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