Still Digging for Some Reward

Fossil Dig 2010

Update 2 July 2010


After a late night of blog writing and insufficient sleep, I approached the day cautiously. Fatigue and heat are not a winning combination. Breakfast was made with my eyes half open and I secretly longed for a cafe latte, (leaded, as my father would say). After yummy hot cereal and a cup of tea, I began to brighten and focused on the day's potential; Steve will confirm the Triceratops brow horn, and the Tinker site will finally reveal its hidden bones.

We saw Steve at the cafe and he asked that we work the site in the morning and collect in the afternoon (or return to the horn). We made a quick stop at the market for additional lunch supplies and dinner veggies. We also bought heavy foil for wrapping fossils and zip lock bags, for food and fossils. We reached the site around 9:30 and the team was hard at work.

Steve changed his mind about our schedule and asked that we collect in the morning and work the site in the afternoon since some of the team would be missing. (more on that later). We gathered our packs and plenty of water and waited for Ron since he offered to drive us to the "horn" site. We wanted to continue hunting on the larger butte next to the smaller one where the Triceratops horn was discovered. Laurel had found some interesting scrap pieces and we wanted to see if there was more in the area.

We reached the site around 11:00 and confirmed with Ron that he would pick us up at 12:30. We headed over to the taller butte we called the "saddle" because of its top. Walking around the base and looking at the ground and the wall, I noticed a familiar shape in the wall. Though the coloration was almost identical to the clay/matrix, it was stuck in, this dromeosaur tail vertebra was calling to me. I carefully pried it out with my knife and marveled at it's near perfection. What a beauty. A fabulous start to the day!

I climbed up to the next level and as I was walking a gust of wind knocked my hat off. This is serious because you do not want to be hat less in this blazing sun. I gingerly walked at a quick pace on that treacherous betonite to chase down my precious hat. Fortunately a tiny bush had stopped it from flying even farther away. I captured it and adjusted the chin strap so that it was practically choking me. As I reoriented myself I looked at the betonite in front of me and found a tiny Gar (fish) scale. First one this season. (They are usually the first thing you learn to spot because many of them are shiny black and therefore easy to see on the various soil surfaces.) Not far from the scale was a somewhat familiar shape that could have been iron siderite, which is often in this same shape, but this time was a Triceratops shed tooth. Now this is fossil hunting!

Laurel and I continued to look around the base and next easiest level of the saddle butte and then moved back to the smaller butte where the horn is located. We were getting hot and tired and Ron was due soon. Laurel found a good spill of decent size bone and we dug into the ground a bit. Some of the bone was so deteriorated it was literally powder. Too bad because some of the fragments were very good. She kept some of them.

We walked over to the horn and she took a picture of me with it. Since the time for our ride had arrived, we climbed down the bluff, which in this case is very easy, and waited in the grass for Ron. We decided to eat lunch because it was after 12:30 and in the event he had been hung up at the site we could use this delay to rest and refresh. (As best we could in the heat and no shade).

Near 1:00 Ron arrived with Steve who had agreed to come out to inspect the discovery. He agreed it is a Triceratops horn; probably brow horn, and after clearing some of the matrix from below the horn he thinks it might be resting on some frill. The bone that he believes is frill is a lovely shade of brown and with any luck the underside of the fossil horn will also be this color and quality. He instructed me on how to proceed on the preparation of it for jacketing. The work will require patience and all the right tools: knife, brush, glue and eventually plaster and fiberglass. My first jacketed fossil. I hope there will be enough time next week to accomplish the task.

I confessed that I was a little nervous about his appraisal of the fossil and its worthiness for removing and restoring. He assured me that if he had found it he would do just what I will be doing. It is definitely worth keeping. Hooray!

Laurel is trying to convince me that I should ship it home and do the preparation myself. I am willing to consider that option after I have a the opportunity to work with it in the field and hopefully get a glimpse of the condition of the bone on the underside. Even if I am overwhelmed by the task once I get home, I could probably find someone locally to work on it. I am excited about the possibility of the project. First things first....get it safely out of the ground and in a jacket.

We returned to the Tinker site and finished lunch.

The Tinker team worked in the morning excavating the two areas that Steve targeted as priorities. Near lunchtime one rib bone was discovered. It is going into the hill opposite of the hill that was lowered by the CAT earlier in the week. There is even more overburden on this hill and I do not know if the CAT will be returning this year or next to help with the excavation process. Since I was not at the site during this time I do not know how the decision was made to continue excavating the quadrant and leave the rib for some later date.

Two students returned home today and Theresa drove them to the airport in Rapid City and then shopped at the WalMart for supplies. Laurel and I were requested to help on the site in the afternoon since four people were missing. As it turned out, because the dig space was reduced and much of the work was now being done with hand trowels and brushes, we felt like fifth wheels.

Standing around looking stupid is not my style. The afternoons really heat up and today was no exception, low 90s again. So we waited until some of the team took a shade break and we picked up shovels and began filling buckets with dirt. We have had plenty of practice at this task during the last four days so we hit an easy rhythm pretty quickly. We successfully lowered the overburden to the level required and then it was time to clean up the site and organize the tools for Monday.

As it turned out we did not work on the site much today, and that is somewhat regrettable since multiple bones were discovered. It would have been nice to be part of that. On the other hand, most of the students have been working together for three weeks this summer and our participation during the most rewarding hours is probably somewhat of an intrusion. I may have a chance next week when the team returns to the site on Monday. I am scheduled to assist on the Tinker site and then work on my Triceratops horn. More to come.

We set out for more personal collecting after everyone was released. Ron decided to join us (he just can't resist the "hunt"), and he drove us to another area to try our luck. We are very cautious about our descent and ascents on these treacherous formations of the "Badlands" so we found a reasonably easy way down to the base of the "hills". The whole area is somewhat deceiving because from a distance you see lots of green grass with the occasional butte or promontory. When you are in the middle of it, it is a maze of washes and elevations of betonite and sandstone. It is easy to get lost if you are not paying attention to some "landmark" from time to time and it is easy to slip on the unstable footing of betonite, iron siderite pieces or sandstone.

We worked our way down while keeping our eyes on the ground and the walls of the formations for the telltale signs of fossil. We really did not find much. I found a little scrap here and there and a broken bone which may be a process from a small vertebra. Laurel found lots of cattle bones and I found a cow skeleton with the spine still articulated and suspended across a narrow crevice created by a sink hole.
That was too eery to photograph, sorry.

We returned to the truck before Ron. He arrived some time later carrying a nice antler and a few bone fragments the size of the palm of your hand. He said he found so much bone he couldn't carry it. (No back pack or zip lock bags). We were happy for him, but oh so disappointed that our efforts had not yielded the same treasures.
It is true that he risked a serious accident when he had to slide all the way down a sharp hill because the descent was so steep. I imagine there was another approach to the area if one was determined to find it.

Overall, knowing that the two "prospectors" from Georgia had a fabulous day finding incredible bones in a 10' by 10' area, we left the field pretty disappointed. I know that Laurel is especially discouraged since tomorrow is her last day and we are not sure of our collecting prospects. Ron is trying to help us in any way he can, and he has been more than generous with his time and support for our collecting time on the ranch. We really appreciate his efforts. We are so happy for him now that bones are being uncovered on the Tinker site. He is justifiably thrilled.

I am thankful for my beautiful horn and the additional fossils I found this morning. This next week will provide some exciting "firsts" for me as I work on the horn in preparation for jacketing. WOW! Lucky me. Hooray!

Congratulations to all of the team for their hard work on the Tinker site. What an incredible job!


Cheers,

Christine , Momasaurus

Diggin Disappointment and a Thrill

Fossil Dig 2010

Update 1 July 2010


This morning was slightly cooler after the thunderstorm, though the humidity was significant. After breakfast we headed to the cafe for the morning briefing but stopped to talk to the students who were at the motel garage loading supplies. They let us know that the team was meeting at the cafe at 8:30 and we would know at that time if work at the site would resume. The rain might have delayed our schedule, and Ron was going to let Steve know the status.

We arrived at the cafe and everyone was loading into the vehicles to drive to the Tinker site. We actually got a head start and arrived at the site before the rest. It was interesting to see the area without a crowd of people, and the amount of work that has occurred over the last three days.

Today was much the same as yesterday... pick, dig, drink, rest, lunch, pick, dig, drink, rest, screen. The temperature rose pretty quickly and I must say that without our cooling vests, Laurel and I would be sitting under the canopy all day. They are a life saver. After lunch we soak them again in the water at the bottom of the cooler, and that revives us for the afternoon shift and the later collection time. Most of the team wears t shirts, tank tops, and shorts. They are sunburned and fatigued, and I am convinced that effects their ability to work into the afternoon. Laurel and I want to "mother" all of them, but it really is not our job, and we resist the temptation as best we can.

There was one accident. A male student cut his thumb in such a place that the bleeding could not be stopped so Mitch drove him to the medical clinic in town for stitches and a tetanus shot.

More visitors to the site today: Mark and Jody, friends of Ron; the ranch foremnan and his wife, Karen; and two new "prospectors'. They all pitched in and helped with the overburden removal. Our little group got into a nice groove of two guys picking (swinging pick axe), then two of us (Laurel and I) shoveling the dirt into buckets, and one of the guys emptying the buckets. Repeat from the beginning over and over. I could work for about 15-20 minutes and then had to drink water. The high humidity made us feel the heat more. We worked this way until lunch at 12:00.

Lunch under the canopy (Bud Light Banner), was a relief after a few hours in that heat. Steve decided to abandon our quadrant for now and focused the effort in the opposite direction and across to the base of the opposite wall. I must admit to being somewhat frustrated with his decision because it would mean that our work to date, was at some level, for nothing. However, I am not the captain of this ship (pirate or otherwise) and I keep my mouth shut, mostly.

Since the digging space shrunk after lunch, Laurel and I decided to rest a bit and watch the early afternoon unfold. As people on the team tired, and retired to the shade, we decided to take their place and dig a bit more. The temperature in the mid afternoon rises until late evening so the work after lunch is effected accordingly. I walked over to the screen table to see what Ron and Steve were discovering and I was invited to join them. Buckets from different levels in the site were being screened for small fossils, bone and botanical. I had beginner's luck and within about a minute I found a very small bone fragment. Only a few had been found all day... hardly what everyone was expecting. Visions of leg bones had been motivating us for hours.

Steve called quitting time around 3:30 and most of the team returned to town. Some went collecting for the hour allotted. Ron generously offered to guide us to a couple of buttes that he said had been productive in the past. We followed his truck in our car and parked near the ranch road. He drove us to one butte and got out to show us the site more closely. As I was clasping the waist strap on my back pack Laurel spotted spill and just as quickly found bone peeking out of the wall. Damn, that girl is good! Ron was as excited as the two of us and helped her remove the bone from the matrix (rib fragment of a hadrosaur).

She continued walking around the butte to the right and I went left. Perched on a mud spill about 4 feet high was a strange triangular shaped object. At first I thought it was fossil bone and when I picked it up it looked like sandstone on the bottom. A bit confounded I just replaced it. I found a small spill and followed it up a ways but nothing revealed itself except a small vertebra fragment. It is similar to one I have at home, but I cannot remember what it is. That is why we ask the experts, which I will do tomorrow.

I retraced my steps to see the progress on the fossil removal. Since Laurel's supplies were there but neither she nor Ron, I kept walking in that direction. I soon found Ron up ahead and I looked at a small run off area where I found some strange bone pieces. I called to Ron who confirmed my thinking that the unusual fossil material was Tyrannosaurs rex bone. Very small pieces but interesting, and I will be happy to donate them to a school.

Ron and I returned to the rib site and then continued around to find Laurel. When we met her she asked me if I had seen the strange "thing" on the mud. I confirmed that I had but was uncertain about it being bone material. I located it again and showed Ron, who determined it was bone. Laurel generously allowed me to keep it.
(She is a darling)

As we headed back to the rib, Ron asked us if we wanted to continue and he would drive us to another butte. Tired though we were, our enthusiasm for collecting rose to the occasion and we happily agreed to go.

We drove to the new butte and the three of us split up: Ron walked to the right, I headed up and to the left and Laurel stayed low and left. I found nothing as I walked around the perimeter of the not very tall butte. It wasn't too scary or slippery, and since it was getting late and we were more tired than we wanted to admit, being safe was essential. I continued around to the right and just a few feet before the end of the butte I spotted IT. Now at last I found something larger than the palm of my hand.

It is extremely weathered and fragile. I put my knife next to it and took a photo. After a few minutes I looked up to see Ron coming from the same direction I had walked. I called to him saying that I found something but it is terribly weathered. He walked over and exclaimed that yes indeed I had found something. He admitted that he had spotted it earlier but was hoping one of us would see it. How kind of him. Not everyone is so generous with fossil finds, trust me.

He thought we should try to remove some of the matrix, in this case the betonite it is resting in. We worked carefully for about 20 minutes. Laurel found us and is so excited that I finally have a big treasure. It is even more fun to share the thrill with a friend. Laurel walked over to the larger butte adjacent to the one we were on and Ron and I continued to pick the mud away from the fossil.

We are cautiously optimistic that what I have found is a horn from a Triceratops. There maybe some skull attached but we did not want to attempt to excavate it so late in the day. I am hoping that Steve will be able to look at it in the morning, identify it and give me some tips for safe removal. I really wish he had the time to help me with the task, but I know his priority lies with Tinker.

Needless to say, though I am tired and sore, I am ecstatic. I can hardly wait for tomorrow and discovering more about this find. I am trying to moderate my emotions, but I really want to scream and jump for joy. All in good time...I hope.

Laurel returned and shared her finds. She has a very unusually shaped bone fragment and additonal pieces. Perhaps it is from a pelvis. Steve will no doubt know what bone it is and the species of animal. She thinks there is more of it higher and wants to return tomorrow. Ron is thrilled for both of us and though he is disappointed about the results at the Tinker site, he is always the optimist and believes tomorrow will be the day that more Tinker bones will be uncovered. I hope his years of sacrifice and determination are rewarded with a nice femur.

More fun tonight when I recounted the tales of the day to Walt. He shares my excitement, since this year I will be shipping home a box with a fossil treasure instead of carrying it in a gem box in my back pack. There is still plenty of time to find a nice tooth or claw! And I do appreciate all my fossils.

Thank you fossil gods and fairies. It was an extraordinary day.

Cheers,

Christine, Momasaurus

Diggin in Hell Creek

Fossil Dig 2010


Update 30 June 2010


We had a thunderstorm last night after a searing hot day in the field at the Tinker site. I did not write the blog entry because of the power fluctuations. I was afraid I might lose my work, so that is my excuse. The following is a brief re-cap of the day.

Dig. Dig. Pick. Dig. Dig. Pick. Dig. Drink water. Dig. Pick. Dig. Dig. Eat lunch. Dig. Pick. Dig. Drink water. Pick. Dig. Drink water. Rest in the shade. The team spent the day on the site doing variations on this theme. Some spent more time in the shade than others. Some chatted while leaning on shovels or sitting on the dirt. Some worked all day. I think you get the picture.

The team was divided into quadrants to work down the overburden. At some point Steve designated a small section as a test site and they lowered it further than the others to try to determine if there was fossil material in it. By mid afternoon the temperature was hovering around 95 and the humidity was building with very little breeze. The team was hot and tired and the work pace had slowed measurably. Wisely, Steve called quitting time around 3:30.

The site had more visitors including another of Ron's lawyers (Jane) and two of her sons. As we were getting our gear together to prospect for an hour (Steve gave us permission), Ron called us over to an unfamiliar truck to meet Cliff and Sandy Linster. They are famous for many dinosaur discoveries including Bambiraptor and Maiasaurus. Cliff stepped out of the truck to speak with us and he is vibrant and enthusiastic about fossil collecting and dinosaurs. He showed us fabulous photos of the dinosaurs he has discovered and how they have been mounted for display at the Childrens Museum of Indianapolis and the American Museum of Natural History. It was truly a thrill to get to meet them.

We decided to drive closer to the formation we collected the day before and gather the Triceratops frill we had seen. I located the frill and gathered and wrapped the pieces in foil for cleaning after I get home. It is going to be a challenging puzzle. There are a few pieces the size of the palm of a hand, but the majority are much smaller. In addition, I found one small fragment of ossified tendon. In some species this was part of the anatomy that helped support the tail. I am not sure if it had the same purpose in the Ceratopsians. Will do some research on that.

Since we were hot and tired and sore, we headed back to the car and drove to the market for dinner supplies. Back at the motel we had very welcome hot showers and a quick dinner. The thunderstorm was dramatic...lots of lightening and thunder and rain. (Some concern for the site since nothing was tarped) I had a wonderful long talk with Walt and then did some stretches before retiring. Tomorrow promised to be more of the same, with the hope that the bone layer would be revealed. The novelty is beginning to wear thin, for some.


Cheers,

Christine, Momasaurus

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.

Tinker Site Introduction

Fossil Dig 2010


28 June 2010 (My Wedding Anniversary #28!)

This day finally arrived. The day we have been anticipating for two years. Laurel and I had a restless night and attributed that to our excitement. We had breakfast and packed our lunches, soaked our cooling vests and met the team around 8:30. We followed Jim (the photographer) and Gina (his daughter) out to the site about 20 minutes from town.

The site is on land much like many other ranches we have prospected the past three years. There is lots of grass and cactus, lupine and sage. The betonite is very hard when dry and sharp if you fall on it just right. There are areas that have many pieces of iron siderite littered over the hard betonite and sandstone. These create a very unstable footing, especially when the area you are walking is an incline. Walking requires your full attention, which to be honest is not where you want your focus. Remember, we are trying to find fossils. It is important not to slip and break something, so I find myself in constant conflict...safety or treasure.

We arrived about the time the Caterpillar driver was positioning his equipment to begin removing the hill near the site and part of the overburden. Since we looked pretty silly standing around watching him, Steve gave all of us permission to look for fossils for one hour. The troops scattered over the formation to try our luck. I found the usual scrap fossil pieces and this year have decided not to bring home every piece I find. I did find one partial vertebra of some very small creature; perhaps a salamander. Returned to the Tinker site to see the progress. I don't believe anyone struck gold (so to say), at least no one was sharing.

After some discussion of how best to use the team for the day, we were included in the screening process. Since the excavation is being conducted much like an archaeological dig, there are many aspects that require lots of data collection and documentation. On one particular small plateau, four holes were dug each 12 inches deep. The holes are numbered and the contents of one bucket of soil from each hole is screened for fossil material. If anything is found it is noted on a corresponding numbered zip lock bag and then the holes are filled in again. If fossils had been discovered in the sifting process, then extensive grading would not proceed there. We did not find any fossils at that depth so I believe that plateau will be scraped by the CAT.

Note that the plateau we worked on is sited above the wash where Tinker was discovered. Part of the work today was to determine if there is more T.rex material in the higher parts of the general site. Some very weathered and small T.rex pieces were found at an even higher level where the CAT was scraping. Steve and Ron (Tinker's owner) decided that this material was probably not from Tinker and the two juvenile T. rex. However, those pieces were bagged and labeled.

Some of the students were in the main wash (dig site) removing plant material, and others carried tools down from the vehicles. A few students were sent back to the fish site to continue working on the paddle fish jacket. Others were sent to town for supplies and a new wheelbarrow tire. Lunch at noon, was earlier than our usual 1:30, since we were on the same schedule as the CAT driver.


The screens were moved down to the main dig site and we sifted many more buckets to collect any additional fossil material. Both sifting groups found some small fossil bone scrap and some botanicals. Again each bucket of soil was numbered and if fossils were found from that bucketful, the zip lock bag was numbered to match. It was great to be assisting in this effort and it is clear that many hands are required to accomplish this large project. Thank goodness for the CAT driver. He literally moved "hills".

That effort ended our first day on the job. The CAT driver continued working and Steve allowed us to collect for another hour. Even though we were hot and tired, the lure of 65 million year old treasure is hard to resist. We grabbed extra water bottles and headed out again. I found the usual spills of weathered fossil scrap. However in one little rivulet I found a very unusual small complete bone that looked like a metacarpal (hand bone) or metatarsal (foot bone). I initially thought it might be a vertebra but it had small indentations that made me think of a hand or foot bone. It is also strangely colored and lighter than many fossils so I was afraid it might be a modern bone in masquerade. Just inches away from that was another tiny fossil (size of a pea). It looked like a vertebra to me. Into my film canister they went for safe keeping until I could show Steve.

I continued my quest and knew it was getting close to time to return to the cars. I got a call on the radio from Laurel who had found a "spill" of something. I found her just around the corner from me and helped her pick up some Triceratops frill, and as we found out later, skull. She has some very nice pieces which will be beautiful when washed. We checked out a couple of ant hills...no goodies.

We returned to the cars to find Steve and Ron watching the CAT driver continue removing the overburden. The more he can remove the easier it will be for the students wielding shovels. The cost of the CAT is around $1,000 a day. Money well spent but I don't know how many days are in the overall budget. Guess we will find out tomorrow.

I asked Steve to take a look at my tiny treasures and he was impressed with both little finds. He thinks the one is indeed from a therapod (meat eating dinosaur)and is either a metacarpal or metatarsal. Ron agreed but I note a bit of hesitation in both of their voices. Perhaps Rob can weigh in with his opinion next week. They are of one opinion concerning the vertebra; infant hadrosaur tail vertebra. Once again I am the queen of little "stuff". I am very pleased with them and as I write this they are in their bath getting ready for display in their individual gem cases. My beautiful 65 million year old tiny treasures. Thank you Fossil gods.

The field day was finished for us and after a brief stop at the local market, we headed back to the Tipperary Lodge Motel for a welcome hot shower and dinner. Early call tomorrow with an 8:00 briefing for the days goals in the field, requires an earlier bedtime...no more midnight blogging for me.

Extra note tonight: Happy Anniversary Walt. I love you and thank you for supporting my crazy passion for really old stuff.

Cheers,

Christine, Momasaurus

First Days in Hell Creek

Fossil Dig 2010

Update 27 June 2010

Laurel and I arrived on schedule in Rapid City yesterday early afternoon. I barely made the flight from the Santa Ana, John Wayne Airport due to the infinite security lines. A very stressful launch to the trip. Anyway, we picked up our rental car and drove south to Hill City and the Black Hills Institute and Museum. We were impressed with the "makeover" that the collection has experienced since our visit last year. All the displays were cleaned and rearranged to make room for more fossil skeletons.

The Tyrranosaur rex skeletons and skulls are magnificent. It is wonderful to be able to see the variations in the skulls since they are lined up on a shelf. I can't imagine another museum that allows you to be so close to their collections. It is awe inspiring. We love starting our field season at the Institue and we hope someday to have an opportunity to go behind the scene and view the lab,
preparation area. I don't know if they allow public access, but I think I will enquire for the next time.

We spent a little time and money in the adjacent store: Everything Prehistoric. I found one book on dinosaurs of Alberta, Canada, but it was so large and heavy that I postponed that purchase. I look forward to ordering it upon my return home.

We had a quick bite in Hill City at a small restaurant and then drove out of town to the Prairie Berry Winery. They make wine from berries and rhubarb!
We bought a bottle of rhubarb wine and one made from black currants. Hopefully, we will be toasting a terrific fossil discovery while we are here. We purchased some salads, bread and cheese for a late dinner once we arrive in Buffalo later that night.

Next stop was the Walmart in Rapid City. We stocked up on fresh produce, spices, water and other essentials for our meal preparations in our rooms. We call it "dorm camping", and we get pretty creative with the microwave located in the motel lobby.I suspect my wonderful kitchen at home is going to look even better after two weeks of microwave tofu and canned sardines. Sigh.

The drive to Buffalo was under two hours, which was a blessing, since we were both weary travelers. Door to door was a long 13+ hours. Adventures await us and a good night sleep was essential.


Sunday morning brought a surprise. Steve, Rob and some of the students arrived at the motel to collect equipment before driving out to the fish site they worked on last year. We raced downstairs to meet them and since we looked ever so eager...Steve invited us to join them on the site. (Rob initiated the suggestion)
We were thrilled and accepted immediately, begging for 10 minutes to change into proper boots and hats, etc.

Once we had ourselves put together; at least well enough for the field, I drove the car with Cregar (student) as our co-pilot. The site is a full hour drive from Buffalo on a variety of roads and no road conditions. It was essential to have someone guiding us so as to avoid water hazards and other threats to the rental car.

We spent the next 6+ hours at the fish site. We watched the team attempt to extract the incredibly large plaster jacket of three paddlefish. Estimates of the weight ran from 1,000 to 3,000 pounds! It had to be lifted out of the hole it was in and then somehow placed in the trailer and then driven out. This was no easy feat and at the end of the day, the efforts fell short of the goal. The fossil got lifted up out of the original site and is partially onto the trailer. Since time ran out and the team must be at the "Tinker" (Tyrranosaur rex) site tomorrow, a tarp was placed over the jacket and the work will resume next weekend. Whew! What a lot of work by so many people.

Laurel and I did a little prospecting on our own while the others were digging and plastering and tying and wrangling the monstrous fossil package. I found some fossil
scrap and one tail vertebra, I think. Laurel found turtle shell pieces which she did not collect and some nice amber. The scenery was gorgeous: grass green hills, blue skies, puffy white clouds and flowers scattered here and there. The only snake I ran into today was a perfect skin. Maybe that is the perfect snake! We also had a lucky weather day...high 70's and breezy. Great weather for fossil hunting. Predictions for the next few days are daunting: 99 and 101 with thunderstorms. Eeegads.


We arrived back at the motel tired and really hungry since we had not taken the time to pack a lunch. Trailmix and an apple had been our afternoon snack. Eager to create culinary magic, we each gathered the produce from our motel room refrigerators to make a rice, tofu veggie medly and a cuccumber spinach salad.
But no, the vegetables and fruit had frozen. We adapted the menu as best we could and since we were both famished, the results were delicious.

We look forward to tomorrow and the first visit to the Tinker site. I hope we are not disappointed after waiting two years for this opportunity...our expectations are very high.

Fossil Dig 2010

Update 24 June 2010










Dear Family, Friends and Followers,


A note of apology for this very late update of the fossil finds from the 2009 season. All the best intentions could not get me to where I am now...typing the entry I wanted to write last summer. So, that said here I go.

Hours were spent during the summer days washing and cleaning fossils. As always, I had plenty of turtle shell, which I believe I have mentioned more than once in my tales. I am careful to keep my collected specimens in zip lock bags separated by site, date and type (ie. turtle, therapod, hadrosaur, etc.) I carefully washed and brushed a group of several pieces of turtle shell that I had collected from one particular location. Many of the pieces had washed out of a large mound and some were collected from the ground at the base.

After drying in the sun I brought them into the house on a wooden art board and set them on our kitchen counter. Our college age daughter was home with another bout of tonsilitis, so I had time to focus on tasks around the house. Well, in this case, the task was more fun than scrubbing and mopping floors. Using a magnifying glass to inspect some of the pieces, I was once again impressed by the wonders of nature and the beautiful details in each. Looking at the pieces as an ensemble, I noticed that the coloration of one piece seemed to be much like the color in another piece, and, to my surprise the edges on one side of each piece looked like they would connect.

I imagine you are following me here. Indeed, I was looking at the most interesting puzzle I have worked on to date. Piece by piece I started to put this turtle shell together. Of course, I had no idea what the turtle looked like or even how much of the shell I had. As it turns out, I still don't know what kind of turtle it is, and I can't even tell how big it would have been. From the little research I have done to date, it might be the genus Aspideretoides. I will show photos to Steve and Rob next week and hopefully they will confirm my guess, or provide the correct ID.

I had hoped to place photos at the end of the text entry. That did not work out as planned and they ended up at the beginning of the entry. Not wanting to risk a disaster, I left them in that position even though it ruined the surprise.

During the hours I worked fitting 26 tiny fragments and larger pieces together, I was wishing I had picked up more of them when I had the chance. I did get a bit bored and went on to look for more "important" fossils like teeth and claws. Little did I know that I had the makings of a beautiful fossil turtle shell. A lesson learned for sure. I remember the site, and if time permits this season, I am very tempted to return and try to rescue more bits of my Chelonia (turtle).

The summer ,and over the remaining months, of 2009 I continued to clean, inspect and attempt to identify my booty. During the holidays, fossils are put away to make way for entertaining and decorations. The new year found me reading more about micro fossil sites, and a collection of papers on the subject of Tyrranosaurus rex. I also became acquainted with the 19th Century fossil expert Mary Anning, through a recently published historical novel and a biography. She was an amazing individual who had a true gift for fossil finding and an understanding of the creatures she discovered (for the first time), that surpassed the knowledge of the male "experts" of that time. I recommend her story to anyone who is interested in the history of paleontology.

So, as I prepare and pack for this summer's two week trip to Hell Creek, I am doing my best to maintain control over my excitement. Laurel and I have been invited to participate in the excavation of the T. rex site that was held up in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for months last year. Now that Steve has the OK from all parties, we will be working with a team of students from Steve's college (many of them are repeats from last summer). Laurel will be with us for one week and is hopeful we will have a day of personal collecting. I have signed on for two weeks which will be divided between the T. rex site and personal collecting.

Though I am still setting my sites on a lovely large fossil specimen for our living room, I am more measured in my approach to this year's experience. I know how fortunate I am to be able to leave husband and home behind while I poke around in the dirt of the Hell Creek formation of Harding County, South Dakota. I will be grateful for all the wonderful moments that are sure to fill these next 14 days. I will try to honor my commitment to this new philosophy in the coming days.

I will do my best to be a fair reporter and hope you enjoy reading about our journey

Cheers,

Christine (Momasaurus)