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This is probably going to be a long post, so I hope you're bored! This is an area I have wanted to visit since I was a little kid and first wanted to be a Paleontologist. Unfortunately, this area was a long way from my family's normal vacationing route so I never made it. One of my other past-times is running. I got into running half marathons and then decided I wanted to run one in every state. I was supposed to come last year, but, well, covid sucked the fun out of everything. Anyway, Vernal Utah (known as dinosaurland and home to the Dinosaur National Monument) hosts an annual dino-themed half-marathon. I mean, come on, how can I NOT run this race??! So, my shift at the fire dept ended at 7am this morning, and at 7:01 I was on the road in Oklahoma. I have to say, being a fossil hunter sucks as you drive! Driving up the Kansas 281, just shy of I-70 there is a very nice uplift with lots of cuts and looks to be a lot of shale. I wanted to stop and inspect some interesting road cuts, but I had zero time to waste. So I drove past fossil lake, onto I -70 towards Colorado. I waved hello as I passed by the Sternberg in Hays, and I spotted a sign for another museum (the Fick or Frick, I cant remember) so I will have to go back and visit when I have more time. Of course lots nice chalky outcrops visible driving through that part of Kansas, an so many wonderful fossils buried. The bad part about driving through this part of the country is that every mile looks pretty much the same. Hour after hour of the same flat plains and wind turbines. I made my only stop for fuel in Limon. 500 miles and only about halfway there. I finally caught sight of the Rockies about 100 miles east of Denver. I always love mountains, and catching the first glimpse on a trip is always special for me. Dont know why, just always love it. But then I had to drive through Denver. I hate Denver. North/south or east/west it doesnt matter. Driving there is always horrible. Then You have I-70 through the mountains. Lovely. Beautiful. Majestic. Hair raising. You have 200 miles of road that twists and turns, sometimes very sharply, packed with drivers. Some want to drive 80, some want to drive 50, and then the semi trucks which can barely drive 30. Then mix in construction every 10 miles. I'm just glad I wasnt pulling my camper this trip! On a side note, dont go to Vail. I pulled off into that town to try to stop for a pee break. WRONG! Never driving through there again. The interesting thing about this road, is that most of the middle is the volcanic/granite/iron/gold/etc mountains. Then as you drive, you come around a bend and suddenly you are surrounded by massive sedimentary cliffs. Without consulting a geological map, I think it was probably Morrison formation, at least part of it. Then things flatten out and get boring until I reached Rifle. As soon as I got north of Rifle on hwy 13, its just dino hunting drool inspiring formations. All the way up to Dinosaur Colorado and of course continuing on to Vernal. Just mile after mile of hills, cuts, valleys, washes, and mountains of sedimentary layer I want to climb and explore. Finally though, after just short of 14 hours of non-stop driving I arrived. Dog tired but too wired to sleep at the moment. Race isnt for a couple days, so tomorrow will be prospecting for sea-life and seeing some local sights. After Saturday's race, I'll go hunt some more before heading back home for another 14 hours marathon drive. I'll post pics and report on some hopefully productive digging!

Since 1979 I have been going out to Big Bend National Park (and surrounding areas) in the Spring (for Spring Break during school and then whenever I could manage to get away. didn't make it every year, but almost!) so when March rolls around I get itchy to get out there. It's been a few years since I have been able to go - life gets in the way! But this year it was my 50th birthday March 1st, so instead of the original trip to Disney World (thanks stupid Covid) I got to go spend a week in another of my most favorite places! Of course that meant I got to do a little fossil hunting too! I had never done much fossil hunting out in the Terlingua area so I contacted a friend who hooked me up with another friend who was going to take us to some fossil spots. Sadly, he ghosted me and I didn't end up having a guide. So I tried to find some likely spots (geo maps and such) but didn't really find much of anything except one lovely Ram's Horn oyster (Illymatogyra arietina) and a lot of Inoceramus clams. I found the local Rock Shop (Many Rocks) and dropped some "hints' that I was looking for fossil spots, but no luck! But he did sell me a lovely glom of broken ammonites with irridescent nacre (doesn't show up in the pic, sadly) for a whopping $5! I asked if they were found locally and he said yes, so I will believe him. hahaah! In the "Gift Shop" of the Easter Egg Valley where we stayed: My one "good find" in Terlingua: Illymatogyra arietina A clump of irridescent ammonite chunks Big Bend Park was amazing as always. It felt so good to be back out there. Being the first week of March, there were relatively few people which was great. Of course we stopped by the new Dinosaur Exhibit and it is truly amazing. My father is a Geographer and developed a Nature and Heritage Tourism minor at Texas State University and is a consultant for local, national and international groups about interpretive geography and he said it was one of the best examples he's seen. I hadn't stopped by the dino exhibit since the late 80s - when it was practically a shed with a glass case of fossils - to see this amazing new structure with interactive exhibits and beautifully done (albeit replicas) displays of the creatures found out there was a surprise. If you squint and use your imagination, you can see the T-Rex I found in Tuff Canyon..... The New Dino Exhibit (opened a few years ago) We stayed the last night in Marathon - a funky little town which has both changed a lot over the years (more tourism, bars etc) but also stayed the same...... funky desert town where anything goes.... But fortunately, I knew of a good fossil spot there so at least I got some REAL fossil hunting done! A little outcrop of Pennsylvanian Era yielded some good stuff! Two Corals that I have been hoping to find and a couple of other nice things. Not sure if this is a Gastropod or a Goniatite. 1 1/2 inch My next favorite find - I think it is a clump of Zaphrentis coral Size 1 1/2 inch I've been looking for one of these at a variety of Pennsylvanian spots....my mom found it in Marathon! Palaeacis sp. Size 1 1/4 inch Another nice rugose coral Size 1 inch a Stratiapora coral Size 2 inches and finally, I'm not sure what this is....if anyone knows, I'd appreciate an ID! 1 inch top bottom Some Critters Cottontails who live in Easter Egg Valley...appropriate. A Raven A Coyote having lunch A Roadrunner asking for some lunch and some random shots