The Dig Begins

Fossil Dig 2010


Update 29 June 2010


This entry will be brief and to the point. We signed up for a dig and we were not disappointed. I remember when I was working in my garden last year (lots of intense digging and excavation of rocks), and jokingly thought it was good conditioning for the T.rex excavation. Hah! No joke. This was one tough day.

We woke to sunny skies and a stiff breeze. Knowing the temperatures are supposed to rise during the week, we welcomed the wind. After breakfast in my room and a short overview of the field day at the cafe, we packed the car and drove to the Tinker site by ourselves. We overshot the turnoff by 1/2 mile, but caught our mistake and quickly righted ourselves.

We reached the site to find the students hanging around as the CAT driver continued to work. I, for one, was happy to see him back on the job. The more overburden the machinery could remove, the easier our job would be. The driver would periodically stop and confer with Steve and Ron to determine how far down to scrape. If an area looked to be revealing something of interest, Ron, Steve and sometimes a few students would look closely to determine if the scraping had gone far enough.

Some time passed and a number of new visitors arrived on the site. My understanding is that they are investors in the site and have come to Buffalo to see for themselves what is going on in Hell Creek. One of the visitors is the lawyer who helped Ron win his cases in the custody battle over Tinker. All are welcome and I an sure they will return tomorrow to continue to watch the progress.

We finally received our working orders and as the introduction suggests, we dug. That is not to say that everyone grabbed a shovel and dug holes until lunch break. Our instructions were very specific as to how deep to dig the first layer for removal. Buckets of soil were hauled to the edge of the plateau and dumped over the side. Eventually a second wheel barrow arrived, along with more shovels, and the earth hauling process was made somewhat easier. The entire team was working on the site. The majority were digging and hauling dirt, someone wielded the pick to loosten the really hard material, a few people were measuring and gridding the site to create a map, and Steve oversaw the work with Ron as his co-commander.

This beehive of activity went on until Steve called for lunch break. What a relief. Laurel and I found a decent place to sit on a dirt mound and eat our lunch and share a few moments with Steve. We always enjoy hearing about his various projects beyond those that involve 65 million year old dinosaur fossils. Being the boss, he was quickly called away to address some aspect of the dig. We lingered for some time after the others returned to work. Since we are of an age that most of the team will not see for 4 decades, we gave ourselves permission to enjoy an extended "lunch hour".

Soon enough we each picked up a shovel and went back to the digging. Steve had high hopes of removing one layer off the plateau by 4:30. By 2:00 the team began to lag behind schedule. Water breaks were more frequent and longer and in some cases people just stood around or leaned against the truck or on their shovels. Actions speak louder than words and in this case it was the absence of action. People were hot and tired and I for one, wished that the CAT had been working on this area longer since no fossil mnaterial was found at this level. I did not question the commander on this point.

The digging continued until about 3:30, the site was organised for tomorrow and the troops were released. We were given the option of collecting, and though tired and sore, Laurel and I put on our backpacks and headed to an area we were told had raptor (actually now referred to as dromeosaur) teeth and bone. The walk was easy and beautiful and since the wind had been with us all day the temperature even in the later afternoon was bearable. Lucky for us.

Ron's friend, Mitch went with us but with the wind blowing so hard it was impossible to carry on a conversation. We walked various parts of the formation, and once again Laurel found a Triceratops frill spill. There are some nice size fragments, and though weathered, they are beautiful. We left them there and may go back with glue and foil to stabilize and wrap them. She may not want them, but I would like to try to put them together.

I was up higher on some of the crusty betonite when I spotted a familiar shape: a Champsosaurus vertebra It is the largest I have found to date (golf ball size) and in relatively good condition. I also found a partial crocodile scute, a fragment of ossified tendon and a possible fossilized seed pod or insect larvae. Hope to get that identified tomorrow. Alas, no teeth or claws. Still, a beautiful hour or so spent in gorgeous country doing what I love. A great day.

We got a lift back to the cars from Ron and then headed back to town. Brief stop at the market and then onto the Tipperary for a most welcome shower and dinner. Promised myself to write a brief entry and try to get to sleep before midnight! Tomorrow will be another day of digging, digging and more digging. This back needs some rest.

Cheers,

Christine, Momasaurus


*I do want to add a note to yesterday's entry. Gary came by the motel and found us as we were leaving for the site. I ran upstairs to collect the potential artifact I found on his ranch last summer. He allows prospectors to keep fossil material, but he collects artifacts and has a beautiful and impressive collection. I showed him what I found and he said that yeah it was a scraper. So that was it. He has a new addition and I have the satisfaction of knowing that my beautiful scraper (white and translucent) is important enough to be included. We hope to get together with he and his wife Dana before Laurel leaves on Sunday.

Tinker Site Introduction

Fossil Dig 2010


28 June 2010 (My Wedding Anniversary #28!)

This day finally arrived. The day we have been anticipating for two years. Laurel and I had a restless night and attributed that to our excitement. We had breakfast and packed our lunches, soaked our cooling vests and met the team around 8:30. We followed Jim (the photographer) and Gina (his daughter) out to the site about 20 minutes from town.

The site is on land much like many other ranches we have prospected the past three years. There is lots of grass and cactus, lupine and sage. The betonite is very hard when dry and sharp if you fall on it just right. There are areas that have many pieces of iron siderite littered over the hard betonite and sandstone. These create a very unstable footing, especially when the area you are walking is an incline. Walking requires your full attention, which to be honest is not where you want your focus. Remember, we are trying to find fossils. It is important not to slip and break something, so I find myself in constant conflict...safety or treasure.

We arrived about the time the Caterpillar driver was positioning his equipment to begin removing the hill near the site and part of the overburden. Since we looked pretty silly standing around watching him, Steve gave all of us permission to look for fossils for one hour. The troops scattered over the formation to try our luck. I found the usual scrap fossil pieces and this year have decided not to bring home every piece I find. I did find one partial vertebra of some very small creature; perhaps a salamander. Returned to the Tinker site to see the progress. I don't believe anyone struck gold (so to say), at least no one was sharing.

After some discussion of how best to use the team for the day, we were included in the screening process. Since the excavation is being conducted much like an archaeological dig, there are many aspects that require lots of data collection and documentation. On one particular small plateau, four holes were dug each 12 inches deep. The holes are numbered and the contents of one bucket of soil from each hole is screened for fossil material. If anything is found it is noted on a corresponding numbered zip lock bag and then the holes are filled in again. If fossils had been discovered in the sifting process, then extensive grading would not proceed there. We did not find any fossils at that depth so I believe that plateau will be scraped by the CAT.

Note that the plateau we worked on is sited above the wash where Tinker was discovered. Part of the work today was to determine if there is more T.rex material in the higher parts of the general site. Some very weathered and small T.rex pieces were found at an even higher level where the CAT was scraping. Steve and Ron (Tinker's owner) decided that this material was probably not from Tinker and the two juvenile T. rex. However, those pieces were bagged and labeled.

Some of the students were in the main wash (dig site) removing plant material, and others carried tools down from the vehicles. A few students were sent back to the fish site to continue working on the paddle fish jacket. Others were sent to town for supplies and a new wheelbarrow tire. Lunch at noon, was earlier than our usual 1:30, since we were on the same schedule as the CAT driver.


The screens were moved down to the main dig site and we sifted many more buckets to collect any additional fossil material. Both sifting groups found some small fossil bone scrap and some botanicals. Again each bucket of soil was numbered and if fossils were found from that bucketful, the zip lock bag was numbered to match. It was great to be assisting in this effort and it is clear that many hands are required to accomplish this large project. Thank goodness for the CAT driver. He literally moved "hills".

That effort ended our first day on the job. The CAT driver continued working and Steve allowed us to collect for another hour. Even though we were hot and tired, the lure of 65 million year old treasure is hard to resist. We grabbed extra water bottles and headed out again. I found the usual spills of weathered fossil scrap. However in one little rivulet I found a very unusual small complete bone that looked like a metacarpal (hand bone) or metatarsal (foot bone). I initially thought it might be a vertebra but it had small indentations that made me think of a hand or foot bone. It is also strangely colored and lighter than many fossils so I was afraid it might be a modern bone in masquerade. Just inches away from that was another tiny fossil (size of a pea). It looked like a vertebra to me. Into my film canister they went for safe keeping until I could show Steve.

I continued my quest and knew it was getting close to time to return to the cars. I got a call on the radio from Laurel who had found a "spill" of something. I found her just around the corner from me and helped her pick up some Triceratops frill, and as we found out later, skull. She has some very nice pieces which will be beautiful when washed. We checked out a couple of ant hills...no goodies.

We returned to the cars to find Steve and Ron watching the CAT driver continue removing the overburden. The more he can remove the easier it will be for the students wielding shovels. The cost of the CAT is around $1,000 a day. Money well spent but I don't know how many days are in the overall budget. Guess we will find out tomorrow.

I asked Steve to take a look at my tiny treasures and he was impressed with both little finds. He thinks the one is indeed from a therapod (meat eating dinosaur)and is either a metacarpal or metatarsal. Ron agreed but I note a bit of hesitation in both of their voices. Perhaps Rob can weigh in with his opinion next week. They are of one opinion concerning the vertebra; infant hadrosaur tail vertebra. Once again I am the queen of little "stuff". I am very pleased with them and as I write this they are in their bath getting ready for display in their individual gem cases. My beautiful 65 million year old tiny treasures. Thank you Fossil gods.

The field day was finished for us and after a brief stop at the local market, we headed back to the Tipperary Lodge Motel for a welcome hot shower and dinner. Early call tomorrow with an 8:00 briefing for the days goals in the field, requires an earlier bedtime...no more midnight blogging for me.

Extra note tonight: Happy Anniversary Walt. I love you and thank you for supporting my crazy passion for really old stuff.

Cheers,

Christine, Momasaurus

First Days in Hell Creek

Fossil Dig 2010

Update 27 June 2010

Laurel and I arrived on schedule in Rapid City yesterday early afternoon. I barely made the flight from the Santa Ana, John Wayne Airport due to the infinite security lines. A very stressful launch to the trip. Anyway, we picked up our rental car and drove south to Hill City and the Black Hills Institute and Museum. We were impressed with the "makeover" that the collection has experienced since our visit last year. All the displays were cleaned and rearranged to make room for more fossil skeletons.

The Tyrranosaur rex skeletons and skulls are magnificent. It is wonderful to be able to see the variations in the skulls since they are lined up on a shelf. I can't imagine another museum that allows you to be so close to their collections. It is awe inspiring. We love starting our field season at the Institue and we hope someday to have an opportunity to go behind the scene and view the lab,
preparation area. I don't know if they allow public access, but I think I will enquire for the next time.

We spent a little time and money in the adjacent store: Everything Prehistoric. I found one book on dinosaurs of Alberta, Canada, but it was so large and heavy that I postponed that purchase. I look forward to ordering it upon my return home.

We had a quick bite in Hill City at a small restaurant and then drove out of town to the Prairie Berry Winery. They make wine from berries and rhubarb!
We bought a bottle of rhubarb wine and one made from black currants. Hopefully, we will be toasting a terrific fossil discovery while we are here. We purchased some salads, bread and cheese for a late dinner once we arrive in Buffalo later that night.

Next stop was the Walmart in Rapid City. We stocked up on fresh produce, spices, water and other essentials for our meal preparations in our rooms. We call it "dorm camping", and we get pretty creative with the microwave located in the motel lobby.I suspect my wonderful kitchen at home is going to look even better after two weeks of microwave tofu and canned sardines. Sigh.

The drive to Buffalo was under two hours, which was a blessing, since we were both weary travelers. Door to door was a long 13+ hours. Adventures await us and a good night sleep was essential.


Sunday morning brought a surprise. Steve, Rob and some of the students arrived at the motel to collect equipment before driving out to the fish site they worked on last year. We raced downstairs to meet them and since we looked ever so eager...Steve invited us to join them on the site. (Rob initiated the suggestion)
We were thrilled and accepted immediately, begging for 10 minutes to change into proper boots and hats, etc.

Once we had ourselves put together; at least well enough for the field, I drove the car with Cregar (student) as our co-pilot. The site is a full hour drive from Buffalo on a variety of roads and no road conditions. It was essential to have someone guiding us so as to avoid water hazards and other threats to the rental car.

We spent the next 6+ hours at the fish site. We watched the team attempt to extract the incredibly large plaster jacket of three paddlefish. Estimates of the weight ran from 1,000 to 3,000 pounds! It had to be lifted out of the hole it was in and then somehow placed in the trailer and then driven out. This was no easy feat and at the end of the day, the efforts fell short of the goal. The fossil got lifted up out of the original site and is partially onto the trailer. Since time ran out and the team must be at the "Tinker" (Tyrranosaur rex) site tomorrow, a tarp was placed over the jacket and the work will resume next weekend. Whew! What a lot of work by so many people.

Laurel and I did a little prospecting on our own while the others were digging and plastering and tying and wrangling the monstrous fossil package. I found some fossil
scrap and one tail vertebra, I think. Laurel found turtle shell pieces which she did not collect and some nice amber. The scenery was gorgeous: grass green hills, blue skies, puffy white clouds and flowers scattered here and there. The only snake I ran into today was a perfect skin. Maybe that is the perfect snake! We also had a lucky weather day...high 70's and breezy. Great weather for fossil hunting. Predictions for the next few days are daunting: 99 and 101 with thunderstorms. Eeegads.


We arrived back at the motel tired and really hungry since we had not taken the time to pack a lunch. Trailmix and an apple had been our afternoon snack. Eager to create culinary magic, we each gathered the produce from our motel room refrigerators to make a rice, tofu veggie medly and a cuccumber spinach salad.
But no, the vegetables and fruit had frozen. We adapted the menu as best we could and since we were both famished, the results were delicious.

We look forward to tomorrow and the first visit to the Tinker site. I hope we are not disappointed after waiting two years for this opportunity...our expectations are very high.

Fossil Dig 2010

Update 24 June 2010










Dear Family, Friends and Followers,


A note of apology for this very late update of the fossil finds from the 2009 season. All the best intentions could not get me to where I am now...typing the entry I wanted to write last summer. So, that said here I go.

Hours were spent during the summer days washing and cleaning fossils. As always, I had plenty of turtle shell, which I believe I have mentioned more than once in my tales. I am careful to keep my collected specimens in zip lock bags separated by site, date and type (ie. turtle, therapod, hadrosaur, etc.) I carefully washed and brushed a group of several pieces of turtle shell that I had collected from one particular location. Many of the pieces had washed out of a large mound and some were collected from the ground at the base.

After drying in the sun I brought them into the house on a wooden art board and set them on our kitchen counter. Our college age daughter was home with another bout of tonsilitis, so I had time to focus on tasks around the house. Well, in this case, the task was more fun than scrubbing and mopping floors. Using a magnifying glass to inspect some of the pieces, I was once again impressed by the wonders of nature and the beautiful details in each. Looking at the pieces as an ensemble, I noticed that the coloration of one piece seemed to be much like the color in another piece, and, to my surprise the edges on one side of each piece looked like they would connect.

I imagine you are following me here. Indeed, I was looking at the most interesting puzzle I have worked on to date. Piece by piece I started to put this turtle shell together. Of course, I had no idea what the turtle looked like or even how much of the shell I had. As it turns out, I still don't know what kind of turtle it is, and I can't even tell how big it would have been. From the little research I have done to date, it might be the genus Aspideretoides. I will show photos to Steve and Rob next week and hopefully they will confirm my guess, or provide the correct ID.

I had hoped to place photos at the end of the text entry. That did not work out as planned and they ended up at the beginning of the entry. Not wanting to risk a disaster, I left them in that position even though it ruined the surprise.

During the hours I worked fitting 26 tiny fragments and larger pieces together, I was wishing I had picked up more of them when I had the chance. I did get a bit bored and went on to look for more "important" fossils like teeth and claws. Little did I know that I had the makings of a beautiful fossil turtle shell. A lesson learned for sure. I remember the site, and if time permits this season, I am very tempted to return and try to rescue more bits of my Chelonia (turtle).

The summer ,and over the remaining months, of 2009 I continued to clean, inspect and attempt to identify my booty. During the holidays, fossils are put away to make way for entertaining and decorations. The new year found me reading more about micro fossil sites, and a collection of papers on the subject of Tyrranosaurus rex. I also became acquainted with the 19th Century fossil expert Mary Anning, through a recently published historical novel and a biography. She was an amazing individual who had a true gift for fossil finding and an understanding of the creatures she discovered (for the first time), that surpassed the knowledge of the male "experts" of that time. I recommend her story to anyone who is interested in the history of paleontology.

So, as I prepare and pack for this summer's two week trip to Hell Creek, I am doing my best to maintain control over my excitement. Laurel and I have been invited to participate in the excavation of the T. rex site that was held up in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for months last year. Now that Steve has the OK from all parties, we will be working with a team of students from Steve's college (many of them are repeats from last summer). Laurel will be with us for one week and is hopeful we will have a day of personal collecting. I have signed on for two weeks which will be divided between the T. rex site and personal collecting.

Though I am still setting my sites on a lovely large fossil specimen for our living room, I am more measured in my approach to this year's experience. I know how fortunate I am to be able to leave husband and home behind while I poke around in the dirt of the Hell Creek formation of Harding County, South Dakota. I will be grateful for all the wonderful moments that are sure to fill these next 14 days. I will try to honor my commitment to this new philosophy in the coming days.

I will do my best to be a fair reporter and hope you enjoy reading about our journey

Cheers,

Christine (Momasaurus)