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Is "The Fossil Forum" worthwhile? Absolutely. I've only been a member for about a month. I'm new to collecting. Up to this past weekend, I had only bought a few fossils, or had some given to me. I had not even thought of going on a "hunt". But I've read many posts in the past few weeks, and got excited to try it myself. I even purchased some tools, thanks to recommendations on this site, and prepared a backpack of essentials. Then, I researched posts from Texas (where I live) to see where the recommended spots were. Post Oak Creek and North Sulphur River were common themes. I decided to give the North Sulphur River a try for my first trip. I figured even a beginner should be able to find something, even just one. Due to some posts saying the Ladonia spots (Hwy 34 and 2990) were over-utilized, I settled on going to the Hwy 24 bridge north of Cooper, TX, which is a 2-hour drive for me. I went Friday afternoon, January 7th, and spent 2 hours there before starting to lose daylight. I was the only one there (except for my wife, who stayed up at the top, as the cliff down to the river was way too steep for her). I only looked under the bridge, on both sides of the narrow creek at that point, and maybe 100 feet to the east of the bridge, to the end of the first gravel bar. I did not get far at all due to the abundance in this one small area. I split open many rocks hoping to find things inside. I found oysters by the dozens just laying around in the gravel. Some were partially buried, but it was easy enough to tell what they were. I had to make 3 trips up the steep bank to bring my samples back to the car. The final total was 104 specimens. I'm sure most of them are fossil oysters. But some I am not sure of. I'll be posting photos in the Fossil ID section later. I'm also not sure if there are several different species represented. I'll be asking that question also, with photos. Also, I'm not sure if I got a few clams, or if they are oysters, or just rocks. I'll be looking for more input from you guys. Mainly, I wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to this forum and for all the posts that helped me get started. I realize I'm just a "taker" (and not a "giver") at the moment, but it's a thrill to actually have such a fantastic day in my very first try. Probably beginner's luck. In a few days, I'm going to post my second trip, which was the next day, on Saturday the 8th, in the rain. Not even close to the numbers, but a few that I'm very excited about and look forward to sharing. Hopefully my photos are clear and helpful. Here is the smallest and the largest. The big one is almost 7 inches, and pretty heavy. There were 2 in a rock matrix. This particular one is my favorite of the entire lot, and is really the main reason in my mind that this trip was a total success. This one I found as part of a larger rock that had been split into several pieces. It was actually partly in the river. It appears to be an ammonite impression, although I'll ask about it later in the Fossil ID section. Here are some small samples. I'm guessing the first one is a tooth or claw?? The 2nd one kind of looks like a tooth, but I'm guessing it is just a piece of oyster shell, like the 3rd and 4th ones. The 5th one, the red one, is either a bivalve of some sort, or just a pretty rock. Not sure. And finally, a few unique shapes that I think are all very cool. Please pitch in and let me know your thoughts on what any of them might be. I'm just saying "oysters", as I have no idea of specific species at this point. Thanks again.