ABOUT THE SHOW
Cash and Treasures is an exciting new adventure/documentary series, produced by Indigo Films of San Francisco currently airing on the Travel Channel. The host of the show is well-known TV personality Becky Worley. The producer and director is Chris Leavell.

UPCOMING BROADCASTS OF THE CASH AND TREASURES METEORITE EPISODE

Showtimes vary, please check local listings

October 30, 9 pm
October 31, 1:30 am

LEARN ABOUT METEORITES
Meteorites are rocks that have fallen to Earth from outer space. They start out as meteors — shooting stars that you see in the night sky. Any part of a meteor that survives its fiery journey through the atmosphere and lands on the surface of our planet is called a meteorite.

Meteorites are extremely rare — much more elusive than gold for example — and extremely old. Some are thought to pre-date even our own solar system, making them the most ancient things any person has ever touched. Meteorites are divided into three main classes: irons, stones, and the stony-irons which include pallasites, the rarest and most beautiful of meteorite types. Pallasites are made partially of extra-terrestrial iron and nickel, speckled with abundant sea-green olivine crystals (the semi-precious gemstone peridot), making them literally gems from space.

I have been actively involved in meteorite hunting for thirteen years, and expeditions have taken me to farthest corner of Siberia, across the hostile Atacama Desert in Chile, and tens of thousands of miles across the United States and Europe, scouring remote and sometimes dangerous places for these fascinating visitors from space.

MAKING THE CASH & TREASURES METEORITE EPISODE
Early in 2006, I was contacted by the Indigo Films production team. They were working on an idea for a new TV series about treasure hunting, and wanted to know all about meteorites and where to find them. Over the next few weeks we had many long and detailed conversations covering how best to shoot an episode about meteorite hunters, and where we might go for the best chance of actually finding a real meteorite. Indigo Films were very clear that everything had to be authentic. They weren't interested in having anyone find a "planted" meteorite, and neither was I. The program would be 100% true life field work. I liked the idea so much I agreed to help organize an expedition.

If the Indigo Films team were to follow us into the desert while we randomly hunted for meteorites in new locations, our chances of finding anything would be next to zero, and that wouldn't make for a very interesting show. So, we decided to revisit an area where meteorites had been found in the past.

The timing was excellent. My close friend, and expedition partner of nearly a decade — Steve Arnold, probably the world's most famous meteorite hunter — had just made the find of his lifetime. Buried almost eight feet beneath a wide, rolling field in Kiowa County, Kansas, Steve discovered an enormous pallasite. The 3/4-ton giant from outer space is the largest pallasite ever found in the United States, and one of the largest ever found in history. Within a few days, I joined Steve in Kansas and we recovered several more masses. Named after the nearest township, these beautiful and valuable meteorites are known as the Brenham pallasite.

Steve intended to continue exploration of the Kansas meteorite field, and that was a great stroke of luck for the Cash and Treasures team. I called Steve and outlined what the Indigo Films crew and I had discussed, and he immediately gave the go-ahead to invite Cash and Treasures to Kansas. We only had two days on location, and the chance of finding something during that time was slim, but it was as good a lead as we could ask for. We would be using one of the largest metal detectors in the world, able to "see" deep into the ground, and towed behind an all-terrain vehicle (ATV). Designed and built by Steve, the ingenious device is called The Meteorite Trolley and looks like a cross between the Wright brothers' flyer and the Mars Rover.

To learn more about our hunting techniques and the history of the Brenham meteorite, see "Field of Dreams: Rediscovering the Brenham Pallasite," by Geoffrey Notkin in Meteorite magazine, February, 2006 (Volume 12, No. 1).

While the Brenham shoot was being planned in detail, the production team came back to me with a bold idea. Would it be feasible to film two separate meteorite hunts? With only limited time, could we organize a second hunt in a different area, with different terrain, and preferably different hunting techniques? The production staff fully appreciated that Steve's hunting equipment is for specialized use by a professional with many years of field experience. Everyone agreed that it would be good for viewers to see other techniques that are more available to the novice meteorite hunter.

So I put together a special team.

In the rugged mountains near Glorieta, New Mexico, iron and pallasitic meteorites have been found since the late 1800s. A Civil War battle of some note was fought on those same hills. While Brenham meteorites are large, deeply buried, and concentrated within a relatively small zone, the Glorieta Moutain meteorites are scattered over a large area which encompasses extremely steep mountains, mesas, and valleys — all at a steep elevation. There would be no driving around on ATVs during this hunt!

For more about the history of the Glorieta Mountain pallasite see "Legend of Glorieta Mountain," by Geoffrey Notkin in Meteorite magazine, February, 2001 (Volume 7, No. 1).

I am lucky enough to have several good friends who know the challenging landscapes of Glorieta as well as they know their own driveways. They are also expert meteorite hunters: tough, patient, relentless. They will pick a spot and hike it for two weeks or more, swinging their hand-held metel detectors for twelve hours a day. And they may find nothing. That's the way it usually goes with meteorite hunting. Mike Miller from California, Ruben Garcia and Keith Jenkerson from Arizona, and Sonny Clary from Las Vegas, Nevada have each found scores of meteorites. Each had found meteorites at Glorieta too, and each impressed upon me how difficult it would be to find anything there during a short time period. Even with a team of skilled experts there were no guarantees.

When Steve and I met the Cash and Treasures crew we were immediately impressed by director Chris Leavell. We invited him to stop by our hotel room for a beer, as soon as he arrived from San Francisco. A tall, energetic, enthusiastic man with a great sense of humor, he immersed himself in the world of meteorites, asking questions and examining possible shots, all with great efficiency and panache. TV host Becky Worley was the perfect addition to our teams. She leapt wholeheartedly into the adventure with zest and a desire to try everything. She drove the ATVs, learned how to use a metal detector, jumped into our waist-deep excavation trenches with shovel in hand and . . . she wanted to find her own meteorite.

I won't give away too much of the story here, because we'd like to share the whole adventure with you. So if you haven't seen our Cash and Treasures meteorite hunters episode, please tune in to the Travel Channel.

COMPLETE BROADCAST SCHEDULE
CASH AND TREASURES METEORITE EPISODE

October 31, 2007 1:30 am
October 30, 2007 9 pm
Jun 11, 2007 5:30 pm
Jun 10, 2007 11:30 pm
Jun 10, 2007 8:30 pm
May 6, 2007 2:30 am
May 2, 2007 11:30 pm
May 2, 2007 8:30 pm
Apr. 8, 2007  11:30 pm
Apr. 8, 2007  8:30 pm
Mar. 5, 2007  11:30 pm
Mar. 5, 2007  8:30 pm
Feb. 10, 2007  4:30 pm
Feb. 6, 2007  10:30 pm
Feb. 6, 2007  1:30 pm
Dec. 26, 2006  7:00 pm
Dec. 23, 2006  4:30 pm
Dec. 20, 2006  1:30 am
Dec. 19, 2006  10:30 pm

Geoff and Steve express their sincere thanks to Indigo Films, and particularly Greg Boudreaux, Hanna Bankier, Chris Leavell, and the lovely Becky Worley. You can count us in for Season Two!

If you have seen our Cash and Treasures episode, and want to watch more meteorite hunting adventures, Steve Arnold and Geoff Notkin will return in Wired Science, a new TV show which is a joint venture between PBS and Wired magazine. Steve and Geoff go back to Kansas, to continue the hunt in the middle of a roaring dust storm. We also spend time with Steve's World Record Meteorite, currently on display in the "Exploration Place" science museum in Wichita, Kansas.

Steve and Geoff are developing plans for an ongoing TV series about their meteorite hunting adventures around the world. Media, please

MEET THE METEORITE HUNTERS
Click HERE to learn more about Geoff and Steve

YOU CAN OWN A METEORITE
Yes, it's true. You can own a meteorite from outer space — an actual piece of the Brenham meteorite fall, as seen in Cash and Treasures. A limited number of genuine Steve Arnold meteorites from the Brenham, Kansas discovery are available for sale on this website, by exclusive arrangement with the Brenham Meteorite Company. All specimens are fully guaranteed to be authentic and as described. Every specimen comes with a beautiful full color Certificate of Authenticity, signed by Steve Arnold, as well as excavation photos, and other documention. A truly out-of-this-world collectible. Learn more >>>

JOIN GEOFF AND STEVE ON A REAL METEORITE HUNTING EXPEDITION!
Have you ever dreamed of finding your own meteorite?

During 2007 meteorite hunters Steve Arnold and Geoff Notkin will lead a few small teams of adventurers on actual expeditions to meteorite strewnfields. Expedition members will be guided to secret locations where Steve and Geoff have found meteorites in the past. Your team leaders will share their almost thirty years of combined experience with you. You will be instructed in metal detector operations, meteorite hunting techniques and strategies and entertained with campfire stories. It's an adventure you will always remember and you may well come home with a meteorite that you found!

Please visit our Meteorite Adventures website for more information.

To find out more about Cash & Treasures, please visit the official website.