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.