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.