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The Plan: A small group was planning to go fossil hunting on a certain NC river for my birthday weekend this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, we knew the rivers had been running high, some hadn't crested yet and by Tuesday we gave up hope on a boat ride along the river to one of our favorite places. The (Modified) Trip: Given we all already had the 3 day weekend off (and it was still my birthday weekend) we adjusted our plans, a few folks dropped out, and five buddies, my wife and I instead made the trek southeast for some fossil hunting in Greens Mill Run. Included in the group was TFF member Daleksec. Talk about a HOT weekend, in more ways than one. Yes, the temps were in the mid to upper 90s, humidity was above 70%, the heat index on Friday was around 105 and Sunday was around 110, but we are all experienced fossil hunters and used to summer time in the Mid-Atlantic. Of the 7 of us, we had 3 different places along GMR where 1 or 2 of us had collected successfully, so we made a plan to hit all 3 spots over the 3 days. Turns out, 1 in the group has hunted GMR for over 25 years with considerable success, which he failed to mention until we all got there. :-) He inevitably became "The Guide." Of the 7 of us, there were at least 10 different methods to successfully find fossils this weekend. Now, you have to get a real feel for this group, no pun goes unintended, no innuendo or double entendre goes unchallenged and nothing obvious is really that obvious, without complete clarification and confirmation of the clarification. To say that we had a blast would be an understatement. I'm positive that everyone had sore stomach muscles at some point in the trip from laughing so hard. There were quite a few instances where the raucous laughter actually interrupted the fossil hunting so a person could regain their breath and composure. I will say, at least we didn't get accosted by Pokemon Go players this trip, like we did on our last trip to GMR. :-) The Spoils of the Screen: We started out after lunch Friday by picking 1 of 3 spots we wanted to try and "moving in." Anyone who saw us heading to the creek would have just shaken their heads. Here is part of the group getting going. For the record, the chair is mine. Here is a small tooth my wife screened, which will end up being a give-a-way since she wanted more than a 3/4" tooth for her efforts on this hot/humid day. (For scale, screen size is 1/4"). At least we didn't get skunked and it broke the ice. This 1" tooth made her a little happier and gave her the energy to keep digging. (Screen size is 1/4") One of my buddies from MD who volunteers in the fossil section of a large, famous museum in DC, has a unique method for fossil hunting at GMR. He sits down and basically "noodles" under rocks, in holes, in the mud, etc. for whatever he can find. Here is a photo of him "staying cool" while hunting. Apparently, his method works fairly well because he came away with this awesome vertebrae. Another close up view sitting in the screen. After the excitement of his very nice find we took a break, which involved much story telling, chiding and laughter. More to come..........

Here are a couple of things TFF member Daleksec found this past weekend at Greens Mill Run, that we need help identifying. The first appears to be a small tooth. I apologize for no scale but it is 3/8" long with ridges and slightly curved. I did not see any serrations. The second is s small bone about 3/4" long, slightly convex or concave on the long axis, depending on which way is up. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks, Jack