are already hard at work.

Payson: hey, gary,
this is a great start.

We can't afford
to slow down.

Grogan:
yeah, let's move some dirt.

They need to remove at least
five feet of overburden a day

To have any chance
of getting down to bedrock

Before winter freezes them out.

[ Crash ]

What the hell?

What's that?

Oh, gary,
that's frigging rock.

Yeah,
I can see underneath of it

When you just scraped
under the bottom side of it.

That rock's huge.

Yeah,
that's pretty large.

That's like
the size of my pickup.

It's not budging at all.

I'll [bleep] try to roll
this out or something.

Okay. Sounds good.
Good luck with it.

Payson: we've only gone
like five feet down

And I've already hit a rock
that seems unmovable.

So, this could be bad.

[Bleep] [bleep]

Man.
That is a big one.

Oh, my [bleep] god.

[ Engine whining ]

Whoa! Crap!

Are you [bleep]
kidding me.

Stuck in a [bleep]
mud hole.

You got to be
[bleep] kidding me.

[Bleep]

I cannot get
out of this pit.

Ah!

Payson: [bleep] this.

Narrator:
up on smith creek hill,

Payson and parker are attempting
to get down to bedrock gold

For their beloved grandfather.

[ Groans ]

But payson has his 42-ton
excavator stuck in a mud pit.

Let's try this again.

[ Engine whining ]

Please don't slide back.
Please, please, please.

Come on. Come on.
Come on. Come on. Come on!

[ Sighs ]

Payson: that was not easy.

I'm gonna go back right now

And we're gonna try to get
that rock out.

Narrator: payson now has to
find a way to move the boulder

Without sliding
back into the hole.

Payson: ugh.

I need to get
a little bit closer.

I'll try to hook it
from the bottom.

Whoa!

Come on.

Yes!

Ah.

Now, let's get this out.

All right.

Narrator: the boulder
is finally out of the way,

But it has slowed progress.

Parker: hey, payson,
you got a copy?

Payson: yeah, I got a copy,
what's up?

How's it going?

It should be easy digging
and it's not.

We've only gone,
like, five feet down.

They still have
another 45 feet to go.

At this rate,
it'll take them three weeks

That they don't have
to hit bedrock.

This isn't gonna work.

We need to figure something out
to make this go quicker.

You know, we're just not moving
enough dirt.

Payson and parker
assess the situation.

Well, we need to do
something different.

When I was up in the yukon,
when we really needed to move

A lot of dirt
in a short amount of time,

We brought in
a water monitor,

Which is just a big,
like, 10-inch pump

Knocked down to a little
3-inch nozzle,

Like the firefighters.

And you know, you spray
this stuff down

And it makes a slurry
and runs down the hill.

You want to add more water
to all this?

No, I know what you're saying,
but we control it.

We can cut a ditch
down into emerson trench,

And that's the only thing I can
see that's gonna help.

The truth is, we're not gonna
find the bottom of this

At the rate we're going.

It's not gonna happen.

Let's hope
it's not a big, huge mess.

I mean,
because with more water...

I mean,
we've already got the mud.

It's already
a [bleep] disaster.

I know.
What's it gonna hurt?

We need to do something.

Narrator:
the next day, parker calls in
a favor from an old friend.

Rick: hey.

[ Chuckles ]

Rick!
Fellas.

How you doing, man?

Didn't think I'd miss out
on this, did you?

Great to see you.

So, I got the monitor.

Parker:
oh, man. That's awesome.

So, you're probably wondering
what this is all for, huh?

[ Chuckles ]
yeah.

Smith creek, huh?

Payson:
grandpa wants to know.

Never thought we'd
be going back to smith
creek, that's for sure.

We've been plugging away at her,
and it's going kind of slow.

Still got
another 45 feet to go.

Geez. It looks like we got
a lot of work to do.

Yeah.
Let's do it.

Parker: we've got
a lot of dirt to move.

You know, this monitor might be
the only shot that we've got

At getting down
to the pay gravel

And figuring out
what's up there.

Narrator: for parker's
monitor plan to work,

They'll have to control
the slurry

That will come out of the cut.

They dig a drainage ditch into
the smith creek access road.

The fresh snowfall...
Parker: fire it up.

...is an unwelcome warning
of the upcoming freeze.

There it is.

The monitor fires
a high-pressure water jet...

She's flowing.

...that washes mud
and loose material

Out of the cut
and into the drainage ditch.

It looks like this thing
is working pretty well, huh?

Yeah, it is.

It's moving dirt.

Now let's do it.

Monitors like this were used
during the gold rush

Over a 100 years ago.

But few have been used
in the porcupine area

Since the old mining company
shut down in 1936.

Parker's monitor plan
is working.

In just six hours,
they moved twice as much dirt

As they have
in the past two days.

Parker:
with the monitor in here

And rick being here, you know,

I think that this might be
something that's doable,

Finally.

And we've always chewed away
at smith creek,

But you know, I think
we're finally in a position

Where we're gonna be able
to find the bottom.

Narrator: but after monitoring
another five feet of dirt,

Payson spots a problem.

Payson: hey, parker, there's
boulders all over the place.

I think you might need
to come down here

And we need to talk
about how to get rid of them.

Parker:
all right, just a sec.

The monitor is moving mud
and loose material,

But it can't move
the larger rocks.

They're building up, blocking
the way down to bedrock.

Well, no,
that's not a problem.

We'll hauling out of here
with one truck.

I don't see a truck
coming up that road

With the ditch
we have there.

It's too narrow.
I can't make it any wider.

All right,
I haven't looked at it.

As the slurry flows
out of the cut

And down the drainage ditch,

It's eroding away
the corner of the access road,

Leaving the only way in and out
of smith creek

Too narrow for the rock trucks.

I just don't see a truck
making it up here.

I mean, look at that.

They got the whole ditch
taking up two -- four feet.

Yeah,
just clean this up right here,

Knock that berm over, that'll
give us a few extra feet.

You want me to knock off
your safety berm.

Well, that's not room
with it there.

It's called
a safety berm though.

But it's taking up
all the road.

I'll knock off the berm
for you,

But you can't get a truck
up the road.

I mean, I just don't see a truck
making the turn.

Well,
we got to try something.

Parker heads off
to get a rock truck,

While payson takes out
the safety berm

That protects the trucks
from the 30 foot drop

Down to porcupine creek.

Look at that [bleep]

That's a long way down
from up here.

That's gonna hurt
if he falls down that.

I just don't see a truck
making this corner.

Parker begins to back up
the road to the cut.

The 25-ton truck has only inches
to spare on either side.

On his left,
he has a drainage ditch

And to his right,
a sheer drop off.

Parker: [bleep]
this is [bleep] tight.

Whoa! Whoa!
Wait, wait, wait.

I can't even
[bleep] see where I'm at.

He repositions

And tries the treacherous corner
once again.

Payson: whoa! Whoa!
Whoa! Whoa! [Bleep]

It sloughed away
when you rolled over it.

[Bleep]

The road is collapsing
under parker's rock truck.

I got you.

Pull forward.
Pull forward.

[Bleep]

You got to look
at this [bleep]

If they can't get rock trucks
up to the dig site,

They'll have to abandon
parker's monitor plan.

We can't run the monitor and the
rock trucks at the same time.

It's just not safe.
It's flushing our road away.

I mean [bleep] you almost went
off the edge right here, parker.

Yeah, I understand that.
I was in the [bleep] truck.

I don't know what to say.

We stop monitoring,

Then we're just back
to what we've been doing.

And that's not gonna work.

We're never gonna get
to the bottom.

We have to shut off
the monitor.

I'm shutting it off.

Parker: pretty depressing.

Now it's back to plan a,

And plan a wasn't gonna get us
to bedrock.

We're [bleep]

Narrator: back at
the schnabel family home,

Parker and payson's operation is
on hold.

The freeze could hit
any day now.

And unless they can find a way
to get down to bedrock fast,

Their grandpa's dream of finding
smith creek gold will be over.

But nancy schnabel refuses
to let her sons give up.

What makes the most sense

For the shortest amount of time,
really?

Because if you had a lot of time
you'd have --

It'd be
a different situation.

You need water.
I want you to have water.

When you're working outside
in the cold, you need water.

Drink up.

So, how do you come up
with a different plan?

What are you gonna do?

Parker: I don't know.

The only option I see
is trying to, like,

Reduce the area that we're
trying to work on, you know?

Because right now
it's so big

That we're moving
a lot of yardage.

And every time we want to go
down 10 feet it takes a week.

Right.

And if we cut that in half,
it'll only take two, three days.

I can see that.

The main concern, though,

Is do we hit the channel
and if we reduce it.

Narrator: parker's plan
is to abandon the monitor

And halve the width of their cut

So they can get down
the last 30 feet

Before winter closes in.

He's hoping the gold-rich river
channel runs on the right side.

If it runs down the left,
they will miss the gold.

It's a gamble,
but it's probably the best plan

For the time that you have.

Well, that's the only option
that I see, right?

We have very limited time,

So we might unfortunately
have to do that.

Right.

Get to it, huh?

Okay,
you guys be careful.

See you, mom.
See you tonight?

Yep.
Okay.

Be careful.
Will do.

I don't have
just one child mining,

I have both of them mining.

It doubles my worry, but john
has fast-growing cancer.

So, it's about
getting this information

As soon as they can for john.

Narrator:
back at big nugget,

Rick fills in the drainage ditch
and fixes the road

While the brothers make a start
on the new plan

To halve the cut.

But with this rocky overburden,

They'll have to work
long days

To get down the last 30 feet
to bedrock.

I mean this is really risky

'Cause we might miss
the channel

'Cause we're going
from a pretty wide area

That we started with

To a very narrow,
pinpointing location.

This is a pretty drastic
last measure.

Narrator:
four days later,

The long winter freeze
is closing in.

John schnabel
arrives at big nugget

To check on progress
at smith creek.

Very important to me that that
we find gold in smith creek.

But I'm not so sure
we're down far enough yet

And I believe
that we are running out of time.

Parker: nice to see you.

Aww, thank you.
[ Laughs ]

Narrator:
payson scoops a bucket

Of the latest smith creek dirt
for his grandpa to inspect.

It looks like you're
in a little better ground.

You got
a lot of rock in it there.

Huh.

Those are river gravel.

You think so?

Yeah,
I think it's worth panning.

[ Chuckles ]

John believes his grandsons have
hit the ancient river channel

And are within striking distance
of gold nuggets on bedrock.

If he's right, there will be
gold in a test pan.

This makes me freeze
just looking at that cold water.

What do you got?

I'll let you do
the reveal.

Oh, look at that,
you got some color.

[ Chuckles ]

Just think, as you get down
towards the bedrock,

The gold is gonna get bigger
and bigger and bigger.

You think so?

Yeah, because it's --
the heavy gold sinks faster

Than the light stuff.

Yeah.

[ Laughs ] hurry up.

[ Laughter ]

Payson, if you want to start
hauling this to the plant,

Rick and I can get the plant
cranked up.

Yeah, let's do it.

Made my day.

If a little pan gives us color,

A truckload ought to give us
something better than that.

[ Coughs ]
excuse me.

We better get what we can get

Before mother nature
runs us out.

Narrator:
parker's gamble has paid off.

They've hit the river channel.

But to find out
if it contains gold nuggets,

The crew must dig out and run
as much pay dirt as possible

Through the 25-year-old
wash plant

Before the temperature drops
below 10 degrees.

She's still running?

Parker: it hasn't really been
ran for the last year.

Let's fire it up.

[ Engine turns over ]

It's alive!

The schnabel's trusty,
old wash plant fires right up

And they're ready to run
smith creek pay dirt.

Parker will load
with the 150 volvo.

And rick will clear away
the tailings in the 966 loader.

The starter
doesn't work anymore, so,

We got to jump the solenoid
and spray ether in it.

[ Engine sputtering ]

Come on. Come on.

Come on, baby.

Parker:
this is the first scoop of pay.

Rick: whoa!

Parker: holy [bleep]

Rick,
put that thing out.

[Bleep]

Pull the pedal.

Oh [bleep]

[Bleep] [bleep]

What the [bleep]

Rick: I was
just [bleep] running it

And all of a sudden
flames up there.

Parker: [bleep]

God, all those electrical lines
look [bleep]

Man,
look underneath it.

I don't know what that is,
but it's not good.

It takes two loaders
to run this plant

And this one's [bleep]

Rick:
we need this loader.

We'll have to
shut the plant down.

It [bleep] sucks.

We're [bleep]

Get out of my way.

Damn it [bleep]

[Bleep]

[ Door slams ]

[ Crashing ]

Narrator:
in southeast alaska,

The big nugget mine is
at a standstill

After a loader fire.

To have any chance
of finding the gold nuggets

Their grandpa believes
lie up smith creek,

Parker and payson need a loader
from their father, roger.

Payson:
so, we got a problem.

We need a loader.

And if a loader is not
available, then what do you do?

Are you saying you don't have
a loader available?

That's correct.
I don't.

So, solve the problem.

If you don't have a loader,
what are you gonna do?

Make it work
with one loader.

Bingo. Okay.
Now, how do you do that, parker?

With a feeder.

My feeder is sitting
up at dawson right now.

Narrator:
with the hopper feeder,

The plant could run
with a single loader,

Feeding pay dirt
and clearing tailings.

But parker's hopper is
in the klondike

And roger's the only one
who can truck it in.

It's not the far of a drive.
What is it, 600 miles?

It's a long haul.
I don't have to tell you guys.

You been doing it this summer,
parker.

But I will make it a priority
for my boys.

Thanks, dad.

I'm real appreciative
and thankful

That you guys are taken on
this task for my father's sake,

If nothing else,
because he is totally thrilled

That you two are working
together up there on his claim.

He really is.

I'll get on it.

All right. We got to get back
to smith creek.

Right on.
Let's go.

Good luck, you guys.
Thank you.

Thanks, dad.
Yep, you betcha.

Narrator:
until the hopper feeder arrives,

The boys pull pay dirt down
from smith creek.

Parker: it's cold.
We're running out of time.

There's no way to run.

And so, right now,

We're gonna make a stock pile
down by the plant.

I'm getting ready for running.

It's crunch time right now.

Narrator: the temperature
has fallen to 15 degrees.

If it hits 10,
their wash plant will freeze up,

Bringing the whole operation
to a sudden halt.

Payson and parker are desperate
for the hopper feeder to arrive

So they can start running dirt.

[ Horn honking ]

Parker:
now we're talking.

Payson:
is that our feeder?

Yeah, it is.

Awesome.

Roger schnabel arrives
with parker's hopper feeder.

Roger: hey, boss.

How are you doing?
Good.

Yeah, I'd be happy
to help you set up

Or I'm here for a while
if you'd like me to help you.

You want to go to work?
You bet.

I'm not gonna say no to that.
[ Laughs ]

That'd be awesome.

Thanks, dad.
If we can make it roll, you bet.

Narrator:
parker and rick waste no time
installing the hopper feeder...

Crank her up.

...and fire up the wash plant.

This is the first scoop of pay
through the feeder.

We're up and running again
and hopefully

We're gonna stay that way
for a little while here.

It's doing
exactly what we wanted it to.

One loader
running the whole show.

A feeder like this
makes all the difference.

Looking good.

Narrator:
up at smith creek,

Payson and roger climb
into the excavators

To dig pay dirt.

My dad, he's not giving up

In the schnabel way
of doing things.

He's determined, and by gosh,
I'll help him follow that dream.

And to come up here
and help him do that,

Especially with both of my sons,
it's a great thing to do.

It looks great.
You guys are doing real well.

We're really cooking
right now. So...

Just try to keep up.

Okay, payson, I can't have you
beat me now doggone it.

You got a smaller bucket.

[ Chuckles ]

Narrator: with the schnabel men
working side by side,

They're now running 60 yards
an hour through the plant.

The schnabel boys are finally in

With a chance
of finding smith creek gold.

We're gonna run it
into the night.

Can you turn our lights on?

You run the loader, and I'll
keep an eye on the plant.

Sounds like a plan to me.
Run as late as we can.

Roger:
we don't have a lot of time left
before the real winter hits.

The best thing to do
is just once you get it going,

Keep it going.

Parker:
we're working as hard as we can.

So, I mean,
we're giving it our all.

When you pull huge silver-dollar
sized nuggets out of here,

That would be just amazing.

Narrator:
after running 18 hours straight,

The schnabels
finally call it a day

And shut down the wash plant.

John: when I see parker
and payson working together,

It just makes my day.

Family is the most important
thing next to health.

So, now that I've lost health,
all I got left is family.

Narrator:
overnight, the temperature
has dropped below 10 degrees.

The same winter weather that
froze parker out of the yukon

Has finally arrived in alaska.

This whole plant looks
a little froze up.

Yeah. I didn't know it was gonna
get that cold last night.

Me neither.

Ooh.
That's frozen solid.

That's not good.

Oh [bleep]

Rick: is that split?

Yeah.

Oh it's
the [bleep] valves, huh?

All three of those
are split.

[Bleep]

We don't have any spare valves
out here.

No.

[Bleep]

This is [bleep]

Narrator: the entire wash plant
is frozen solid.

Even if parker were able
to thaw it out,

There's no way the old machine
can run with broken valves.

When the water freezes,
it expands

And it'll break
just about anything.

Pumps, valves, lines,
all sorts of [bleep]

I think that this is
the weather telling us

That we need to call it.

John: my mother and father
split up when I was young

And I was [sighs]
in abject poverty.

We lived on a little,
old scrabble piece of ground

Out of oregon.

So, my grandmother
and my two sisters and my mother

Lived
in a little 12x16 house.

Our biggest improvement
was to make enough money

To buy a loaf of bread
and a piece of cheese.

And we all sat home at night
after we got in from the evening

And shared it
with my two sisters,

Who were helpless.

[ Chuckles ]

So family
became an obsession with me.

Narrator:
the alaskan winter has arrived.

John schnabel is on his way
to join his grandsons

For the final gold cleanup.

This just might be
his last chance

To find out
if smith creek holds nuggets.

I am completely resigned
to the inevitability

That this will probably be
my last trip up here to the mine

Because the doctors are
sending me up all the medicines

To go on to chemotherapy.

And chemotherapy,
to me, is suicide.

The truth is
that I won't survive it.

Grandpa!
John: yeah.

How are you?

I feel good.

Good.

And I feel optimistic.
That's why I came up.

I can't miss an opportunity
to be there

To find out if there is nuggets
in smith creek.

We're trying to get this thing
thawed out.

We weren't expecting you
quite this early.

So, if you want to warm up,
we'll get this thing thawed out

And get it going
and come grab you.

Narrator:
while parker and payson thaw out
the frozen sluices,

John keeps warm
in his old workshop.

Ah. [ Chuckles ]

To say the least,
I'm impressed beyond belief

That they would take
the challenge

Of trying to continue to work

When the temperatures
are down where they're at now.

And I'm hopeful
they're successful.

Payson: when my grandpa
was running this plant,

He'd be finding big nuggets
right on this section.

So, we'll just check this.

There's no point
in checking anything else.

Narrator:
with the wash plant broken,

John's dream
of smith creek nuggets

Depends on this one pan.

So, what do you think?

I'm getting down
to where I'm getting nervous.

Parker: certainly isn't
any nuggets, that's for sure.

Narrator:
payson and parker have battled

Freezing conditions
and ancient equipment

To move thousands of yards
of dirt,

But they've not found
a single nugget.

I think we should take a look
at the jig

And see if something is there.

I'll take a look.

Narrator:
they have one last hope.

If any gold has been blown
out of the nugget trap,

It might be sitting in the jig.

Can you see anything
in here?

I don't see a whole lot.

Looks like
pretty [bleep] stuff.

Holy crap.

Look at that.

Whoo!

Look at that.

You find anything?

What do you think,
grandpa?

Whoa, my!

Ooh, that is beautiful.

Here's another one.

Isn't that awesome?

That's insane.

I won't be able to sleep.
[ Chuckles ]

Narrator: parker and payson
have found only three nuggets

Worth
only a few hundred dollars.

But they've proved that
their 93-year-old grandfather

Is right.

There is gold up on smith creek

And there just might be millions
in nuggets.

You've proven to me that there
is gold in smith creek.

Let's hope
that we all can be here

Next year
when we get more.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Handshakes?!

[ Laughs ]

I agree, I want a hug,
as well.

Isn't that great?
Look at that.

Good job, payson.

John: my faith that there was
gonna be gold there

Has turned out to be true.

I am pleased beyond expression.

My grandsons
have worked together

To prove that there is gold
in smith creek.

[ Laughs ]

It's probably the highlight
of my life.