Fossil Dig June, 30,2009
Fossil fish site North Dakota
As you recall, this summers' fossil dig experience was to have been the once in a lifetime opportunity to help excavate a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex. Though Tinker's fate is still is the hands of the judges of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the extraordinary fossil fish site became this year's focus. The students from Gainesville College have been working for six long days and I decided it was time for a trip north. A few of the "fossil prospectors" have visited the site before today and I wanted to be sure and see the fish before they are covered in the white plaster jackets.
We left the motel around 9:30 this morning and I drove my car with Esther and her son, Ben, and one of the students, Rob. Just outside Buffalo we turned off onto a gravel road and for the next hour drove on dirt, gravel, asphalt and grass. It felt a bit like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie, minus the high speeds and special effects. Since I learned to drive on a tractor and a Jeep, it was not all that unfamiliar.
Once we arrived at the site, the terrain is very similar to that of the areas we collect in around Buffalo. The Hell Creek formation spans the borders of North and South Dakota. The fish site is presumed to be a large, deep lake bed in which all the fish died simultaneously. Many of them are preserved in such a way that they are three dimensional. It is hard to see that as you view them in situ, but I imagine after they are restored they will be very striking.
The site has been laid out in grids and the students work in teams clearing the overburden with rock hammers and shovels. When they reach a certain level the work slows down as the tools get smaller and the attention focuses on revealing fossils, with minimum damage. I received a brief tour and description from Amy and then I let her return to her grid and the fish she revealed yesterday.
I took a brief walk around the surrounding area to get a better idea of the exposure and the grasslands beyond. Every vista is so expansive it is hard to describe or capture on film. It was another beautiful day with a breeze and moderate temperatures in the low 80's. After my quick tour I found Esther, Ben and Rob and asked them if I could be of any help. Rob jumped to his feet, gave me his rock hammer, and briefed me on the instructions for this grid.
We were perched on the edge of a bluff and had a great view of the other grids and the valley below. I started picking away at the hard clay with the rock hammer and soon found the indication of fossil fish: dark rust scales. The rock hammer is retired and out comes a scalpel. In fact there is a variety of scalpels to choose from and when those are too large for the work a pick is used which is comparable to a large needle stuck into a small wooden dowel. To say this work is detailed is an understatement. One slip of the hand and you cut into precious scales and bones.
I had thought gardening would be appropriate practice for this work. Wrong. Imagine perched high on a ledge that has hard clay overburden (thank heavens for kneeling pads), the wind blowing the dust in your face, and you are bent over a 65 million year old fish, or perhaps fishes, trying to unveil them for the first time. There were three of us sitting in this grid that was about four feet by six feet. The tight quarters and expanding size of the fossil material did not allow for much elbow room, let alone leg stretching space.
In spite of these aspects, the work is strangely compelling. After two and a half hours when Steve shouted for a lunch break, people continued to work, and that included us. It is fascinating to see these ancient finned creatures emerge from the clay and sand that has encased them for so long. But we did lay down our tools and unfold our bodies (slowly and somewhat stiffly) to head down the hill to the vehicles for lunch. The students are very congenial and have a great time together. What an amazing experience for all of them to have this opportunity to excavate the first lake bed in the Cretaceous of Hell Creek.
After a 45 minute lunch break we headed back to our perch (no pun intended) and went back to our labors. The afternoon session ran about two hours or so and though I did not get bored, my back was not happy. I would find it very challenging to do this same work day after day. We are fairly certain we found the fossil boundaries of our grid. We uncovered some of the fossil which Steve sealed as protection against the elements. It appears that it is important to uncover much of the fossil with as little damage as possible, but then the fossil and matrix will be jacketed with plaster for transport to Georgia for restoration. Our grid probably contains more than one fish and perhaps one of them is three dimensional. At this early stage it is difficult to state that with authority.
After we packed up our personal belongings and the site tools, I took a peek at some of the other grids. One site in particular contains a most amazing creature that appears to have a curved beak like nose or mouth. It is long and tapered and points down just like a beak. I am so curious as to what it might be. It contains other anatomical features which are most likely from other animals. This layering of animals makes the work challenging, and to my untrained eyes, almost incomprehensible. The student working this site is doing a fantastic job.
Steve finished up coating the fossils with preservative and then tools and people were loaded into vehicles for the hour drive back to the Tipperary. I returned, tired, sore, and dirty, but filled with a sense of accomplishment (albeit a small one). Given the size of this site and the many grids still yet to be started, I imagine there will be an opportunity next year to continue working the lake bed of Hell Creek. Sign ups available at PaleoProspectors.com.
That wraps up today's adventures except we had the most amazing storm blow over us with a threat of a tornado. It came from North Dakota so I hope the fish are still there and did not get washed away. That would be ironic if, after all these millions of years of safe keeping in their matrix of sand and clay, they might be washed away just months before their debut. Let's hope the preservative and drainage channels did their jobs.
Please note that the summary entry finally got posted tonight thanks to Daria's assistance. I couldn't get all the photos uploaded that I had hoped to, but the text is there...finally!
Cheers.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tech trouble in T.rex territory
Monday, June 29, 2009
Second week of fossil dig.
For reasons too many to list at this time, I can only say that my skills at finding the tiniest of 65 million year old fossils, far outweigh my abilities to navigate blog writing successfully. Unfortunately my tech support is in California and since I have to sit in the "lobby" of our motel to access the internet, and there is no cell service here (thank you AT&T), I cannot reach the person who could probably assist me. I have written entries for three days last week, but for some unexplained reason the font size for each day grows to such a size that the last day is unreadable. I have tried to correct the problem, but have not succeeded.
If, and when, I am able to correct the font size I will post all three days. I will for now just summarize by stating that many people have had very positive collecting days. I have been somewhat disappointed with my "finds". I hate to be greedy, but I was really hoping to find a large fossil this year, and so far it has eluded me. I usually have good luck finding the tiny claws and therapod teeth, but so far this season those little treasures are well hidden. I guess it is confirmation that finding 65 million year old fantasy fossils depends a great deal on luck as well as a keen eye.
Saturday June, 27 2009
Laurel and I made arrangements with Steve to meet he and some of his students in Wyoming on Saturday morning. We arrived in Newcastle at 10:00 am after a four hour drive. We reached the ranch around noon and prepared to collect on the ranch while Steve and students continued to excavate and jacket three parts of an Edmontosaurus (plant eating dinosaur).
When we looked over the edge of the plateau and first set eyes on the tail section of this animal, our jaws literally dropped open. I have seen photos of dinosaur fossils in the field, and viewed whole skeletons in museums. Nothing compares to seeing the bones in the ground. You are sort of thrown back in time as your eyes gaze upon the magnificent remains of this incredible creature. Somehow it becomes more alive even though there are major parts of it missing and you know it has been dead for 65 million years. I know it sounds crazy but the experience is visceral. You are not exactly "walking with dinosaurs", but it definitely becomes more real.
We took many photos and watched the team at work. Then we set off to find our own "animal". As luck would have it, it was not our lucky day. We walked and looked for over 5 hours but only found a small amount of scrap bone. Laurel found one piece of Ankylosaur skute (bony armour) that is nice and very unusual. On the last few 100 yards I found an artifact. It is a very nice spear point that is broken at the bottom (probably when it was used). It is made from a pale sand colored stone that has a slight sparkle. I am very happy with this piece. No estimates on age, but I am guessing about 5,000 years old.
We continued watching the jacketing process of the tail section until the team ran out of plaster. It was fascinating to see the many steps it takes to properly prepare the fossil for removal from the field. As much as I wanted to work on the T. rex site this summer, after watching these strong young (and not so young), men sweat and strain for hours in the sun, I am not sure my efforts would be helpful. I could do some of the plastering and fine matrix removal, and there is clean-up work, but the hours of swinging a pick axe or wielding a shovel, holds no allure. This was a huge reality check for me. I guess I have a year to mull over the options, since the court has still not made a ruling on the T. rex case.
Monday June 29, 2009
First day of second week in the field
Laurel left for So Cal yesterday, so this week I am without my fossil hunting buddy. The new group assembled this morning for the ritual introduction to fossil prospecting. Most of the people are veterans, but I believe some of the students will be joining us this week and they need to know about collecting etiquette and what types of fossils one is allowed to keep and what is witheld for scientific reasons. Safety guidelines were also reviewed as well as consequences for not following instructions.
By 9:10 we were in the vehicles and on our way to a ranch I have collected on the three years I have been coming to SD for fossils. We drove to a very familiar microsite and after a brief introduction, we all spread out and got close to the ground. It really is amusing to see a grown man lying on the ground with his nose about 8" from the surface trying to find the smallest of fossils. The teeth and jaw fragments are measured in milimeters. Occasionally a fossil therapod tooth will be found that reaches that 1" mark, but on the whole this is work for individuals who don't like to walk for miles.
I had modest luck finding the usual Champsosaur teeth (look like candy corn), Gar scales, fish verts and jaw fragments. Other members of the party were finding similar fossils. After about one and a half hours on the site, many of us went out into the formation to another site that is known for Triceratops crowns (whole teeth). We reached the site but David was working it and because of its small size Ryan had us wait until David was finished with his search. We scattered around to look in other areas. I found a small bone spill and a very weathered bone in the ground. I asked Ryan to take a look at it and give me his opinion. My instincts told me it was too far gone to be worth the work of digging up lots of little pieces. I wanted his advice. He looked at it and suggested that the bone quality farther down might be better and it would be a good idea to dig a moat around the shattered bone and see what was there.
I got my pick and long knife and set to work. It wasn't long until I found more bone but unfortunately it was in terrible condition. The soil was damp and the bone material was decomposed to such a degree I felt it was beyond repair. I asked Ryan to once again weigh in on the decision. He agreed that the quality was so poor it would be a restoration nightmare. I packed up my tools and joined the others who were now working on the site David had worked.
While I had been dealing with the disintegrating bone in the ground, Ryan had found a nice vertebra centrum at the site. He does have the eye since all the other people had missed it. (I wasn't there, cause I was spending time with that silly bone). He also found the front end of a small claw. Someone had probably stepped on it and broken the back end, but he couldn't find it. Kind of like the needle in the haystack.
I poked around a bit but the surface was very hard and a pick or long knife was a must. While I was searching, one of the Evans boys stuck his knife in the ground and heard it strike something. Ah yes it struck something alright....after two hours of digging that something is an ulna of a Tricertops! Not bad for their first morning this year. (I met them two years ago). It is in fabulous condition. No disintegrating bone this time. After lunch we returned so they could continue digging around it, with Ryan's help and guidance. He wrapped it with foil and will return tomorrow to jacket it in plaster. Good thing they drove here this summer. What a great fossil find.
We returned to the microsite for one last look around. I found more Gar scales, no surprise, and one small hadrosaur jaw fragment almost two inches long. As always, it is great being out in this amazing country and sharing the experience with old and new friends. And once again I hope that my fantasy fossil will find its way to me.
Cheers.
Second week of fossil dig.
For reasons too many to list at this time, I can only say that my skills at finding the tiniest of 65 million year old fossils, far outweigh my abilities to navigate blog writing successfully. Unfortunately my tech support is in California and since I have to sit in the "lobby" of our motel to access the internet, and there is no cell service here (thank you AT&T), I cannot reach the person who could probably assist me. I have written entries for three days last week, but for some unexplained reason the font size for each day grows to such a size that the last day is unreadable. I have tried to correct the problem, but have not succeeded.
If, and when, I am able to correct the font size I will post all three days. I will for now just summarize by stating that many people have had very positive collecting days. I have been somewhat disappointed with my "finds". I hate to be greedy, but I was really hoping to find a large fossil this year, and so far it has eluded me. I usually have good luck finding the tiny claws and therapod teeth, but so far this season those little treasures are well hidden. I guess it is confirmation that finding 65 million year old fantasy fossils depends a great deal on luck as well as a keen eye.
Saturday June, 27 2009
Laurel and I made arrangements with Steve to meet he and some of his students in Wyoming on Saturday morning. We arrived in Newcastle at 10:00 am after a four hour drive. We reached the ranch around noon and prepared to collect on the ranch while Steve and students continued to excavate and jacket three parts of an Edmontosaurus (plant eating dinosaur).
When we looked over the edge of the plateau and first set eyes on the tail section of this animal, our jaws literally dropped open. I have seen photos of dinosaur fossils in the field, and viewed whole skeletons in museums. Nothing compares to seeing the bones in the ground. You are sort of thrown back in time as your eyes gaze upon the magnificent remains of this incredible creature. Somehow it becomes more alive even though there are major parts of it missing and you know it has been dead for 65 million years. I know it sounds crazy but the experience is visceral. You are not exactly "walking with dinosaurs", but it definitely becomes more real.
We took many photos and watched the team at work. Then we set off to find our own "animal". As luck would have it, it was not our lucky day. We walked and looked for over 5 hours but only found a small amount of scrap bone. Laurel found one piece of Ankylosaur skute (bony armour) that is nice and very unusual. On the last few 100 yards I found an artifact. It is a very nice spear point that is broken at the bottom (probably when it was used). It is made from a pale sand colored stone that has a slight sparkle. I am very happy with this piece. No estimates on age, but I am guessing about 5,000 years old.
We continued watching the jacketing process of the tail section until the team ran out of plaster. It was fascinating to see the many steps it takes to properly prepare the fossil for removal from the field. As much as I wanted to work on the T. rex site this summer, after watching these strong young (and not so young), men sweat and strain for hours in the sun, I am not sure my efforts would be helpful. I could do some of the plastering and fine matrix removal, and there is clean-up work, but the hours of swinging a pick axe or wielding a shovel, holds no allure. This was a huge reality check for me. I guess I have a year to mull over the options, since the court has still not made a ruling on the T. rex case.
Monday June 29, 2009
First day of second week in the field
Laurel left for So Cal yesterday, so this week I am without my fossil hunting buddy. The new group assembled this morning for the ritual introduction to fossil prospecting. Most of the people are veterans, but I believe some of the students will be joining us this week and they need to know about collecting etiquette and what types of fossils one is allowed to keep and what is witheld for scientific reasons. Safety guidelines were also reviewed as well as consequences for not following instructions.
By 9:10 we were in the vehicles and on our way to a ranch I have collected on the three years I have been coming to SD for fossils. We drove to a very familiar microsite and after a brief introduction, we all spread out and got close to the ground. It really is amusing to see a grown man lying on the ground with his nose about 8" from the surface trying to find the smallest of fossils. The teeth and jaw fragments are measured in milimeters. Occasionally a fossil therapod tooth will be found that reaches that 1" mark, but on the whole this is work for individuals who don't like to walk for miles.
I had modest luck finding the usual Champsosaur teeth (look like candy corn), Gar scales, fish verts and jaw fragments. Other members of the party were finding similar fossils. After about one and a half hours on the site, many of us went out into the formation to another site that is known for Triceratops crowns (whole teeth). We reached the site but David was working it and because of its small size Ryan had us wait until David was finished with his search. We scattered around to look in other areas. I found a small bone spill and a very weathered bone in the ground. I asked Ryan to take a look at it and give me his opinion. My instincts told me it was too far gone to be worth the work of digging up lots of little pieces. I wanted his advice. He looked at it and suggested that the bone quality farther down might be better and it would be a good idea to dig a moat around the shattered bone and see what was there.
I got my pick and long knife and set to work. It wasn't long until I found more bone but unfortunately it was in terrible condition. The soil was damp and the bone material was decomposed to such a degree I felt it was beyond repair. I asked Ryan to once again weigh in on the decision. He agreed that the quality was so poor it would be a restoration nightmare. I packed up my tools and joined the others who were now working on the site David had worked.
While I had been dealing with the disintegrating bone in the ground, Ryan had found a nice vertebra centrum at the site. He does have the eye since all the other people had missed it. (I wasn't there, cause I was spending time with that silly bone). He also found the front end of a small claw. Someone had probably stepped on it and broken the back end, but he couldn't find it. Kind of like the needle in the haystack.
I poked around a bit but the surface was very hard and a pick or long knife was a must. While I was searching, one of the Evans boys stuck his knife in the ground and heard it strike something. Ah yes it struck something alright....after two hours of digging that something is an ulna of a Tricertops! Not bad for their first morning this year. (I met them two years ago). It is in fabulous condition. No disintegrating bone this time. After lunch we returned so they could continue digging around it, with Ryan's help and guidance. He wrapped it with foil and will return tomorrow to jacket it in plaster. Good thing they drove here this summer. What a great fossil find.
We returned to the microsite for one last look around. I found more Gar scales, no surprise, and one small hadrosaur jaw fragment almost two inches long. As always, it is great being out in this amazing country and sharing the experience with old and new friends. And once again I hope that my fantasy fossil will find its way to me.
Cheers.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Fossil Dig Update June 28, 2009
June 28, 2009 Fossil dig Update Summary:
The reality of the regular fossil dig daily routine settled in last Wednesday. To the usual long days of field time from 8:30 a.m., when we gather by the vehicles, to our return sometime around 5:00, we add cleaning ourselves and our fossils, prepping and eating dinner, and meeting with guides for help with fossil identification. Depending on the day, that full schedule can wrap up about 10:00 or later. Wednesday night was just too late for me to begin writing at 11:00 p.m. Since I promised myself I would keep my journal as a "blog" this year, I am dependent on reliable internet service. I must admit it has not worked out as I had hoped. Thursday and Friday nights the internet was not working in the house. So between major fatigue and spotty online access, the blog has really suffered.
So here I am on my 27th wedding anniversary, sitting in the lobby of the motel, typing my entry which will be a summary of the first week. My apologies right up front for the lack of detail in some aspects of each day. Though I finally wrote long hand notes on Friday night, there were some specifics I just could not recall. I hope to fill in critical highlights as they bubble up into my consciousness.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
This day found us on the same ranch as Tuesday. We received general overview of the potential sites in the valleys before us and off we went. We were warned that the walk down the hill in the morning means we are walking uphill at the end of the session. We were instructed to keep in radio contact and discuss what are thoughts were regarding lunch and afternoon options. Rob headed off to look for the section of Triceratops brow horn that he thought is still in the ground near the section he has already removed. The rest of us set off down the hill and scattered into the different washes looking for fossils.
By 12:00 the valley group had found nothing and decided to return to the vehicles for lunch and then relocate for the afternoon. Our young companion, Gina had napped in one of the vehicles and since Rob was driving to the fish site in the afternoon, she opted to spend the afternoon at the motel. The rest of us, the small party of 5 plus Ryan our guide drove to a new location.
Ryan knew of two or more microsites so we decided to try our luck at those. Ryan is tall with very long legs so he reached the site about 50 yards ahead of me. When I saw his two arms raised triumphantly I knew he had scored. I am not referring to a touchdown, though I can understand the confusion. He had once again found a fabulous fossil (I think it was a claw)! This is one of those fuzzy details which I will correct when, and if, I remember. I looked around the rather steep butte ledge just to the left of Ryan's prize, and found turtle shell. Eegads. At this time I think I have enough turtle shell to reassemble a decent size turtle!
I was bent over the surface trying to dislodge a small fragment and suddenly Ryan came huffing around the corner. He said a big bobcat had just run past me not 10 feet away! So not only did I miss the fabulous fossil find, I missed the bob cat encounter. Just so engrossed in my own little world that wild animals don't catch my attention.
Ryan then went around to the back side of this formation, and there lying under a small plant branch was a perfect Nanotyrannosaurus tooth. Another lucky day for Ryan. At this point I suggested that he just point out the sites for us and sit back and relax while we do the "work". He had "limited out" as they say in the hunting and fishing world. At least that was my opinion.
Mitch and Mike each found nice fossils at this location, (one beautiful toe bone), which prompted some to return to this site later in the afternoon.
We walked on down the valley, being the same valley that the bobcat ran into, to look for another microsite. Ryan walked on farther to check on a site he had on his GPS. He let us know by radio that we had been at noted site on a previous day so we continued to look for another one without the assistance of advanced technology. We used our feet and our eyes.
Ryan reached the site first to no surprise. He was pretty good about letting other have first peek and I was able to find some tiny fossils: Gar scales, fish verts, Triceratops shed tooth, and a ray tooth. Once again the dream fossil eluded me. After a brief return to the before mentioned site, the group walked slowly back to the vehicles checking out likely spots for fossils. My attention was diverted by something moving in the grass- a snake. It was about 12" long and very thin and elegant. Mike came over to see it and identified it as a Racer. That was a nice encounter with nature.
After dinner I finally spent some time cleaning fossils in a bucket with water and a tooth brush. That was the end of another sunny day in Hell Creek.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Day Four of Fossil Dig
We drove onto the same ranch as previous days but into a new area. Ryan was our guide for the day since Rob was excavating the squamosal he had located the day before. This is the large shield that is behind the head of the Triceratops. Mike and Mitch volunteered to assist the process. Large pick axes were involved. More details later. The rest of the party, Ryan, Alex, Laurel and myself headed off to a new microsite and other areas with potential for larger fossils.
The first microsite was a bust. That's technical jargon for no fossils. Laurel and I headed for the next hill, Alex disappeared somewhere, and Ryan set out for places unknown. We are a very independent group. I worked my way to the top of this mound and found some sort of crystals. Though they are very sparkly in the field, when I have taken them home in previous years, their shimmer is quite dulled. I let them lie. Since that was the highlight I began to work my way down the hill in a kind of circular path, hoping to find a spill of fossils or a unique treasure.
Near the base I found a large deposit of turtle: surprise, surprise. After my initial disappointment, I began to get closer to the surface and found micro fossils: Gar scales and fish verts aplenty. I called Laurel over and she decided she would collect turtle shell for a project back home. Soon she was collecting the scales as well and other fossils as they appeared to her.
I actually had pretty good luck at this site. I found a tiny therapod tail vertebra (almost 1" long), Ray teeth, and a very beautiful toe bone of a therapod. That fossil was such a surprise since it was lying between my feet as I was crouched down gazing at the patch of soil I had looked at before. I must have missed it earlier because I was focusing on fossils whose color was a contrast to the soil, and this toe bone was exactly the same color as the soil. Camoflage in action. Does make you wonder how much you really do miss as you are hunting for fossils.
I found a very nice Crocodile tooth and a beautiful Bow fin fish tooth, a Gar fish vertebra and a Triceratops tooth. I was happy with the morning's offerings. Laurel had a good time and Ryan had found a big bone somewhere nearby. We tracked down Alex who had not found much and the three of us decided to find Ryan.
He was nearby, but he was perched on a pretty steep face of a plateau. Alex (one day shy of 15) helped us with our back packs so we could gingerly ease ourselves down the side of this formation. Of course our cameras were out and we snapped away taking photos of Ryan's beautiful rib. To be more accurate: one complete rib and two partial ribs; with hope of more bones to be revealed another day. We were, and still are, very excited for Ryan. The quality of the bone is excellent and it is an extraordinary find.
Once we reached the bottom of the hill, we dispersed to look for our own extraordinary finds. I went to the right and within about 15 minutes heard Laurel give out a cheer. I walked back to find Alex on top of a narrow outcropping about the same height as Ryan's ribs and about 75' from his hillside. Apparently Laurel had spotted something up there and asked Alex to climb up to check it out. Alex is the mountain goat of the group. He called down to her that yes it's bone! Hence the cheer. I climbed up, camera in hand and took photos.
The fossil is a very worn, but amazingly beautiful, in an abstract art sculpture sort of way, head of a femur or tibia of a hadrosaur. It is the perfect specimen for Laurel: unique and bold and elegant: very much like her. I was, and remain, thrilled for her. She deserves it.
I slowly descended and headed over to an interesting place to the right of her outcropping. I climbed up and over a low formation and began to look at the wall to my left. My eye was caught by a shape I have seen before (my first year) a vertebra with process. It was about the size of a peach. I took out my Swiss Army knife and carefully released it from the matrix. It is not in great shape, but it is 65 million years old, and I found it all by myself.
I wrapped it in foil and placed it in a resealable bag. I continued to look on that wall and very quickly noticed a surface that was different than the surrounding area. The shape was sort of round. I thought I saw bone and held my breath. I reached into my pack for a larger knife and just as I was beginning to work the knife into the sandstone like soil, my eye was caught by a tooth sitting right next to the fossil in question. Wow! That's kind of fun. I picked up the tooth which is from a Triceratops or perhaps a Leptoceratops, and placed it in a small container. I then returned to the other bone in the wall. By now Laurel joined me to watch the action (yet another sports analogy), which is so not accurate. This work, done properly, can take hours, as in Ryan's rib situation, or a few minutes, as in my fossil. I eased it out of the matrix and recognized it as another vertebra. I did not recognize the animal, but was told later that it is a sacral vert from a hadrosaur (plant eater), maybe Triceratops (remember the tooth).
I was excited to find three fossils in such quick succession. The quality of the verts is poor and the larger one (grapefruit size) began to crumble as I cleaned it. I need to stabilize it with a permeating super glue called Paleo Bond. I hope to finish cleaning it this week and get the glue into it so it will be OK to ship home.
With all the excitement of the morning and early afternoon, it was time to find some shade, eat lunch and drink lots of water. The day really heated up into the 90's and we were all feeling every degree. The rest of the afternoon was pretty lazy for the ladies. We worked at trying to be cool. Alex climbed up and over everything in sight, and Ryan worked on those ribs. We left that area late afternoon and drove back to the motel.
After dinner, Laurel and I went to Ryan and Rob's room to view the days treasures. Ryan had all the ribs on display and Rob had his squamosal jacketed in plaster and foil. Those guys were really happy. Rob had swung the large pick axe for hours to get at the fossil. He is an artist and very meticulous about fossil stabilizing in the field. That piece looked perfect. Congratulations to them both.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Fossil Dig Day 5
The plan for the day involved returning to the site to finish stabilizing Laurel's fossil and wrapping it in foil. Michael and Adam (father, son) were invited to dig at Ryan's site, and I chose to photograph Ryan working on Laurel's fossil. The remainder of the collectors would work a large microsite for the morning and then drive to the fish site in the afternoon. Since Laurel was returning to LA on Sunday, we knew our afternoon would be spent finding boxes in town and pack and ship her fossil home. The fish will have to wait for next week.
The morning proceeded well enough. Laurel's fossil was glued in situ (technical jargon) and wrapped in lots of foil. Ryan was kind enough to carry it to the vehicle. After that, Laurel and I headed off in the opposite direction from where the others were searching, to look on another microsite. Wrong way to go as it turned out. Our choice was tricky to get to and the surface was very unstable once we got there, so the looking involved too much slipping and sliding for my taste. Fairly early, I found a bone in the ground and began to uncover it. It was extremely brittle and because I didn't have any bonding glue, the thing would crumble as I tried to extract it. What a frustration. I wrapped the decent pieces, and placed the smaller ones in foil and place everything in one bag to deal with when I get home. A few of the pieces will glue together easily and the crumbly bits will probably find their way to the garden as mulch. So wish I had that glue in the field.
After that exercise, I carefully worked my way around this very high formation and tried to find the famous microsite. I did find some turtle (bet you could have guessed that by now), Gar scales, a fish vert that is the size of the head of a pin, (no kidding) and a nice Crocodile tooth. But hey, where's that T. rex tooth I keep visualizing. As the predicted thunderstorm began to gather, we worked our way back to the vehicles.
We certainly made the wrong choice in microsites. The other collectors, each and everyone, found amazing fossils: mammal jaw (finder cannot keep because it is too rare) which will go to a museum, Nano tyrannosaurus tooth, structure that supported the head of Triceratops (can't recall the very long name), therapod toe bone, dromeosaur tooth, and more. We were on the wrong side of the street so to say. Michael and Adam returned from Ryan's rib site with three (3) vertebrae from the same animal. One of the dorsal verts is perfect and includes the long process that arcs off the back of the vert. It is fabulous! As always I am thrilled for my fellow hunters. But I must be truthful and say that I am a bit envious. At least I have next week.
The reality of the regular fossil dig daily routine settled in last Wednesday. To the usual long days of field time from 8:30 a.m., when we gather by the vehicles, to our return sometime around 5:00, we add cleaning ourselves and our fossils, prepping and eating dinner, and meeting with guides for help with fossil identification. Depending on the day, that full schedule can wrap up about 10:00 or later. Wednesday night was just too late for me to begin writing at 11:00 p.m. Since I promised myself I would keep my journal as a "blog" this year, I am dependent on reliable internet service. I must admit it has not worked out as I had hoped. Thursday and Friday nights the internet was not working in the house. So between major fatigue and spotty online access, the blog has really suffered.
So here I am on my 27th wedding anniversary, sitting in the lobby of the motel, typing my entry which will be a summary of the first week. My apologies right up front for the lack of detail in some aspects of each day. Though I finally wrote long hand notes on Friday night, there were some specifics I just could not recall. I hope to fill in critical highlights as they bubble up into my consciousness.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
This day found us on the same ranch as Tuesday. We received general overview of the potential sites in the valleys before us and off we went. We were warned that the walk down the hill in the morning means we are walking uphill at the end of the session. We were instructed to keep in radio contact and discuss what are thoughts were regarding lunch and afternoon options. Rob headed off to look for the section of Triceratops brow horn that he thought is still in the ground near the section he has already removed. The rest of us set off down the hill and scattered into the different washes looking for fossils.
By 12:00 the valley group had found nothing and decided to return to the vehicles for lunch and then relocate for the afternoon. Our young companion, Gina had napped in one of the vehicles and since Rob was driving to the fish site in the afternoon, she opted to spend the afternoon at the motel. The rest of us, the small party of 5 plus Ryan our guide drove to a new location.
Ryan knew of two or more microsites so we decided to try our luck at those. Ryan is tall with very long legs so he reached the site about 50 yards ahead of me. When I saw his two arms raised triumphantly I knew he had scored. I am not referring to a touchdown, though I can understand the confusion. He had once again found a fabulous fossil (I think it was a claw)! This is one of those fuzzy details which I will correct when, and if, I remember. I looked around the rather steep butte ledge just to the left of Ryan's prize, and found turtle shell. Eegads. At this time I think I have enough turtle shell to reassemble a decent size turtle!
I was bent over the surface trying to dislodge a small fragment and suddenly Ryan came huffing around the corner. He said a big bobcat had just run past me not 10 feet away! So not only did I miss the fabulous fossil find, I missed the bob cat encounter. Just so engrossed in my own little world that wild animals don't catch my attention.
Ryan then went around to the back side of this formation, and there lying under a small plant branch was a perfect Nanotyrannosaurus tooth. Another lucky day for Ryan. At this point I suggested that he just point out the sites for us and sit back and relax while we do the "work". He had "limited out" as they say in the hunting and fishing world. At least that was my opinion.
Mitch and Mike each found nice fossils at this location, (one beautiful toe bone), which prompted some to return to this site later in the afternoon.
We walked on down the valley, being the same valley that the bobcat ran into, to look for another microsite. Ryan walked on farther to check on a site he had on his GPS. He let us know by radio that we had been at noted site on a previous day so we continued to look for another one without the assistance of advanced technology. We used our feet and our eyes.
Ryan reached the site first to no surprise. He was pretty good about letting other have first peek and I was able to find some tiny fossils: Gar scales, fish verts, Triceratops shed tooth, and a ray tooth. Once again the dream fossil eluded me. After a brief return to the before mentioned site, the group walked slowly back to the vehicles checking out likely spots for fossils. My attention was diverted by something moving in the grass- a snake. It was about 12" long and very thin and elegant. Mike came over to see it and identified it as a Racer. That was a nice encounter with nature.
After dinner I finally spent some time cleaning fossils in a bucket with water and a tooth brush. That was the end of another sunny day in Hell Creek.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Day Four of Fossil Dig
We drove onto the same ranch as previous days but into a new area. Ryan was our guide for the day since Rob was excavating the squamosal he had located the day before. This is the large shield that is behind the head of the Triceratops. Mike and Mitch volunteered to assist the process. Large pick axes were involved. More details later. The rest of the party, Ryan, Alex, Laurel and myself headed off to a new microsite and other areas with potential for larger fossils.
The first microsite was a bust. That's technical jargon for no fossils. Laurel and I headed for the next hill, Alex disappeared somewhere, and Ryan set out for places unknown. We are a very independent group. I worked my way to the top of this mound and found some sort of crystals. Though they are very sparkly in the field, when I have taken them home in previous years, their shimmer is quite dulled. I let them lie. Since that was the highlight I began to work my way down the hill in a kind of circular path, hoping to find a spill of fossils or a unique treasure.
Near the base I found a large deposit of turtle: surprise, surprise. After my initial disappointment, I began to get closer to the surface and found micro fossils: Gar scales and fish verts aplenty. I called Laurel over and she decided she would collect turtle shell for a project back home. Soon she was collecting the scales as well and other fossils as they appeared to her.
I actually had pretty good luck at this site. I found a tiny therapod tail vertebra (almost 1" long), Ray teeth, and a very beautiful toe bone of a therapod. That fossil was such a surprise since it was lying between my feet as I was crouched down gazing at the patch of soil I had looked at before. I must have missed it earlier because I was focusing on fossils whose color was a contrast to the soil, and this toe bone was exactly the same color as the soil. Camoflage in action. Does make you wonder how much you really do miss as you are hunting for fossils.
I found a very nice Crocodile tooth and a beautiful Bow fin fish tooth, a Gar fish vertebra and a Triceratops tooth. I was happy with the morning's offerings. Laurel had a good time and Ryan had found a big bone somewhere nearby. We tracked down Alex who had not found much and the three of us decided to find Ryan.
He was nearby, but he was perched on a pretty steep face of a plateau. Alex (one day shy of 15) helped us with our back packs so we could gingerly ease ourselves down the side of this formation. Of course our cameras were out and we snapped away taking photos of Ryan's beautiful rib. To be more accurate: one complete rib and two partial ribs; with hope of more bones to be revealed another day. We were, and still are, very excited for Ryan. The quality of the bone is excellent and it is an extraordinary find.
Once we reached the bottom of the hill, we dispersed to look for our own extraordinary finds. I went to the right and within about 15 minutes heard Laurel give out a cheer. I walked back to find Alex on top of a narrow outcropping about the same height as Ryan's ribs and about 75' from his hillside. Apparently Laurel had spotted something up there and asked Alex to climb up to check it out. Alex is the mountain goat of the group. He called down to her that yes it's bone! Hence the cheer. I climbed up, camera in hand and took photos.
The fossil is a very worn, but amazingly beautiful, in an abstract art sculpture sort of way, head of a femur or tibia of a hadrosaur. It is the perfect specimen for Laurel: unique and bold and elegant: very much like her. I was, and remain, thrilled for her. She deserves it.
I slowly descended and headed over to an interesting place to the right of her outcropping. I climbed up and over a low formation and began to look at the wall to my left. My eye was caught by a shape I have seen before (my first year) a vertebra with process. It was about the size of a peach. I took out my Swiss Army knife and carefully released it from the matrix. It is not in great shape, but it is 65 million years old, and I found it all by myself.
I wrapped it in foil and placed it in a resealable bag. I continued to look on that wall and very quickly noticed a surface that was different than the surrounding area. The shape was sort of round. I thought I saw bone and held my breath. I reached into my pack for a larger knife and just as I was beginning to work the knife into the sandstone like soil, my eye was caught by a tooth sitting right next to the fossil in question. Wow! That's kind of fun. I picked up the tooth which is from a Triceratops or perhaps a Leptoceratops, and placed it in a small container. I then returned to the other bone in the wall. By now Laurel joined me to watch the action (yet another sports analogy), which is so not accurate. This work, done properly, can take hours, as in Ryan's rib situation, or a few minutes, as in my fossil. I eased it out of the matrix and recognized it as another vertebra. I did not recognize the animal, but was told later that it is a sacral vert from a hadrosaur (plant eater), maybe Triceratops (remember the tooth).
I was excited to find three fossils in such quick succession. The quality of the verts is poor and the larger one (grapefruit size) began to crumble as I cleaned it. I need to stabilize it with a permeating super glue called Paleo Bond. I hope to finish cleaning it this week and get the glue into it so it will be OK to ship home.
With all the excitement of the morning and early afternoon, it was time to find some shade, eat lunch and drink lots of water. The day really heated up into the 90's and we were all feeling every degree. The rest of the afternoon was pretty lazy for the ladies. We worked at trying to be cool. Alex climbed up and over everything in sight, and Ryan worked on those ribs. We left that area late afternoon and drove back to the motel.
After dinner, Laurel and I went to Ryan and Rob's room to view the days treasures. Ryan had all the ribs on display and Rob had his squamosal jacketed in plaster and foil. Those guys were really happy. Rob had swung the large pick axe for hours to get at the fossil. He is an artist and very meticulous about fossil stabilizing in the field. That piece looked perfect. Congratulations to them both.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Fossil Dig Day 5
The plan for the day involved returning to the site to finish stabilizing Laurel's fossil and wrapping it in foil. Michael and Adam (father, son) were invited to dig at Ryan's site, and I chose to photograph Ryan working on Laurel's fossil. The remainder of the collectors would work a large microsite for the morning and then drive to the fish site in the afternoon. Since Laurel was returning to LA on Sunday, we knew our afternoon would be spent finding boxes in town and pack and ship her fossil home. The fish will have to wait for next week.
The morning proceeded well enough. Laurel's fossil was glued in situ (technical jargon) and wrapped in lots of foil. Ryan was kind enough to carry it to the vehicle. After that, Laurel and I headed off in the opposite direction from where the others were searching, to look on another microsite. Wrong way to go as it turned out. Our choice was tricky to get to and the surface was very unstable once we got there, so the looking involved too much slipping and sliding for my taste. Fairly early, I found a bone in the ground and began to uncover it. It was extremely brittle and because I didn't have any bonding glue, the thing would crumble as I tried to extract it. What a frustration. I wrapped the decent pieces, and placed the smaller ones in foil and place everything in one bag to deal with when I get home. A few of the pieces will glue together easily and the crumbly bits will probably find their way to the garden as mulch. So wish I had that glue in the field.
After that exercise, I carefully worked my way around this very high formation and tried to find the famous microsite. I did find some turtle (bet you could have guessed that by now), Gar scales, a fish vert that is the size of the head of a pin, (no kidding) and a nice Crocodile tooth. But hey, where's that T. rex tooth I keep visualizing. As the predicted thunderstorm began to gather, we worked our way back to the vehicles.
We certainly made the wrong choice in microsites. The other collectors, each and everyone, found amazing fossils: mammal jaw (finder cannot keep because it is too rare) which will go to a museum, Nano tyrannosaurus tooth, structure that supported the head of Triceratops (can't recall the very long name), therapod toe bone, dromeosaur tooth, and more. We were on the wrong side of the street so to say. Michael and Adam returned from Ryan's rib site with three (3) vertebrae from the same animal. One of the dorsal verts is perfect and includes the long process that arcs off the back of the vert. It is fabulous! As always I am thrilled for my fellow hunters. But I must be truthful and say that I am a bit envious. At least I have next week.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
After a pretty good night's sleep, we awoke to another gorgeous sunny day. We had breakfast in our "house" and met our fellow adventurers around 8:30. We drove to the same ranch as the one we looked on Monday. It is so large that there is no danger of running out of places to hunt for fossils. Rob gave us an overview of the different areas we could explore and most of us set off for a site called "Bowfin butte", so named because it has produced so many Bowfin fish vertebrae.
I left my back pack at the base of the butte (very bad idea) and found what I thought was a relatively easy path to a narrow ridge where I started to look for small fossils. I new this was not a site that would have any large fossils . This would be a morning of close work: bent over the rock and soil, and Swiss army knife in hand to dislodge any fossils and move plant stems so I could look near the base. Sometimes fossils get caught by the plants as they are washed down from the level above the one on which you are looking.
This is a good time to mention that this area has had lots of spring rain. This allows new fossils to be revealed as the water washes silt and clay off and the heavier fossils are then "sitting" on this new surface. You are looking for distinctive shapes and colors that differentiate the fossil from the background. It takes a little practice and lots and lots of patience. This work is somewhat like a meditation. You are focused and relaxed and to some degree detached from what goes on around you. You are alert because there are many things you must be conscious of while you are looking for fossils.
Every year we are cautioned that this is not an amusement park and there are real dangers that you must be aware of. Everyone must follow the safety instructions or the consequences can be dire. Heat stroke, snakes, mosquitoes, scorpions, loose rocks, cattle, and thunder storms are most of the potential threats to a safe fossil dig experience. To that end, it was unwise of me to leave my back pack (see second paragraph above), behind since my water bottles were in it. I was on the butte for almost three hours, and had it been a hotter day, I might have been in trouble for lack of hydration. I was wearing my cooling vest and the morning was really very mild so I figured I would be OK until I returned to the base and walked back to the vehicles for lunch. One of the reasons I left the pack behind is that the extra weight makes it much more difficult for me to climb the buttes. I find it pulls me backwards and then I feel like I am going to lose my balance and fall off the butte! I think you get the picture. There is a lot to consider as you try to focus on finding your fantasy fossils.
To get back to the actual fossil hunting, I had a slow start as I worked my way up and around the butte. I began to find some little scrap fossil bone and turtle shell as I reached a rounded non-vegetated part of the formation that contained some spill from higher up. Ryan, our youngest guide, was also working the butte, and he came within my view and asked how I was doing. I said that I had found mostly little scrap with a few larger pieces of bone. In turn I inquired as to his finds (he has a great eye), and he said he had a good morning so far in that he had found a beautiful therapod toe bone and a small juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex tooth. Yeah, that is a good morning. I'd call that a great morning!
He went on his way and I went back to my task. Within a few minutes, as I was scanning the surface of the butte, my eye was drawn to a small light colored shape about 1/4" by 3/4". I got that undeniable shiver as you realize you have found something special. It was a small therapod toe bone. Much smaller than Ryan's, but I found it and it was worth the hours of looking. Wish I could have found a nice T. rex tooth as well. Maybe tomorrow; there's always tomorrow.
I put that little treasure in a small container I had in my pocket, and worked my way back down the hill. This is always harder for me than climbing up, and once again I must admit that I find it easier without the back pack. Maybe I need some hill climbing lessons. Walked back to the vehicles via another microsite which I did not climb to check out. Just as well, since Ryan told me later that the site was barren. So glad I didn't make the effort.
Lunch break provides time for show and tell. Everyone shares the finds of the morning while we eat and rest for 30-45 minutes. Since the only shelter is in the vehicles, we try to spend some time in them to get out of the sun and wind or whatever the weather throws at us. After lunch we drove to another site for the afternoon session.
Rob gave us the overview of potential sites. Laurel and I chose to go to a microsite some distance from the vehicles, maybe 1/2 mile with some elevation. We walked by a small pond with birds flying around the one tree. I worked my way up to the microsite and Laurel checked around the base of the formation for any spill.
I eventually found some bits of turtle and some Gar fish scales (easily identified because they are very shiny). This was another exercise in being in close contact with the ground. You are literally inches away from the surface of the butte as you look for the tiniest of fossils. It is amazing how tired you get at the end of the day even though you haven't walked much. I was lucky enough to find three tiny teeth; two from a manta ray and one tiny crocodile crusher tooth. I believe there may be two or three more teeth or teeth fragments in this collection, but I need the expert's opinion. Hopefully Rob can take a look at them tomorrow. Still not the T. rex tooth of my dreams, but still, 65 million years old and so tiny and perfect! It was a good afternoon.
Laurel found some nice fossil bone in the morning and her afternoon was spent walking around the buttes and coming almost face to face with a very large Bull snake. She took lots of photos of it as it shimmied up the butte and out of range of the human. She was scared and thrilled at the same time. She found a modern bone that is probably the vertebrae and pelvis of an antelope. It is very striking and will be displayed with her collection of other modern bones. She also had a lovely encounter with five beautiful orange butterflies who entertained her while she sat admiring their ballet and the magnificient vistas.
We find our days in this amazing country strangely magical. There is a stillness unlike anyplace in Southern California that we frequent in our day to day lives. The total lack of manmade sounds is invigorating and relaxing simultaneously; again somewhat like meditation. We love it even when we don't find the fossils of our dreams.
Tomorrow will be here much too soon. We spent some time cleaning fossils tonight and now I find it is almost midnight. That is way too late for me when the alarm is set for 6:00 am! Good night and sweet dreams.
Cheers
Monday, June 22, 2009
First day in the field. Monday, June 22, 2009
It's Christmas morning for me all over again. Each year it is the same experience: the night before we go into the field feels like Christmas Eve, and the next morning I wake up really early because I am excitedly anticipating the treasures I will find! A whole week of Christmas Eves and Christmas mornings. It is reminiscent of the film Groundhog Day, though once the day gets started, each turns out in its own unique way.
This year is quite different since there is a group of students from Gainesville College who are here to help excavate the fossil fish site in North Dakota. So, though the group is very large, we are divided into two groups for much of the week. Starting today, the students are taking a 3 day survival course as part of their two week field course. Those of us who are here with Paleo Prospectors went into the field today for personal collecting.
Laurel and I were well prepared for the warming temperatures as we wore our cooling vests and super cool neck ties. We were certainly glad we had them, because even wearing those specially designed "accessories", we were mighty tired at the end of our first day. In fact everyone was more tired than I remember from previous years. I'm certain tomorrow will be better.
The first day is always a bit tricky. Everyone is super enthusiastic and anxious to get out there and find their "fantasy" fossil. Some want to find a Triceratops brow horn, others want to find a claw or tooth from a Tyrannosaurus rex. When you are finally out on this huge ranch that is literally thousands of acres, you realize the chances of finding your dream fossil will most likely, remain a dream. But, it usually takes a few hours for this reality check to hit you, and when it does, you look to other aspects of the adventure to inspire you.
Today was no exception. Visions of sugar plums, I mean vertebrae, danced in my head as we drove out to the site. I hoped I would be able to differentiate the fossils from the rocks quickly. Sometimes it takes awhile to train your eye to latch onto a fossil that is shyly sitting amongst some similarly colored rocks. If you don't find one right away you begin to question your proficiency and you can get discouraged. It wasn't too long before I found a tiny scrap of turtle shell. My eyes were aclimated to the task at hand, I just needed the site to cooperate and present some fossils.
The day was gorgeous. Big blue sky that went on forever. Clouds built up in the early afternoon to provide us a wonderful show during our lunch break. The breeze was pretty steady most of the day, which was most welcome to help keep our bodies a little cooler. I have included one photo from one of the outcroppings I climbed. No fossils to be found up there, but the vistas were amazing! Even if the fossils are few and far between, there is much beauty in this land to appreciate. Flowers of many colors are blooming, the grass is lush and green, black and white birds dart around us, and today, no snakes!
After lunch we drove to another area and hiked into a location for the afternoon session. I found plenty of scrap fossil bone which, when it is small, I call "kibbles and bits". I had promised myself I wouldn't bother to pick this stuff up, but because of a lack of more significant fossil material, I was desperate to pick up something. Even the little stuff adds up though, and by the end of the afternoon, my back pack was pretty heavy.
I found two bones that were so weathered they were unidentifiable (to me anyway) and must have been in a hundred pieces about the size of linguine. I could not imagine trying to glue those pieces together. Near one of these, my eye was caught by what looked like yet another scrap of fossil about the size of a lima bean. It was very weathered and of little consequence. But I couldn't resist, and I pushed my Swiss Army knife into the soil next to it to dislodge it from the very hard clay (almost like concrete). The knife would not go in because it hit something harder than the clay. I retrieved my pick axe and placed it in the ground farther from the visible fossil. The tool went into the clay and I could work it down and around the fossil to dislodge it. To my surprise, it was about the size of my fist! I didn't have any idea what it was. The part of the fossil that had been covered in clay was nothing like the exposed part.
I set it aside and continued to search in the area for more fossils. A short time later, Rob, one of our fabulous paleontology guides, came over and asked me what I had found. I handed him the fossil admitting that I wasn't sure if it really was fossil bone. He asked me if I knew what I had, with a tone in his voice that sent a little ripple of cautious excitement down my spine. I said I had no idea. He informed me that only one creature had such large spaces where the bone marrow would have been.....Tyrannosaurus rex!!! That was the fossil highlight of my day. Not a museum piece, not even a bone that anyone would particularly recognize as bone, but it is 65 million years old and I am the first human being to hold it in my hands.
Though I appreciate the nice pieces of turtle shell and other assorted bone scrap that are here in my room waiting to be washed, that one find made the day a success for me. I will clean it tomorrow and look at it with the loupe, so that I can learn more about the structure of T. rex bone.
Laurel found a nice champsosaur vertebra and jaw fragment. She found them adjacent to each other so perhaps they were from the same animal. She searched the area for more fossils of that critter, but that was all she could find. Those were the highlights of her day's finds. We both enjoyed being in this amazing land and look forward to what tomorrow will bring.
All my housmates are asleep, and at 10:15 I had better wrap this up. We are off to a pretty good start. Our fingers are crossed for more luck tomorrow as we search for our fantasy fossils.
Cheers.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Countdown to Fossil Dig 2009 Saturday, June 20, 10:45 p.m. Central time
Laurel and I arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota right on schedule. The flights to Denver from LA and then Denver to Rapid City were generally OK, though I spent a fair amount of time helping clear the turbulent weather so our flights were less bumpy. When the pilot said, "we are in for some bumps along the way", that was my cue to visualize a clear path for our plane. I really prefer to have my feet on the ground most of the time, and if I could, I would only fly when the going is smooth.
Enough of these mundane details. We drove our rental car to the nearest Wal-Mart to purchase our groceries for the week. We are staying in rooms in the house at our motel and we are fortunate to have access to the kitchen so we can prepare our breakfasts and dinners. Later, we finished our shopping at a small organic market in Hill City.
From Rapid City, we drove southwest to Hill City to visit the Black Hills Museum of Natural History. This place is amazing. One of the stars of the Museum is the Tyrannosaurus rex "Stan", one of the most complete T. rex specimens ever found. We have visited this museum each year and Stan never fails to elicit chills down our spines. He is spectacular, and he is not alone. There are individual T. rex skulls, an almost complete Triceratops (very rare), Struthiomimus, Camarasaurus, Edmontosaurus and many more dinosaurs. They have an impressive ammonites collection, fish, trilobites crinoids and plants.
This year there are new additions; beautiful bird/dinosaur fossils from China. You can see the feathers on the bodies and wings, and long tail feathers. There are claws on the "fingers" of the wings. Truly spectacular and a rare treat to see them in person.
We spent some time in the adjacent gift shop and I found some wonderful books on various topics. I may not have time to read them while I am here, but they will be great references upon my return and will allow me to continue learning about fossil identification. If I can't be in the field, at least I can immerse myself in a book.
Though we hated to say good bye to Stan and friends, it had been a long day. and we had a 2 1/2 hour drive ahead of us. We made one very quick stop at the Prairie Berry Winery and purchased an unusual bottle of wine which is a blend of grapes and chokecherry. We found a nice goat cheese and some Manchego cheese. We had an impromptu goat cheese wrap with rice tortillas brought from home, some carrot sticks and an apple, and began our drive to Buffalo.
This part of the state has had an unusually wet spring and the hills are many shades of green, often frosted with yellow flowers. Since rain had been falling on and off since our arrival, the sky presented a dramatic dark gray background. When the sun shone through a break in the clouds, the rolling green hills practically vibrated with life. The 12th Century mystic/nun, Hildegard of Bingen called it "veriditas". It was a breathtaking sight.
The last 30+ miles of the drive seemed to last forever, but just as we were both whining about our sore sits bones, the little town of Buffalo appeared. It is especially notable for all of its trees. In this part of the country, trees are very scarce. There is plenty of grass, cactus, flowers and more cactus, but the number of trees could be counted on one hand. (mild exaggeration) The trees of Buffalo were a welcome sight.
We checked in at the Tipperary Lodge Motel, received our keys, unpacked, met our housemate, Leslie (a fellow amateur paleontologist, and professional archeologist), and heard about her "finds" in the field on ranches in Wyoming. She had great success last week, and Laurel and I are thrilled for her, and just a tad bit envious. I would love to come home with a Triceratops rib and vertebra (just two of her treasures). She helped us connect to the internet, and well, now you are up to date. It is 11:30 p.m. our time and a long day must come to an end. Our excitement and anticipation of what this next week will bring is filling our heads, and I know, from past years' experience, that dinosaur fossil dreams will visit me tonight.
Cheers.
Laurel and I arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota right on schedule. The flights to Denver from LA and then Denver to Rapid City were generally OK, though I spent a fair amount of time helping clear the turbulent weather so our flights were less bumpy. When the pilot said, "we are in for some bumps along the way", that was my cue to visualize a clear path for our plane. I really prefer to have my feet on the ground most of the time, and if I could, I would only fly when the going is smooth.
Enough of these mundane details. We drove our rental car to the nearest Wal-Mart to purchase our groceries for the week. We are staying in rooms in the house at our motel and we are fortunate to have access to the kitchen so we can prepare our breakfasts and dinners. Later, we finished our shopping at a small organic market in Hill City.
From Rapid City, we drove southwest to Hill City to visit the Black Hills Museum of Natural History. This place is amazing. One of the stars of the Museum is the Tyrannosaurus rex "Stan", one of the most complete T. rex specimens ever found. We have visited this museum each year and Stan never fails to elicit chills down our spines. He is spectacular, and he is not alone. There are individual T. rex skulls, an almost complete Triceratops (very rare), Struthiomimus, Camarasaurus, Edmontosaurus and many more dinosaurs. They have an impressive ammonites collection, fish, trilobites crinoids and plants.
This year there are new additions; beautiful bird/dinosaur fossils from China. You can see the feathers on the bodies and wings, and long tail feathers. There are claws on the "fingers" of the wings. Truly spectacular and a rare treat to see them in person.
We spent some time in the adjacent gift shop and I found some wonderful books on various topics. I may not have time to read them while I am here, but they will be great references upon my return and will allow me to continue learning about fossil identification. If I can't be in the field, at least I can immerse myself in a book.
Though we hated to say good bye to Stan and friends, it had been a long day. and we had a 2 1/2 hour drive ahead of us. We made one very quick stop at the Prairie Berry Winery and purchased an unusual bottle of wine which is a blend of grapes and chokecherry. We found a nice goat cheese and some Manchego cheese. We had an impromptu goat cheese wrap with rice tortillas brought from home, some carrot sticks and an apple, and began our drive to Buffalo.
This part of the state has had an unusually wet spring and the hills are many shades of green, often frosted with yellow flowers. Since rain had been falling on and off since our arrival, the sky presented a dramatic dark gray background. When the sun shone through a break in the clouds, the rolling green hills practically vibrated with life. The 12th Century mystic/nun, Hildegard of Bingen called it "veriditas". It was a breathtaking sight.
The last 30+ miles of the drive seemed to last forever, but just as we were both whining about our sore sits bones, the little town of Buffalo appeared. It is especially notable for all of its trees. In this part of the country, trees are very scarce. There is plenty of grass, cactus, flowers and more cactus, but the number of trees could be counted on one hand. (mild exaggeration) The trees of Buffalo were a welcome sight.
We checked in at the Tipperary Lodge Motel, received our keys, unpacked, met our housemate, Leslie (a fellow amateur paleontologist, and professional archeologist), and heard about her "finds" in the field on ranches in Wyoming. She had great success last week, and Laurel and I are thrilled for her, and just a tad bit envious. I would love to come home with a Triceratops rib and vertebra (just two of her treasures). She helped us connect to the internet, and well, now you are up to date. It is 11:30 p.m. our time and a long day must come to an end. Our excitement and anticipation of what this next week will bring is filling our heads, and I know, from past years' experience, that dinosaur fossil dreams will visit me tonight.
Cheers.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Momasaurus Fossil Dig 2009
Countdown to Fossil Dig 2009 Monday, June, 15th
We are just days away from departure for this summer's fossil dig and discovery. I have been reading the book Discovering Fossil Fishes by John G. Maisey. Since the majority of our time will be spent excavating a fish site, I thought I would try to learn about the evolution of fish and the variety of species that were alive during the Cretaceous period. The book is well written and very engaging. I believe it is out of print, but I found a very good copy on Amazon and it was sent from a secondary market source. I have a friend who is an ichthyologist and she uses this book as reference. There are fabulous photos of fossil fish and some imaginative paintings of the fish in their habitats. I plan to take the book with me and share it with our fellow volunteers.
I have been working in our garden, which gives me plenty of practice doing back breaking work. My tools are somewhat different than what I imagine we will be using at the fossil site, but the hours of working bent over at the tasks, will be very familiar I suspect. I really find that part of the day pretty straight forward...work 'til the sun goes down, or dinner must be started, or the back says, "enough!"
I did have some excitement in the garden this week. I had been working for hours ripping and cutting out invasive ivy and bamboo by our back fence. After some hours I went in the house and some time later my attention was drawn to our cat who was outside near where I had been working. She was in her "pointer" pose which I usually only notice when she is stalking a lizard or bird. I walked out to investigate and to my surprise, she was "pointing" at a snake. I really don't mind snakes, but I try to identify them before I make any moves. I am respectful of rattle snakes of which I have seen a few on the fossil digs of the past years. But I believe that keeping a safe distance between them and me is the best solution and will hopefully prevent some nasty encounter. Being 75 miles from medical help keeps me very cautious. But here in my own backyard I was not keen on having a resident rattler. We have had them at the front of our house, but never within the yard.
I first distracted the cat, caught her and placed her safely in the house. I returned to find the snake in exactly the same pose and still creating the familiar "shshshsh" sound that reminded me of rattlesnakes I have encountered before. The tricky part of this was that I could not see the tail which it had carefully hidden from my view. I assumed it was not a rattlesnake, but I wanted confirmation before I decided what to do next. After many minutes of the two of us keeping a keen eye on each other, it finally moved along (slowly) and found a wood post to "shimmy" up to the top of the fence. To my relief, it had no rattles on its tail (my dad told me last night that sometimes they lose their rattles), so I guess I must get better at snake species identification without the help of the sound cues. To add to that, my friend Pauline, told me this morning that rattlesnakes have learned not to rattle their tails as a survival behavior. Turns out that when they rattle their tails they alert the humans, who in turn kill them. Can't say I blame the snake, but once again, more inspiration for improving my ID skills.
Since this snake was making a "shshshsh" sound, my first thought was rattler. I think it was just quivering its tail in the dry bamboo leaves which sort of mimicked the sound a rattlesnake makes. So could it be that now we have rattlesnakes who have modified their behavior (not shaking their rattles) to improve their chances of survival and at the same time we have garter snakes (I think that is what our garden visitor was) who are vibrating their tails in hopes of fooling us into thinking they are poisonous snakes. It's a crazy world!
Our snake friend came back a couple of days later, as our cat was quick to "point" out once again. I have checked each day since, as I suspect our cat has too. So far it has not reappeared. I believe we can all get along quite peacefully as long as the cat keeps her distance and doesn't make a grab for it like she does with so many of the lizards in our garden. You can identify them because they are missing their tails. The wild kingdom is thriving here in Newport Beach.
So, I am beginning to pack for the trip and checking to make sure I have the essentials for life in the Hell Creek formation. Though the weather has been quite mild up til now, we will be prepared for the heat. Laurel and I have these great cooling vests that we soak in cold water in the morning before we drive to the site. Though they feel a little odd when you first put them on; cold and wet and heavy, boy do they help keep you from overheating while you are out in the sun for hours. We also have cooling bandanas that we soak in cold water and wrap around our necks. Keeping those major arteries in our necks cool is so refreshing and prevents fatigue. Big sun hats are a must, as is sunblock for any exposed skin. I wear clothing that has an SPF 30. Long pants are advisable because of the cactus, which is everywhere and the snakes, which, if they strike, are most likely to strike at ankle height. To that end, boots are preferable. I wear long sleeved shirts that are loose and have cooling vents. I have read that is a good idea to wear relatively bright colors in case you get separated from the group. I imagine that will be harder to do this year since we will all be working the same site, but I think it is excellent advice for other times when one is out looking for fossils and may not see other people for some time.
With that in mind, we take two way radios so that we can talk to each other and locate each other should we get out of sight or earshot. It is surprising how close you can be to someone out in this country and not get a response when you shout for them. Radios are a must. Someone always has GPS so that we can pin point where we are in relationship to known fossil locations, and retrace our steps to new locations. It is also essential for determining the boundaries of private ranch lands where we have permission to look for fossils.
There is a good article in the April 2009 issue of Smithsonian that describes the Dinosaur Wars that are going on today. I will not attempt to paraphrase any of the article since it is available online, and includes interesting responses from many people. I will say that it is worth reading to get an overview of the current debate as to who owns the dinosaur fossils in this country. If you are interested, it is a great place to start understanding the points of view of the opposing sides.
Returning to the issue of packing; I always take extra resealable bags and small containers for tiny fossils. I have a Swiss Army knife and one larger knife made esecially for poking around in the soil for fossils. In addition to my very dark sunglasses, I have my transition reading glasses so I don't miss the small stuff and I include a magnifying glass or loupe to look at the details of fossils. It is so exciting to see the serrations on teeth or the blood line in a small claw. We always carry two bottles of water and I bring my homemade trail mix. Everyone is given foil, and resealable bags. Toilet tissue is useful for wrapping fossils before you wrap the foil around them. I try to label the bags with the location of the find and the date and time. If I find fragments of fossilized bone I keep them in one bag so that I can attempt to glue them together after I return home. One more essential item is the bug repellent. There are some very hungry mosquitoes in South Dakota, and even though we will be working mostly in North Dakota this summer, I imagine there are hungry ones waiting for us there too. I am trying a natural repellent this year, but if that is ineffective, I am willing to spray repellent containing deet on my clothes. Handfuls of mosquito bites are so annoying.
We are just days away from departure for this summer's fossil dig and discovery. I have been reading the book Discovering Fossil Fishes by John G. Maisey. Since the majority of our time will be spent excavating a fish site, I thought I would try to learn about the evolution of fish and the variety of species that were alive during the Cretaceous period. The book is well written and very engaging. I believe it is out of print, but I found a very good copy on Amazon and it was sent from a secondary market source. I have a friend who is an ichthyologist and she uses this book as reference. There are fabulous photos of fossil fish and some imaginative paintings of the fish in their habitats. I plan to take the book with me and share it with our fellow volunteers.
I have been working in our garden, which gives me plenty of practice doing back breaking work. My tools are somewhat different than what I imagine we will be using at the fossil site, but the hours of working bent over at the tasks, will be very familiar I suspect. I really find that part of the day pretty straight forward...work 'til the sun goes down, or dinner must be started, or the back says, "enough!"
I did have some excitement in the garden this week. I had been working for hours ripping and cutting out invasive ivy and bamboo by our back fence. After some hours I went in the house and some time later my attention was drawn to our cat who was outside near where I had been working. She was in her "pointer" pose which I usually only notice when she is stalking a lizard or bird. I walked out to investigate and to my surprise, she was "pointing" at a snake. I really don't mind snakes, but I try to identify them before I make any moves. I am respectful of rattle snakes of which I have seen a few on the fossil digs of the past years. But I believe that keeping a safe distance between them and me is the best solution and will hopefully prevent some nasty encounter. Being 75 miles from medical help keeps me very cautious. But here in my own backyard I was not keen on having a resident rattler. We have had them at the front of our house, but never within the yard.
I first distracted the cat, caught her and placed her safely in the house. I returned to find the snake in exactly the same pose and still creating the familiar "shshshsh" sound that reminded me of rattlesnakes I have encountered before. The tricky part of this was that I could not see the tail which it had carefully hidden from my view. I assumed it was not a rattlesnake, but I wanted confirmation before I decided what to do next. After many minutes of the two of us keeping a keen eye on each other, it finally moved along (slowly) and found a wood post to "shimmy" up to the top of the fence. To my relief, it had no rattles on its tail (my dad told me last night that sometimes they lose their rattles), so I guess I must get better at snake species identification without the help of the sound cues. To add to that, my friend Pauline, told me this morning that rattlesnakes have learned not to rattle their tails as a survival behavior. Turns out that when they rattle their tails they alert the humans, who in turn kill them. Can't say I blame the snake, but once again, more inspiration for improving my ID skills.
Since this snake was making a "shshshsh" sound, my first thought was rattler. I think it was just quivering its tail in the dry bamboo leaves which sort of mimicked the sound a rattlesnake makes. So could it be that now we have rattlesnakes who have modified their behavior (not shaking their rattles) to improve their chances of survival and at the same time we have garter snakes (I think that is what our garden visitor was) who are vibrating their tails in hopes of fooling us into thinking they are poisonous snakes. It's a crazy world!
Our snake friend came back a couple of days later, as our cat was quick to "point" out once again. I have checked each day since, as I suspect our cat has too. So far it has not reappeared. I believe we can all get along quite peacefully as long as the cat keeps her distance and doesn't make a grab for it like she does with so many of the lizards in our garden. You can identify them because they are missing their tails. The wild kingdom is thriving here in Newport Beach.
So, I am beginning to pack for the trip and checking to make sure I have the essentials for life in the Hell Creek formation. Though the weather has been quite mild up til now, we will be prepared for the heat. Laurel and I have these great cooling vests that we soak in cold water in the morning before we drive to the site. Though they feel a little odd when you first put them on; cold and wet and heavy, boy do they help keep you from overheating while you are out in the sun for hours. We also have cooling bandanas that we soak in cold water and wrap around our necks. Keeping those major arteries in our necks cool is so refreshing and prevents fatigue. Big sun hats are a must, as is sunblock for any exposed skin. I wear clothing that has an SPF 30. Long pants are advisable because of the cactus, which is everywhere and the snakes, which, if they strike, are most likely to strike at ankle height. To that end, boots are preferable. I wear long sleeved shirts that are loose and have cooling vents. I have read that is a good idea to wear relatively bright colors in case you get separated from the group. I imagine that will be harder to do this year since we will all be working the same site, but I think it is excellent advice for other times when one is out looking for fossils and may not see other people for some time.
With that in mind, we take two way radios so that we can talk to each other and locate each other should we get out of sight or earshot. It is surprising how close you can be to someone out in this country and not get a response when you shout for them. Radios are a must. Someone always has GPS so that we can pin point where we are in relationship to known fossil locations, and retrace our steps to new locations. It is also essential for determining the boundaries of private ranch lands where we have permission to look for fossils.
There is a good article in the April 2009 issue of Smithsonian that describes the Dinosaur Wars that are going on today. I will not attempt to paraphrase any of the article since it is available online, and includes interesting responses from many people. I will say that it is worth reading to get an overview of the current debate as to who owns the dinosaur fossils in this country. If you are interested, it is a great place to start understanding the points of view of the opposing sides.
Returning to the issue of packing; I always take extra resealable bags and small containers for tiny fossils. I have a Swiss Army knife and one larger knife made esecially for poking around in the soil for fossils. In addition to my very dark sunglasses, I have my transition reading glasses so I don't miss the small stuff and I include a magnifying glass or loupe to look at the details of fossils. It is so exciting to see the serrations on teeth or the blood line in a small claw. We always carry two bottles of water and I bring my homemade trail mix. Everyone is given foil, and resealable bags. Toilet tissue is useful for wrapping fossils before you wrap the foil around them. I try to label the bags with the location of the find and the date and time. If I find fragments of fossilized bone I keep them in one bag so that I can attempt to glue them together after I return home. One more essential item is the bug repellent. There are some very hungry mosquitoes in South Dakota, and even though we will be working mostly in North Dakota this summer, I imagine there are hungry ones waiting for us there too. I am trying a natural repellent this year, but if that is ineffective, I am willing to spray repellent containing deet on my clothes. Handfuls of mosquito bites are so annoying.
So during this week, I am watering the garden, packing when the cat is asleep (she hates to see the luggage), cooking and freezing chili for daughter and spouse and speed reading about fossil fishes. I am very excited and looking forward to wonderful surprises in the field. I hope to have much to share as we uncover the fossil fish of Hell Creek in North Dakota.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)