The Blogger interface looks different than before, so I am not sure about where commands are at, and whether they still work like before.
But anyhow, here I go....
As the days in the field flew by, the evenings were taken up in so many activities that there were just not enough hours to write timely blog entries. Now here we are mid-September and as I suspected, the recall of daily details has weakend, so this entry will be highlights. My apologies to Laurel, Steve, Rob, fellow prospectors, and to you my faithful readers.
To be brief: it was the hottest trip ever. Each day we gave ourselves pats on the back for just staying in the field. Our last day in the field was cut short, our decision, because of the high temperatures and equally high humidity. We called it a day about 1:00, knowing that the temperatures climb into the later afternoon and the sun and heat reflecting off the dirt is debilitating. Even 12 months later, I can remember how miserable and disappointed we were. Given the weather forecast for the following day, Steve cancelled all field work. The temperature and humidity together, created dangerous health conditions. Ih e felt somewhat relieved that we probably made the right move when we decided to quit early. Safety first.
Laurel and I were given directions to a very weathered fossil on the ranch where the students were working on the T.rex and the hadrosaur bones. This story could take pages and pages, but I will make it short. We found our way to the fence we were instructed to go through, or over. Barbed wire requires you to remove your back pack and hat and hope you don't get caught on the wires. It is crucial that you remember to toss your back pack and hat over the fence first. You can imagine why. Anyway, we found a way through or up the bluff and around the fence and safely on the other side.
We split up and each took a side of the wash to look for the prize. I found an interesting rock formation and soon thereafter found an almost complete little bone sitting in the side of a large mound. I could easily walk up two or three steps and work on it. One small section was missing and I spent some time looking for it, but came up empty
handed. It was later identified as a Thescelosaur tibia, which made me happy since the first vertebra I found was from that same dinosaur species.
Laurel and I met and continued to search for the elusive fossil. We covered quite a bit of the area and decided to take a water and snack break in a tiny bit of shade that provided some relief. Since we were not sure we had found the right location, we contacted Ron via cell phone and with some delay, he finally found us. I climbed up the exposure with radio walkie talkie and cell phone to try to flag him down since he was driving his truck. Turns out we were shy of the correct exposure by almost a mile. (Slight exaggeration) Trust me, it was a long way from where we were looking.
Ron drove close to our location and Laurel and I hopped in the truck and we drove closer to the correct exposure. Ron became our guide and what an adventure we had. Climbing down into the exposure was the first step...ha ha and then we walked and walked, avoiding the water and sticky mud. As it turned out, we had made a wrong turn, and had to backtrack and approach from another way. This is why this kind of terrain is called the "badlands". So easy to get lost or at the very least confused. Once Ron had his bearings, we made quick time.
Laurel found a small vertebra up high in a bluff. I really hate to walk away from something so obvious, so the challenge was to figure out how to extract it from the side of the bluff. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we have no photos of the performance. The vert was just above our reach even with our bayonet/knives in hand. I had the idea that Ron could lift me up and I could dislodge the vert. Easy enough?! I will leave the details to your imagination, but I don't know that I would do that again. But success was achieved when I was able to dig it out of the bluff and toss it down to Laurel. It wasn't in perfect condition, but it is 65 million years radiWe continued on our journey and did take note of the clouds building in the distance.
Ron assured us we could make it to the fossil and back to the truck before the storm. Our path eventually narrowed to boulders and a very narrow wash. We found a dead badger and I found many modern snake vertebrae from an unfortunate victim of a fall or watery death. This particular wash had enough water available to support trees. What a treat to see tall trees in this land. Roon went o. n ahead and eventually came to the conclusion that the way forward was actually blocked by a wall of formation. Yikes. The only way forward was back! And back we went as the skies became a little darker.
We retraced our steps, literally, and then found the correct way to the fossil. Keep in mind we were always on the lookout for other fossils, but given the oncoming rainstorm, we probably were not very diligent. At last Laurel and I found the fossil, though Ron had bolted past it as he looked for the wall of formation that had thwarted our first attempt. Indeed it was very weathered, with lots of little pieces. One could call it "Blown". This happens when fossils are exposed to the extreme changes in temperature, and essentially explode. We wrapped the fossil and collected the tiny pieces, with speed. The skies were becoming more threatening and flash floods are always a possibility. Our return walk to the truck was accomplished in record time. We were very relieved to be in Ron's truck and headed back to the excavation headquarters. We thanked Ron for the amazing afternoon and for being a great guide. He was somewhat embarrassed by the misdirections, but we assured him that we loved the adventure. Back at our house and safe from the storm was reward for a great effort. Laurel took one day off from prospecting so she could take care of her business obligations and recuperate from the grueling heat. Rob offered to be my personal guide, and I was thrilled with the potential for a very educational day. We drove to a ranch he thought might have potential, and once our supplies were assembled and we secured sufficient water, we headed out to explore. This ranch was somewhat familiar, and we made a quick pass over some of the terrain and soon found ourselves on a small microsite. As often happens with fossil hunting, it may take a little time for your vision system to adjust to the colors and shapes of what you are looking at so that eventually the treasures start to become more apparent; unless they are wearing their cloaking devices or are camouflaged. We both found a few tiny fossils. We climbed down from this bluff to explore around the base. I found part of a bone peeking out of the ground and hoped it would prove to be a keeper. Rob helped me expose it; a hadrosaur metatarsal 9 1/2 inches long. Rob asked me how I would like to proceed and I asked him to teach me the process of stabilizing, removing and wrapping the fossil. He did just that and actually made a "jacket" from foil and duct tape to protect it in transport. It did sustain some damage in shipping, but I could repair that. I do not recall the particular order in which these finds were made, but my eye was attracted to a very tiny bit of something that I suspected was bone. Rob took a look at without the aid of magnification and suggested that I might not be able to keep it. I carry a small magnifier with me in the field, so after we finished the metatarsal, I asked Rob if he would look at the tiny fragment through the loupe. He announced that indeed this particular fragment was rare enough to be given to a museum or university. This smaller than a lentil fossil, is a fragment of the skull of a Pachycephalosaur hatchling. WOW! Pretty exciting. Such a tiny fossilized fragment that might be significant. We continued our prospecting and I found a tiny mammal jaw fragment, about the length of a grain of rice, and a dew claw. The highlights were the metatarsal and the skull fragment. I could not have wished for a better day. I learned about careful removal of bones from the field and that some of the most amazing discoveries are very, very small. Thanks to Rob for his willingness to be my guide and share hs expertise in the field. What a great guy. These are the best of the best memories at 11:30 Monday night. There are changes to this site that require another method for uploading photos, so I will attempt that tomorrow.
Cheers, Momasaurus
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