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It has been a while since I posted last. School has been hectic, and I have been out of the country as well. I was blessed with the opportunity a few months ago to go to some of the best hunting areas in Texas, all of them places I had wished to visit for years. My mother was a real sport crawling down to the rivers, avoiding the snakes and leeches... We arrived in Ladonia, and drove by the river to get an idea of what the hunting would be like. We skipped on going to the park, knowing it would be well picked over, particularly since the last month it had been flooded, shifting everything. So I got a map and found a different overpass, and we got out to look. (Just so you know, if you ever plan to go here take LOTS of bug spray, sun screen and water. There are chiggers and mosquitoes and lots of spiders. And it is hot. Very, very hot.) It was a very steep climb down to the river bed it's self, so I would advise taking good boots and a walking stick. It started pretty slow, but we managed to find several giant oysters (Name seems to escape me at the moment!) Stumbled over a small creek that flowed into the main river, and headed down it. The goal was to find some mosasaur related material, but we were not having any luck. And just after we headed back to the car, I looked down to see a huge vertebrae! Not going to lie. I was ecstatic! (And yes, it was a lucky coincidence that I happened to be wearing a Jurassic Park T-shirt, haha) I cleaned it up a bit, and this photo was taken back at our bed and breakfast that we were staying at. Good explanation for the terrible lighting. It was a good start to the trip! The next morning we were up and at it again, early. Got out on the river probably by 8. Found some bits and pieces of a Xiphactinus bone, but no more mosasaur for the rest of the trip. There were some nice ammonites and baculites, and then took the afternoon one of the days to head up to Sherman and get teeth. The teeth are of course abundant, and it was so much fun finding them! We ended up with 70+ teeth before heading back to the car. If you have not been there, it has a steep incline if you choose to go to the small bridge rather than the highway. I filled up a five gallon bucket to take home and sort through. About 60 lbs! It was interesting getting it up the incline. We got back to Ladonia, and searched for fossils again, (My goal was to get a Mosasaur tooth) but were unsuccessful, so turned in for the night. We then headed out the next morning again, and saw several water snakes, They are completely harmless though, but a good reminder of the Cottonmouths that inhabit the same waters. And, the leech was an added but unnecessary bonus haha! And no, I didn't kill it. It wasn't doing anything so i just...took it really far off and put it back in the water. The mosy vert was nice, but I decided to split some of the shale because there are ammonites in it. They are just very fragile. Took a while, but I was picking up a large slab, and it split perfectly, all by itself when I lifted it out of the water. I need to prep it, but since this is a very delicate job I am considering hiring someone who has more experience. The special thing about this fossil is the fact the ammonites beak is preserved. I fell in love with it immediately. (Unfortunately I had my camera in a checked bag going to Africa, and it...doesn't work now. So I had to take these with a phone.) I am going to try to see about getting some better ones, because in these photos it is hard to tell what you are looking at. Continued in next post....