Face Down in Hell Creek

Fossil Dig 2010


Update 8 July 2010


This year's dig season is winding down. I must admit I am pretty tired. Long days of digging or walkingand long nights cleaning fossils and writing my blog entries. I will rest when I return home. Except, the horn will arrive and I will want to work on that everyday. I guess I really am hooked on this dinosaur hunting business.

I had high hopes before yesterday's field session. I had spoken with prospectors who collected on the Miller ranch, (fish site ranch) last year. The stories ran something like this: the bones are coming out of the ground all over; you don't have to climb up high to find bones; the bones are sticking out of the walls; much better ranch than (fill in the blank of the ranch we were just on).

Let me give you a head's up here. These are like the fish stories that our uncles or grandfathers used to tell us. Yes, there is probably a grain of truth in each statement, but the reality is the same for every day we are out in the field. Yes there are fossils on the ground; yes you don't have to climb up high and yes there are bones sticking out of the walls. Now, if you happen to be in the location where these fossils are in those places, then you have a small chance of finding them. Just because the fossils are where they should be does not mean you will see them!

Then there is the issue of quality. Plenty of fossil material is on these ranches, and most of what I have seen is almost beyond recognition. Time and nature have had their way with the fossils and they have been turned to stone or dust or something in between. In any case, probably not the best quality for collecting and sharing with family and friends. (Though having said that, I am bringing a few of those fossils home, anyway).

Returning to my anticipation for the day. I was very excited to get out there and gather up all this remarkable "bone" that was within easy reach. I rode with
two brothers, one of whom found a Triceratop partial skull and frill last year. He was hoping to be able to excavate the rest of it and jacket it for the return drive to Georgia. His enthusiasm was contagious and my fantasies were multiplying as the minutes past.

We reached the place on the ranch where the vehicles could be parked and we could walk in many directions to different exposures. We had a few hours to collect in the morning and then we would meet at the cars for lunch. Two party members would stay out in the field for lunch because they were digging out ribs they found last year. (always last year)

I was by myself and headed to some buttes off to the right in the distance. We were cautioned to be aware of BLM land. (Bureau of Land Management) Absolutely no collecting on BLM land. I looked around the base of some of the butte and I climbed up in a number of places. I found plenty of bone, but it might have been collectible 50 years ago. I picked up a bit of scrap as I often do when I can't find anything fabulous. Steve found me after awhile and gave me a pep talk. He is very good at that.

Back to the cars for lunch and a bit of sharing. My driving companions had found a little but for the most part people were coming up empty handed. (literaly) Steve offered to lead, those who were interested, to microsites. Since the larger fossils had eluded me, I was more than willing to test myself on a microsite or two. I found my way to what looked like microsite terrain: gentle sloping hillside with lots of material on the ground and places where water has run off. There are often small plants growing and it is a good idea to look around their base for fossils that might be caught.

I found.....turtle shell; and lots of it. Since I remembered last year when I picked up quite a lot of turtle shell and glued 26 pieces together, I picked up all the turtle shell I could find from that one spill. It was as if the turtle's shell had just broken apart and tumnbled down this little wash. Time will tell if I found all the pieces. Seems unlikely, but I am hopeful that I have most of the pieces. It is a nice shade of grey. Often color changes once the fossil is removed from the field. Or maybe it is my perception.

I continued to scout around for more microsite fossils and found a reptile skull fragnment that looks like a fish tail, a fragment of a crocodile skull and dromaeosaur jaw fragment. That was the prize of the day. It was broken in two pieces and very bleached, but you can see clearly where the teeth would have been seated. Somewhere in my travels I also found a nice Ankylosaur skute. That was pretty much it for the day that I had such high hopes for in the morning.

Most people returned earlier to the cars than required. The mosquitoes were feasting on us around the vehicles and yet it was too warm to sit in the car and wait for our driver and his brother. The bug spray came out and everyone took a turn. Our brother arrived each carrying foil wrapped bones, which is a good sign. They found bone worth wrapping for preparation when they return home. In addition, Jim (Triceratops skull finder), found a nice microsite and he scored big there. I looked at his mini fossil treasures later that night. He is amazing. Has an eye like Rob or Ryan. This is his second year prospecting and clearly he is a natural.

The hour drive back was long and I was too tired to write so I spent some time cleaning my few finds and organizing this season's collection. I packed a box with fossils which I will take to the post office tomorrow. If I find something tomorrow that is too large to carry home with me....I should be so lucky, then I will make arrangements with Steve or Dana (friend here in Buffalo) to ship it.


8 July 2010


Another day and more opportunity to find a beautiful quality chocolate bone that will be handsome on our tansu in the living room. I have been visualizing this "find" for some time now. Though the horn from last week has potential, as Steve commented yesterday, it is about a D+. Oh that's harsh; especially after he encouraged me to excavate it. Anyway, I rode out again with the brothers and Jim is going to work on his Triceratops with Steve after he drops the rest of us off at the same place as yesterday.

We park and the group assembles for instructions. We are to come back for lunch at 12:00 because Steve wants to talk to us at that time. I head off to a butte on the left and find only a little scrap and a cow skeleton in a sink hole wash area. I walk around the butte and over to a smaller formation and found a mediocre microsite. I look there for about an hour (found a few things)and then it is time to return to the vehicles for lunch.

Jim and Steve are there briefly. Jim's brother comes back for a quick lunch. He found something on that large butte I had looked at earlier (he was on the other side and high), and wanted to get back to it with shovel and pick. Steve was testifying by telephone on a dinosaur case and had to leave, and Jim returned to his Triceratops site. No one else showed up for lunch at the appointed time so I returned to the field.

I wanted to see the where site Carol and John were excavating the ribs. I had an idea of where they were since I had seen them from a distance yesterday. Well, what I remembered and what is reality are not the same thing here in Hell Creek. I went out to where I thought I was yesterday, except when I got there it did not look familiar. I decided to follow the butte base for a distance, did not see much and then thought I would climb higher. The top of part of it was not out of reach so I set my goal to climb up there and get a look at the area from up high.

The view was amazing and I decided to climb down the other side. This is where I made my mistake. This is why it is called the "badlands". On the other side, everything looks so different. And the floor of the formation is a labyrinth. Though it appears you can walk out easily to the open area that I would recognize, that is not the case. I kept walking following this narrow wash and the deer tracks. I have to admit here that I was growing concerned that this was not the smartest move. That, indeed I should retrace my steps to return to the area I was more familiar with.

Then it happened. I tripped on a rock, fell onto the rocks in the narrow wash (about 12" wide) and caught myself with my hands. It was one of those slow motion accidents as I fell and held my chin just inches from the rocks. I was startled and thankful that I was not injured. I resolved to retrace my steps at least part way and then try to gain elevation to determine where I was. That strategy worked. I walked back about 25 yards and then climbed up the hill following deer (or antelope) tracks. What a relief. I knew where I was and all I needed to do at that point was find a way down the hill.

I followed the tracks and that worked mostly. For one part of the descent I actually took off my backpack and tossed it down before I climbed down a rather steep section. I was still a bit shaken and very much wishing that Laurel was with me this week. I never would have been out there alone if she had been here. Even though I had a radio, I could not have described my location. Better to be safe and having fun, than risking injury, or at the very least, inconveniencing everyone. Lesson learned.

The balance of the afternoon I spent walking around the floor of the formation and hoping that my sore ankle was temporary. I returned to the mediocre microsite and found a few things: two croc teeth, one manta ray tooth, a fish vert and the proximal end of the chevron of a therapod vert. I was satisfied.

I walked back to the vehicles for the return drive. Jim has prepared the Triceratops skull for jacketing tomorrow, and his brother dug up the bone and all the bits from his morning discovery. The other prospectors were pretty subdued so I surmise that the elusive "bones" of the earlier stories were just that.

After dinner, I asked Steve to identify some of the fossils. He obliged, and many of them I had guessed correctly. I believe my identification skills are improving. Don't get me wrong, there were many that I definitely had only a general idea of what part of the anatomy, and he provided essential details. That's why he is the expert.

Once again it is midnight, and I had a very challenging day. I learned a lot about myself and my limitations. Not soon forgotten, I hope. I will say good night.

Cheers,

Momasaurus