Hot Times in Hell Creek

 

Dear Readers,

An update to let you know that now I am adding photos to the blog entries. I was not able to include them while we were in South Dakota, but now that I am home and have stronger internet access I can provide you with some pictorial accents. The above photo is a true mystery (at least to those of us who have not studied geology). We have had fun speculating what this formation represents. Perhaps remnants of an alien invasion??

We are really being challenged by the heat this year. The temperatures this week range from 92-99 degrees every day. The cooling vests and bandanas are essential, and with such high temperatures, we re-soak them during lunch. The afternoons are particularly difficult because the air is still and the formation surfaces reflect heat: your basic solar oven experience, from the inside perspective. If we don't hit pay dirt finding fossils, we at least congratulate ourselves for surviving.

Tuesday the group was split again with some students working the T. rex site and the remainder returning to the hadrosaur site to continue excavating vertebrae. We went with the hadrosaur group and set out to try to find the various bone spills that Ron had seen earlier. We reached the butte named "Samson" and walked around the perimeter looking for the telltale spill of fossil bone that can often indicate a larger fossil is hidden nearby.

 

We climbed up a little higher and soon found weathered chunks of bone about the size of a walnut. In fact, as we continued our search there were little spills every few feet. Though we tried to find a potential source (the hidden bone), neither of us could see any indication of a bone peeking out of the bluff. This is a high, relative steep bluff, and Laurel and I are not really comfortable climbing on the crumbly and sharp dried bentonite. I found a relatively easy path to climb a bit higher to follow a spill Laurel found, and I discovered a large group of fossil spill pieces sitting on a flat stone projection. I could not determine if someone had placed them there, or if they are coming out of the bluff from an even higher locale. We know where this spot is on "Samson", and will return later this week with reinforcements.

 

Returning to the hadrosaur site we met Ryan and the students, gathered the tools and drove the vehicles back up the hill and to the home base (T. rex site) for lunch. Laurel's rally driving skills improve with each pass up and down the steep and rutted "road". The students, Ryan and I are very proud of her. Lunch found us loosely gathered under the tent to get some relief from the sun. During that 45 minute break, we learned that we would be returning to the hadrosaur site. The T. rex site is so narrow that it cannot accommodate all the students, so we will split the group again.

Ryan leads the vertebrae excavation effort again aided by some of the students. William, a guide and excavator, took the afternoon shift to collect. We headed out in the same basic direction he wanted to go, and soon enough he headed for much higher ground. Though he encouraged us to join him since he was finding fossils and artifacts, our attempts to get up to his location were thwarted by our fear of the dreaded bentonite bluffs. Oh to be under 30 and sure footed. We are of the over 30 and wise.

Laurel and I retraced our steps down the hill and continued our searching along the base of the bluff. We had visited this area on Monday, but you never know what you might have missed. Not finding anything, we located the only shade for miles (slight exaggeration), and sat down for a little rest. The breeze would pick up occasionally, but more than once, it felt like someone had turned on a heater fan. The 30 minutes in the shade with our boots and hats off really did the trick, and we headed out again to hunt for fossil treasure.

The only collecting I accomplished was bags of fossil chunks to be donated to the Waldorf School of Orange County. Laurel was equally slighted in her search, but we had a wonderful time being out in the Hell Creek. William was eager to share his finds which included partial artifacts, a huge crocodile (maybe alligator) crusher tooth and 8 fossilized pine cones. We returned to the cars, loaded them with tools, back packs and hadrosaur verts and returned to home base.

A special note here to impress upon you how hard everyone works on these dig sites. The afternoon sun is baking the formations and the heat reflects upon the body in that solar oven way. That just describes what it feels like to stand there. Those who work are chipping away with rock hammers or chisels the incredibly hard matrix which surrounds the somewhat entwined vertebrae. You really have to love paleontology to do this work. Each day the team at the hadrosaur site worked almost 4 hours in these conditions. Well done!

Back at the ranch, we cleaned up, laundered clothes and cooked dinner. It was an early to bed kind of night. The heat drains you and without the distraction of great fossil treasure, your spirits lag a bit. That being said, we are so happy to be here and look forward to another day.

 

Here is Laurel sitting calmly on the bizarre "rock" which could have fallen from the bluff in the background. The Natural wonders amuse and amaze us.

Cheers,

Momasaurus


 

Thrills and Spills in the Badlands

 

Saturday 14 July, 2012

Ryan was happy to be our guide for Saturday's collecting expedition. Brian joined us after hearing about the opportunity to be in the field an additional day. Ryan has missed his Summer field weeks while at university, so any excuse to hunt for dinosaurs is welcome. The day found us on the T. rex site ranch once again. Laurel, Brian and I explored on our own in the morning while Rob, Ryan and Brian (ranch owner) walked out to an area where William had found a beautiful (perfect) Triceratops femur (wow) and some not so great horn and other bone fragments.

Laurel and I concentrated our efforts on the lower face of the exposure and Brian took the high route skirting along the face of the same areas. We found bone spills, and though I climbed higher in an effort to find the source, a hidden bone, if there was one there, it had on its cloaking device. I left the spills intact in hopes that maybe another year something will be revealed and those little chunks will lead the way. I have no idea if it works that way. It is quite possible that the next big rain storm will wash those bone scraps down to the sandy floor, and not point the way to hidden treasure.

Laurel had more luck and found a small bone fragment in the wall. I assisted her excavation efforts and picked up additional spill which she may be able to use in the reconstruction. If nothing else, the bits could go in a bowl or jar next to the assembled piece. ( Later, Ryan identified it as part of a hadrosaur ulna). It is always a fun exercise to have a fossil to work on as you uncover the matrix and reveal the bone within. That kind of work really takes your mind off the heat, bugs and fatigue.

We finished that project and headed back to the car to meet Ryan and Brian for lunch. We discussed our afternoon options and with Ryan as our leader, we retraced our steps and headed to a destination beyond our morning travels. The heat builds in the afternoon, but we refreshed our cooling vests and bandanas and hoped for the best. Brian had seen a whitish bone from a distance before lunch so he made a bee line for that location. Laurel and I explored the base of that area looking for spill. I climbed up to the same level as Brian was working. He found a hadrosaur vertebra in two pieces and dug around the area in hopes of more. But alas, he didn't find anything else and left that spot to hunt for micro sites along the fence line.

I found a nice spill on the same "hill" and found some micro site fossil material: Gar scales and turtle shell bits. I also found one, then two, then three pieces of therapod tooth. It is about 1 inch long, slightly curved with denticles on both anterior and posterior edges. (My reading has informed me that the term serrations refers to the dentacles found on some edges of therapod teeth. Details of those dentacles are useful in identifying the specific dinosaur species.) I hunted for an hour or more for the remainder of the tooth, but struck out. Rob glued the three pieces together, but I forgot to ask him what dinosaur it is from. My research is inconclusive, and it might be Dromeosaur, or Richardostesia, or something I have not considered. What I do know: it is from a therapod (meat eater)! That particular area had lots of promising spill material, and Ryan looked at it on our return to the car and was also intrigued. I suspect that is a location that will be revisited in future years.

Laurel found spill on the other side of the hill which was later investigated by Ryan. She found a fairly nice spot to sit and enjoy the view which at this time included watching Ryan excavate a Triceratops frill section the size of a serving platter. He is amazing! He told Laurel that just such a piece was on his "bucket list". In addition to watching Ryan navigate the sheer betonite with foil and tools falling down the side, she could also see Brian working on something in the distance.

Ryan carried his foil wrapped frill over to the hill where Brian had taken out the vertebra, and climbed up to investigate the area. I was up there as well and worked my way along the wall to look for more spill. There was quite a bit of it, but no indication of the source. From the plateau where Laurel was sitting Ryan spotted something up on the hill at the same level as the Brian dig. He climbed up and exclaimed it is a T. rex tooth. Eeegads! Here we go again. But he was also laughing in a strange way, and it turned out that the tooth had shattered into hundreds of pieces. Not discouraged (that's Ryan), he photographed the scene and foiled and bagged all those pieces. Now there is a project.

Laurel asked him to go around the corner of the hill because she had seen spill but couldn't get up higher to find out if there was anything there. He walked a few step, poked around with his knife and voila, another bone is in his hands...a vertebra. It is no exaggeration to say this guy is great at finding fossils. He seems to conjure them right out of the ground. It was all hands on deck, so Laurel and I grabbed our bayonets and started probing the hill at the same level in the hopes of striking gold, I mean fossils. I wish I could report that we too had the midas touch, but indeed not this time.

Our day was challenging not only because of the relentless heat, but this day we also endured the blowing winds and swirling sand. Laurel and I laughed that we would be having a cretaceous facial with microdermabrasion when we washed our faces that night. Our exposed skin was covered in the finest sand dust which added to the unique experience of fossil hunting in the Hell Creek Formation. So we grit our teeth (ha ha) and tried to keep track of our supplies and maintain our balance as the wind gusts whipped and swirled around us.

While I am on the subject of the ambience that day, I would be remiss in forgetting to describe the fauna that inhabit the ranchland. This day, we were particularly careful of the free ranging cattle that were within close proximity to us. We avoided them in the morning by staying close to the bluffs and speaking softly. Though one of the appealing features of being out in the middle of these "badlands" is the unusual quiet, this day one of the mother cows was calling to a calf incessantly. It was when we walked back to the vehicle that we realized one of her calves was lame and could not follow her and the remainder of the herd. He was in a location which had plenty of grass for him to eat, but she was so unhappy that he could not be with her and his sibling. She returned to him sometime later and he made a little progress on three legs.

The rancher was notified and we were told that he was aware of the situation, and perhaps the calf's broken leg would mend and he would survive. I can't really say that made us mothers feel any relief, and since the mother cow continued her calling all afternoon, I don't think she was happy with the situation either. This is a very different life than my easy routine in Coastal Southern California. Guess that is part of the reason I visit here each Summer: to get out of my comfort zone and confront unexpected challenges.

So, getting back to the afternoon roundup: we returned to the car so Ryan could put the frill safely away and we could decide what to do with the remainder of our field time. Brian met us and shared his finds. He showed one of them to Ryan who told him it was a Thescelosaurus toe claw. Though the tip is broken, it is in good shape. Then Brian showed him a jaw fragment about five inches long saying he thought it might be crocodile. Ryan exclaimed in multiple expletives that indeed it is not crocodile...it is from a Thescelosaurus and has a tooth just exposed in the jaw! Ryan was so thrilled with this rare find that we all got swept up in the excitement. You just never know where and when the amazing treasures will emerge. Brian seemed pleased with the identified fossils, but they were not the therapod claws and teeth for which he longs. Perhaps next year.

Given the heat and fatigue that was settling in, we decided to stay fairly close to the vehicle and return to some of the areas we had previously searched. After a brief review of the terrain we determined that the day was finished for us and the happy prospectors returned to town. We had fun back at the Tipperary when Brian set out his fossil finds of the week and invited Rob to take a look and help "identify" those in question. As predicted, Rob's expert eyes went quickly to the jaw fragment and predicted that with careful cleaning, more teeth may be revealed. Truly a terrific find that may not have scientific significance, but is indeed very rare. Thrilling to get to see and hold it and one of the best reasons to be here.

Cheers,

Momasaurus

New Sites and Sights

Friday 13 July, 2012

Ron let us know that along with a dinner invitation for Friday night at the ranch house of Fred and Karen (manage the Tinker Ranch), Fred offered to take us to an area that has not been collected. Our ears perked up and we eagerly accepted. Brian once again joined us for this expedition and we met Fred on the gravel road near the entrance to the Tinker T. rex excavation site. We followed him to the new location and he seemed as eager as us to get out there and find dinosaurs.

This optimistic foursome set out to hunt for fossils and try our luck. Brian likes to focus on micro fossils, specifically teeth and claws. Well, who wouldn't want teeth and claws. Laurel has a preference for the large, dining table center-piece size fossils, I am game for anything and Fred seems to fall in my camp. None of us found much as we searched the lower exposures. There was iron siderite aplenty, but no indication of fossil material.

Climbing higher we found fossilized botanical material, and we did a little probing to see if there might be fossils nearby. Laurel found two pieces of very nice brown hollow bone. When glued together they will equal the length of a pencil. Laurel also tried her luck a little higher on the bluff when she climbed up with Fred. She had a scary moment when her knees became weak and she had to get herself as far away from the edge as possible. Fred looked down over the side and agreed they were up pretty high. She was shaky for awhile but recovered well enough to later find a partial rib bone in a mud wall. (Fred was in on the find as well, but generously allowed Laurel to keep it since they saw them at the same time.)

The rib section and a smaller bone fragment were trapped in the mud matrix together. I assisted Laurel in the excavation process. We are becoming a pretty good team working with knives, brushes and stabilizer. During this time Fred and Brian were above us checking out the botanical area in hopes of finding fossils. We finished wrapping the extracted bones in foil and packed everything up to walk back to the vehicles for a quick lunch and discuss the afternoon plans.

A very large exposure beckoned Brian who had collected on the area last year. He had fond memories of his experience and really wanted a second opportunity. There were two major obstacles: Laurel and I were afraid that the afternoon heat would really be too much for us for the long return walk; Fred was reluctant to take a vehicle any closer because in the current drought conditions when the tires of a vehicle roll down the grasses, they usually die. Since this is cattle grazing country and Fred is responsible for healthy well fed cows, we decided to leave this exposure for a morning expedition, and try the original Tinker site area.

Since Brian is keen on micro sites, and Fred knew of an area that Rob had located, we headed in that direction. The two of them hiked up and down like billy goats and Laurel and I stayed in our comfort zone on flatter landscape. We did find some micro site fossils: Gar fish scales and tiny bits of bone, but the heat was getting the better of us and we decided to revisit her tibia and fibula site from last year. As we were leaving this area I glanced down to pick up what I hoped would be a large Triceratops tooth. Once in my hand, and on closer inspection, I knew it was not a tooth. Darn. After a two hour cleaning job that night and an identification session with Rob, I found out it is the cervical vertebra of a crocodile. Cool.

Seeing the Tinker site again brought back lots of memories. If you are interested in learning more about that excavation and the current status of the bones, I recommend the website: www.tinkerthetrex.com. It is well done and has great photographs of the work over the two summer sessions.

We walked over to Laurel's leg bone site and thought it might be worthwhile to probe around. There was lots of spill bone and we could not recall if all of it was leftover from her fossils. Laurel has a gift for putting her bayonet into the ground at exactly the right spot. Sure enough, she found another bone, quite possibly from the same animal.

The unfortunate aspect of this discovery is that as we cleared away the matrix material and before we could coat it with stabilizer, the bone split into many pieces. It was so dry and crumbly just inside the outer bone coating, that all we could do was wrap the pieces in foil and consider it another puzzle project. It really is fabulous that she has another bone from that site. We consulted an anatomy book and decided the bone is a coracoid (shoulder bone ) of a Triceratops. Laurel is excited and I imagine looks forward to another crack at that location.

Update: Rob looked at the pieces of bone and corrected our identification. It is the calcaneum which is a bone in the ankle that articulates with the fibula bone. This makes more sense due to its close proximity to the tibia and fibula she found last year. Learning this, I think we are even more convinced there could be more Triceratop bones in that site. Next year's plans are forming.....

Brian met us to see the spot where Laurel had found the fossils and then we all returned to the car for the trip back into town. Brian did find a little micro fossil material, but is still hoping for teeth and claws. We all have our fossil wishes and dreams.

Karen and Fred are wonderful hosts, and all of us were very appreciative of the dinner. This is the third year they have hosted all the students, guides, prospectors and others to the ranch house for a meal and a chance to ride their many horses. We arrived early and had a chance to chat with Karen and help her finish the deviled eggs. She seems very adept at feeding crowds which comes with hosting cowboys who help at brandings and roundups, and other large social gatherings. She told us there was a recent wedding reception in a nearby town (60 miles away), at which everyone in Harding County was invited: 1000 guests! Now that is a party.

We stayed long enough to talk to Ron and Mitch who had just returned from Wyoming and arrived late for dinner. Knowing we had a longish drive back to the house we left after Ron and Mitch had finished eating and extended our thank you's to Karen for a great evening.

We have now reached our half way point in this 10 day fossil prospecting adventure. The fossils are here, and sometimes we find them and so often we don't. When we do succeed it makes them just that more special because we know how hard they are to find. I had a vision recently that fossils are a bit like chameleons: if they sense exposure they change their color to match their surroundings and essentially disappear.

Cheers,

Momasaurus

Digging Bones and Loving It

Thursday 12 July, 2012

 

Ron, of Tinker fame, offered to take us to a different ranch with the intent of changing our location and our luck. He had seen some fossil material on a quick walk through and thought we might find something of interest. We set out in the morning with Brian who had been helping on the T. rex site and is also a prospector. He welcomed the opportunity to get out into the field after days of swinging a pick axe and wielding a shovel.

The ranch is located near the ranch we are staying, so it is closer to town. Ron gave us the specific boundaries for the collecting area and then showed us some of the exposure he had seen fossil material. He was expected back at the T. rex, site, so he wished us luck and took off with his friend Mitch. A later start time was scheduled because the rainstorm had wrecked havoc with it. The tent blew away (it was retrieved), and the site was too muddy to work until mid day.

Laurel and I found very weathered bones straight away. Now this is the action we were hoping to find. Even though the bone quality was poor on the surface, and the partial rib section was pretty much just on the surface, working on something is a lot more fun than not, and we had had two days of that. Tools in hand: bayonets, small knives, brushes, penetrant stabilizer, foil and plastic bags; we set to work.

I was working on a piece that might have been a vertebra, but once the overburden was removed, it was clearly a toe bone of a hadrosaur. These were very large animals (duh), and this toe bone is the size of one half of a loaf of bread. So my friends, when you stop by to see this year's fossils, for this specimen you will not need magnifying glasses. Pretty exciting for me.

A magnifying glass will enhance the viewing of a tiny treasure that presented itself in the process of cleaning the matrix away from the phalanx. As I was moving the dirt away from the bone, my eye saw a flash of shiny surface. I looked more closely, and sitting in the cast off pile was a small tooth. Oh boy was that a moment to remember. I gently picked it up and found a small plastic container to place it in. I suspected it was from a Dromeosaur, and the three experts I have asked, put forward somewhat different species. Ask three experts get- three different answers. I love this science. And I love playing with fossils.

The toe bone is in relatively good condition. The exposed proximal end is missing a few pieces and is very weathered and stoney. The proximal end is a bit crumbly and cleaning must be done carefully. The remainder of the bone is brown, though not really "chocolate" condition. It has lost that lovely sheen and is a bit rough. However, it is mostly complete and one of the largest fossils in my growing collection. I am pleased.

Laurel made quick work of stabilizing and wrapping the rib fragment and set to work on another fossil that was just peeking out of the surface. It took more time to extract and appears to be a fragment of a long bone of some sort. There were four turtle shell pieces adjacent to it, so she glued those together before taking them out of the matrix. Part of the story when we find the fossils, is to also look at the surrounding matrix for additional material. Sometimes it is botanic, or micro fossils in addition to the main fossil.

We were well into the noon hour when we realized we needed a break. The work is compelling and I find it hard to pull myself away. Unfortunately, given the high temperatures this week, we find it essential to get out of the sun when we can, and walking our wrapped fossils back to the car for lunch was the break we needed. Just as we were leaving the site, I happened to look down and there I saw a large Triceratops shed tooth. Wow. What a great morning.

Brian joined us for lunch. He spent the morning walking different exposures but had not found the micro sites he had hoped to explore. He said there was some iron siderite and occasional bone spills, but nothing fruitful. We encouraged him to come over to our site and try his luck.

We all returned to our site and Brian gave it a quick look, but wanted to move on to find his own. Laurel and I spent a little more time looking for micro fossils, but the heat was building, and since we had no large fossils to distract us, we decided to leave it for another year and walk on. We walked a few of the exposures and found where Brian was having some luck. We found some bone spills, but no source material. I finally decided to walk the washes that weave through this area, since sometimes rogue bones or artifacts are washed into them in a heavy rain storm.

I checked exposures on my trip away from Brian and Laurel and the wash on my return. The exposures were devoid of anything and since it was about time to return to the car, I headed back to Laurel and Brian to see what they had found. Once again, my eyes were fixed on the ground scanning from left to right (also paying attention to any movement that might indicate a snake). My luck held, and I found an artifact that is brown with a white base. It is a skinning knife and quite beautiful.

Brian had some luck finding crocodile, and Myledaphus bipartitus teeth, and fish vertebrae. Laurel found only spill. Given our successful morning, we walked back to the car a happy group.

We saw Rob at the Motel when we returned. He had much to share about his adventures and artistic efforts this past year. It is great to see him and catch up. He showed us a print of a beautiful painting he did for a lapidary museum, and a children's book about dinosaurs, in which he co-stars. He always finds amazing fossils when he is here, so we look forward to viewing this year's collection.

Dinner was once again a joint effort. I made the entree and side dish and Laurel made another fabulous salad. We are eating well which we believe contributes to our ability to survive the hottest days we have ever spent in the Hell Creek. This was a very fun and successful day. We hope there are more coming our way.

Cheers,

Momasaurus

Stuck in the Mud

Wednesday 11 July, 2012

 

Wednesday was much the same as Tuesday and Monday. After meeting at the motel around 8:45, we went to the T. rex site and then drove students to the hadrosaur site for more excavation. Laurel and I continued our hunting activities, with little success. We enjoy the scenery, the big open spaces and the quiet, but we really long for the excitement of finding fossils. The morning session was a bust in that department.

Lunch was once again in the tent (the only shade), though not that comfortable since the equipment was being used to remove overburden and the dust was flying our direction. Since the T. rex work was halted to allow for the heavy machinery to do its work, the afternoon plans were adapted. The students were granted permission to collect during the afternoon session.

We returned to the hadrosaur site area with Ryan, hoping to show him the ledge of bone spill. We headed in that direction and soon he was climbing up a ledge where he found some spill and some large bone sections. I was opposite him on another bluff combing the area for spill. I did find some micro site size fossils including one tiny therapod toe bone.

Laurel had gone ahead of us trying to reach the above mentioned ledge of bones. Ryan had found success where he was looking, and I really wanted to see what was happening with him, so I called to Laurel and we started in his direction. Nearly to his location, I stepped down onto what looked like dried betonite. Hah! My left leg was sucked down into this sticky mud up to my knee. I fell onto my hands and tried to free my leg. Laurel, standing safely above me, is laughing at the sight. I was initially panicked because as I tried to pull up my leg, the mud was literally sucking off my boot. Laurel suggested I move slowly and ease it out. That worked splendidly and I was upright and free of the sticky grey mud. The next task involved using my bayonet to scrape the mud from my pants and shoes so I could walk more easily. That mud is so heavy.

Relatively clean and furious at myself, we soldiered on. We called Ryan on the radio to find his location, and since everyone was leaving the field early to go to a youth rodeo, we walked back to the vehicles. I was worried I would have to remove pants and boots so I wouldn't get mud in the rental car, but by the time we walked back, they were almost dry. That is another measure of the intensity of the dry heat: 97 degrees! The walk was no more than 20 minutes.

Of course the first job upon returning to the house was to hose off the pants and boots and socks before laundering. Thank goodness we are staying at this location with all the conveniences. Those extra tasks accomplished, we fixed dinner, chatted with spouses back home and hope for more fossil hunting success tomorrow.

A special treat that night was a fabulous thunder and lightning storm. We sat outside and watched as the sky was illuminated by the best fireworks Nature can display. Streaks ran vertically and horizontally. The rain was in the distance (on the T. rex ranch), and appeared as a pale grey curtain against the black sky. It was a fabulous show.

Cheers,

Momasaurus

Hot Times in Hell Creek

 

Dear Readers,

An update to inform you that I cannot upload photos into the blog entries because of a technical problem. We think the connection is too slow or too weak to complete the transfer required. I will continue to write entries, and upon returning to Orange County, include photos. Wish it worked, sorry.

We are really being challenged by the heat this year. The temperatures this week range from 92-99 degrees every day. The cooling vests and bandanas are essential, and with such high temperatures, we re-soak them during lunch. The afternoons are particularly difficult because the air is still and the formation surfaces reflect heat: your basic solar oven experience, from the inside perspective. If we don't hit pay dirt finding fossils, we at least congratulate ourselves for surviving.

Tuesday the group was split again with some students working the T. rex site and the remainder returning to the hadrosaur site to continue excavating vertebrae. We went with the hadrosaur group and set out to try to find the various bone spills that Ron had seen earlier. We reached the butte named "Samson" and walked around the perimeter looking for the telltale spill of fossil bone that can often indicate a larger fossil is hidden nearby.

We climbed up a little higher and soon found weathered chunks of bone about the size of a walnut. In fact, as we continued our search there were little spills every few feet. Though we tried to find a potential source (the hidden bone), neither of us could see any indication of a bone peeking out of the bluff. This is a high, relative steep bluff, and Laurel and I are not really comfortable climbing on the crumbly and sharp dried bentonite. I found a relatively easy path to climb a bit higher to follow a spill Laurel found, and I discovered a large group of fossil spill pieces sitting on a flat stone projection. I could not determine if someone had placed them there, or if they are coming out of the bluff from an even higher locale. We know where this spot is on "Samson", and will return later this week with reinforcements.

Returning to the hadrosaur site we met Ryan and the students, gathered the tools and drove the vehicles back up the hill and to the home base (T. rex site) for lunch. Laurel's rally driving skills improve with each pass up and down the steep and rutted "road". The students, Ryan and I are very proud of her. Lunch found us loosely gathered under the tent to get some relief from the sun. During that 45 minute break, we learned that we would be returning to the hadrosaur site. The T. rex site is so narrow that it cannot accommodate all the students, so we will split the group again.

Ryan leads the vertebrae excavation effort again aided by some of the students. William, a guide and excavator, took the afternoon shift to collect. We headed out in the same basic direction he wanted to go, and soon enough he headed for much higher ground. Though he encouraged us to join him since he was finding fossils and artifacts, our attempts to get up to his location were thwarted by our fear of the dreaded bentonite bluffs. Oh to be under 30 and sure footed. We are of the over 30 and wise.

Laurel and I retraced our steps down the hill and continued our searching along the base of the bluff. We had visited this area on Monday, but you never know what you might have missed. Not finding anything, we located the only shade for miles (slight exaggeration), and sat down for a little rest. The breeze would pick up occasionally, but more than once, it felt like someone had turned on a heater fan. The 30 minutes in the shade with our boots and hats off really did the trick, and we headed out again to hunt for fossil treasure.

The only collecting I accomplished was bags of fossil chunks to be donated to the Waldorf School of Orange County. Laurel was equally slighted in her search, but we had a wonderful time being out in the Hell Creek. William was eager to share his finds which included partial artifacts, a huge crocodile (maybe alligator) crusher tooth and 8 fossilized pine cones. We returned to the cars, loaded them with tools, back packs and hadrosaur verts and returned to home base.

A special note here to impress upon you how hard everyone works on these dig sites. The afternoon sun is baking the formations and the heat reflects upon the body in that solar oven way. That just describes what it feels like to stand there. Those who work are chipping away with rock hammers or chisels the incredibly hard matrix which surrounds the somewhat entwined vertebrae. You really have to love paleontology to do this work. Each day the team at the hadrosaur site worked almost 4 hours in these conditions. Well done!

Back at the ranch, we cleaned up, laundered clothes and cooked dinner. It was an early to bed kind of night. The heat drains you and without the distraction of great fossil treasure, your spirits lag a bit. That being said, we are so happy to be here and look forward to another day.

Cheers,

Momasaurus


 

Fossil Dig 2012: Travels to the Cretaceous

 

Laurel and I had a very early start yesterday as we met at John Wayne Airport at 6:30am Pacific Daylight time. Our flights to Denver, CO and Rapid City, SD were on time and uneventful. We drove our rental car to the Black Hills Institute in Hill City, where we shopped for fossil preparation supplies, dinosaur books and took a few minutes to see their ever expanding collection of fossils. Laurel was especially interested in the Triceratops fossils now that she has those two amazing leg bones in her collection. We seem to gain an affinity for the animals whose bones and teeth we discover in the field.

We thanked Blanche for her assistance and drove back to the Prairie Berry Winery for dinner and some specialty foods for our stay. We ordered dinner and then took a few minutes for some wine tasting (sipping) of some very unusual varieties: Blue Suede Shoes is a fine example of an original blend of grapes and blueberries; and Phat Hogg a somewhat dry oak aged red wine. The staff at PBW are always cheerful and very helpful. We ate our dinner on their outdoor patio as the clouds that had gathered earlier began to drift away illuminated by the late setting sun. We were tired, but happy and well fed.

Next stop on the travel day agenda was Walmart in Rapid City for most of our food stuffs, ice chest and water. With a long drive ahead of us we made record time in accomplishing our aisles surfing in this megastore. We congratulated ourselves on the 30 minutes flat for conquering this task, loaded the vehicle and began the 2 1/2 hour drive to Buffalo. To say we were tired when we parked in front of our accommodations at 11:30pm is a gross understatement. But we weren't close to those welcoming beds yet. Unpacking the car and stowing all the food etc. in the appropriate places took us two more hours, and at 1:30am we staggered into our rooms.

It is always hard to sleep here even when you are exhausted, because you are so excited. We planned to meet Steve and everyone at 8:00 at the Cafe. Though are intentions were honest, are bodies were slower than we anticipated, and we arrived after most of the students had left to assemble field supplies. We did have time for quick reunion hugs with Steve and Ron, and brief conversations with other prospectors from past seasons. Everyone is happy and eager to get into the field.

We assembled at the Tipperrary Lodge where we saw Ryan, a young guide who has been absent the last three seasons while he finished university. He is a treasure and a fabulous fossil finder, and we are so glad he is with us this season. He rode with us out to the new T. rex site along with another guide William, and we had a great chat. Such a pleasure to be in the company of enthusiastic young men who enjoy fossil hunting and helping others have a great experience.

We got our bearings at the new site, and it quickly became apparent that there were too many workers for the space along the hillside. After reassessing the situation, Steve divided the party into three groups (loosely configured), tasks were assigned and off we went. On this particular ranch the owner created a locally appropriate "out house" for everyone to use: antelope antler door handle, super efficient TP, decorated paper towels and lavender scented hand sanitizer. This was my first stop (I know, too much information), and then Laurel and I (I think she visited this special facility as well) decided to scout around another large mound of formation for any additional spill or signs of bones.

We spent an hour or more looking for fossils, but only came up with some scrap pieces. None of them appear to be connected to the site. In addition to the T. rex bones, the recent rains uncovered a nice hadrosaur limb bone in the middle of the rode the rancher had cut with the dozer. In fact it was broken in two places because of the weight of the equipment. Paleo Bond will take care of those injuries. Ryan and a few students jacketed the bone and carried it up the hill.

We ate lunch under a real canopy erected for that purpose. These dig sites are becoming so up scale. Since the temperature was climbing toward 90 degrees, that little square of shade was very welcome. Swinging picks and shoveling overburden is such hot, demanding labor, it is necessary for everyone's health and safety to have a shady place to rest and drink cold water. Steve's children have been with him this season and what a great experience for them to run around in the great outdoors. They are very engaged with hunting for fossils and exploring the terrain.

After lunch we set off to another site where hadrosaur vertebrae were discovered by the ranch owner. It turns out Laurel and I were with the group last year when we set out to see this site around sunset. Though we expected to be given a digging task assignment, we were thrilled to be told we could go prospecting. We headed for a formation that has yielded great bones in past years and veered to the left. Ryan later told us that the right direction might prove more fruitful. We hope to be allowed a second chance tomorrow.

 

Laurel headed in two opposite directions, but kept a look out for each other. I found some small scrap pieces, but nothing more. I did find a large turtle shell spill and decided that perhaps this could be another off season puzzle project. I must have collected over 100 pieces of turtle shell of varying sizes: from the "are you nuts?' size (meaning way too small), to a respectable one and a half inches. Laurel arrived too late to talk me out of this crazy decision. She sat calmly in the shade relaxing while I worked.

 

My pack was now pretty heavy, because I do pick up the scrap pieces mentioned earlier to donate to schools, and I added the large bag of turtle shell. We decided to start the slow walk back to the group via another formation. Eyes cast down (as they often are in this business), I saw the flash of blue and white together peeking out from the sand. I held my breath, bent down and gasped. A tooth! A tooth larger than I have ever found! Laurel saw it too and we were both so excited. I had to sit down and calm myself before I used my Swiss Army knife to carefully scrape away the sandy crust.

At the time I wasn't sure if it was T.rex or Nanotyrannosaur, but it is not round and robust like T. rex (which I should remember), it is flat. It is beautiful. I have not cleaned it properly because as I was removing sand, two tiny pieces broke off the base end. (one more piece broke off when I showed it to Ron and Ryan for ID). We do not have the proper adhesive to repair it, but Ryan agreed to supply the glue and expertise. I told you he is a treasure.The serrations are clear and to the extent I could look at it, I believe it is in perfect condition except for the raggedy base. Don't have a ruler (always forget that), but I guess it is almost two inches long. It is a beauty and I am thrilled to have found it.

 

We returned to the workers to discover what they had uncovered. Three large hadrosaur vertebra are embedded in very hard matrix. To remove them requires a chisel and hammer and patience, lots of patience. Ryan is in charge of this because he has years of experience. Additional students are working on pieces adjacent to the three verts and collecting spill. The work was completed for the day and we walked back to the vehicles and made the return, semi tense drive back up the exposure. Laurel's a champ driver. I think she should consider those races where the vehicles and drivers are tested in extreme conditions..she's a natural. That ascent conquered, we picked up William at the T. rex site and returned to town, dropped them at the motel and drove home.

After cleaning up ourselves and our packs for tomorrow we made a yummy dinner and relaxed in this cool house. So nice of Gary and Dana to offer it to us. Great to have a fully equipped kitchen with a stove and oven and refrigerator. Hooray!

So this is the first official post of the season. ***After returning home and cleaning many of the fossils, I included photos of the turtle shell (clearly I do not have all the pieces) and the Nanotyrannosaurus tooth, which is not two inches long. It is still amazing. The serrations end at the jaw line so the bottom part of the tooth is actually the root. Rob did the repair work for me which I really appreciate. He is a professional and has a very steady hand.

Cheers,

Momasaurus

 

Final Preparations for Fossil Dig 2012

 

Friday morning, before our Sunday morning departure from Orange County, Kira is here helping me become more familiar with the new iPad which I am taking with me to write this bog. This I am attempting to accomplish at the same time I am doing laundry, watering the garden, packing and assuring the cat, that indeed, I will return. So much to do in so little time.

As this is somewhat of a practice entry, I beg your patience so just skim over the contents. Thanks.

I think I need to have Kira join me on this trip, because she is making very helpful editorial comments. In addition, she knows fabulous short cuts for making changes. I'm sure she would love to have the field experience: hot, dry temperatures, chance of thunderstorms, rattlesnakes, scorpions, dirt and dust everywhere, no shade and vegan meals. On second thought, I don't think it is the holiday of her dreams.

So, back to the business at hand. Laurel and I continue to compare notes on our packing lists, including the required protective clothing, tools, food and first aid kits. We will meet at the Orange County airport at 6:30 am on Sunday morning, and hope to arrive in Buffalo, South Dakota by 10:00pm. Our journey from Rapid City to Buffalo will include stops in Hill City at The Black Hills Institute and Everything Prehistoric to see the fabulous fossil collection, and purchase fossil penetrant stabilizer. We pay a visit to the Prairie Berry Winery for some local berry and grape wine, and "to go" dinner. Last stop in Rapid City is the Walmart for food, water and any items we might have forgotten. Given this long list, we hope our flights will be on time, and the weather cooperates, so we can have a smooth entry into our Summer adventure.

Wrapping up this update with a few photos of fossil finds from last year and the most recent progress on the Triceratops horn.

 

 

 

Cheers, and see you in the Hell Creek.

Christine, Momasaurus

 

To Sum it Up: Last Days of Field Season 2011

 

I am updating last year's blog, just days before we depart for Buffalo, South Dakota, for this year's adventures in the Hell Creek.

As the July 8th. entry describes, the Tinker site finally revealed some of it's treasures, just days before the season ended. The storm did blow through that night and everything was wet and muddy. Fortunately, channels had been dug around fossils, including Laurel's, so the work removing the remainder of the standing water, was not as time consuming as it could have been. However, the heavy rains made the terrain very slippery. Steve's directive was clear: no prospecting due to hazardous conditions.

Laurel and I focussed efforts on clearing the water from her fossils so that when the sun returned, the fossils would dry before being foiled and jacketed. We also helped on the Tinker site. It was a fantastic day. Helping to expose a nine foot long 65 million year old tree (two were found), was especially remarkable. You could see bark details and the stubs of branches. Amazing.

Lying perpendicular to the parallel trees was a T. rex radial. Being in beautiful condition, another round of ooohs and aaahs rose up from the crowd. After it was jacketed and removed, a perfect T. rex tooth was revealed underneath. More exclamations and congratulations went round the site.

The writer and photographer were kept very busy documenting the days progress and surprises. Laurel and I went back and forth between her fossils and the Tinker site. There was plenty of work to accomplish while the weather was good.

As the day drew to a close, Steve and one of the students foiled and jacketed Laurel's fossils, and then Steve and Ron loaded it into his vehicle. She decided to have it professionally cleaned and repaired and Ron, generously offered to deliver it.

The day was successful for everyone. With more days to come.

We took a day to go out on our own. It is kind of a big deal to drive out to the location and not see another vehicle or person all day. We hiked and walked all over the place, trying to cover areas we had not searched in before. We stopped to have lunch on a bluff with a great view of the sunny skies and tall grasses and potential productive fossil areas. I unloaded my pack, sat down next to Laurel, and looking at my left foot, noticed a familiar shape lying next to it. Lucky me, it was a tiny tooth. Nice picnic spot.

The afternoon was pretty frustrating. We found some really weathered bones that were apparently exposed some years before. They could have originated from a formation nearby, but it was beyond our reach. Safety first. Maybe in years ahead, the potential fossils within, will weather out and become part of our collection.

The end of our week came too soon, as always. The weather had certainly been a participant this year, and we vowed to come for a longer stay in 2012. The Tinker site added another 13 nice fossils to the already collected bones from years past. Ron is pleased and all participants have the satisfaction of helping to excavate this important Tyrannosaurus rex site. Hope we receive updates on the cleaning and restoration process.

Cheers for now.