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We all possess a dream list of experiences hoping to be accomplished at some point in our life. My wife can now cross a trip to England off her “bucket list”. My “pre trip” enthusiasm for this British visit was far below hers. But I must say, England absolutely impressed me. The people, the history, the landscapes, and even the FOSSILS were all spectacular!!!! To be warned, this post is heavy on non-fossil pictures. Being very musically inclined, my wife had to do “Abby Road” and visit “Ziggy”. Once we got that out of the way, I could begin to enjoy what England had to offer. Our next stop was the Westminster Abbey, a royal church containing over 1000 years of history. I looked in some gravel there in hopes of finding a fossil, but to no avail. The beauty within this building is indescribable. Within its walls, or should I say floors, rests many of the world’s iconic individuals of old. We stood on top of Isaac Newton’s tomb hoping to soak up some knowledge. Unfortunately for me, it was unsuccessful. A few of the hundreds who lie in rest. Days could have been spent at the Minster, but with limited time, it was on to Buckingham Palace. The Royal Standard Flag was up, signifying the King was in house. Unfortunately, he did not answer when I knocked!! Next up was the Tower of London, to me a strange castle on the River Thames having been both a royal residence and a prison, housing the Crown Jewels of England! The Tower Bridge allows crossing of the Thames at this location. As interesting as London was, I was glad to leave the big city and enjoy England’s countryside on the way to Stonehenge. Rapeseed, unfamiliar to me, dominated the landscape and the farmer’s fields were at peak bloom. Such a vibrant landscape with the yellows against the blues of the sky and greens of the forest. We joined an early morning group that had access to the inside of Stonehenge, giving us a full hour to wander amongst historical rocks. No fossils were found. My favorite stone was the Slaughter Stone, which has hollows where water collects stained blood red. Myth says this stone was where sacrifices were carried out, hence the blood red color. A volunteer at the site, who is truly lichen expert, explained a special species of lichen grows in the depressions of the Slaughter Stone, creating the illusion of blood. Lichens are also responsible for another feature of Stonehenge. Back in the hippie days, the word LOVE was continually painted on the face of four stones for years. Eventually the paint was removed but a species of lichen. fond of paint residue seeped into the stone, keeps growing where the paint used to be. Notice my wife displaying a heart with her hands while standing next to a stone sporting lichen spelling O and a V. The next stage of our journey finally involves fossils and a bit of early afternoon tea, British style!!! Our host was none other than @Bobbie Rico and his wonderful wife, Vic. . We enjoyed their hospitality immensely. Toured their unique gardens and Bobby’s fabulous fossil collection. An exchange of gifts occurred, with me getting the better end of the deal. Thanks so much for everything!!! These were my favorite gifts.

Out to the Peace River, FL twice this week, Tuesday & Saturday. Was busy tracking down an ID for what turned out be an eagle or large hawk toe bone. With that done and a trip out yesterday I thought I would combine the two visits into one trip report. The weather was perfect both days with temps in the mid 80*s. The water flow and level were excellent and visibility great. It was easy to see the bottom and anything laying there. A shot of the morning paddle to the dig site - Got there and started digging with the first good find being the phalanx or toe bone mentioned above: The usual array of small shark teeth kept a steady flow into the sifter and then along came a small antler followed by a chunk of mammoth tooth and a turtle leg spur. There was also a large bone piece that may be part of an alligator maxilla. An armadillo scute and turtle scute rounded out the day for variety. I usually take a break and do a walk around the area where I am hunting just looking to see if anything interesting is sitting on the bottom. This day I was surprised to see two perfect pieces of a turtle plastron or underside. I picked them up in about two feet of water and was surprised how clean they were. They are obviously modern, but I kept them was my son has an oddity and taxidermy business and will surely find a buyer for them. Later I came up with a rounded bone that I think may be a patella. The only one I could find at the size of the specimen is bear. I will be doing more research on this one and may post it in the ID section for help. Headed home in the late afternoon and took a few more pictures of the river. In the first you can see how clear the water is, notice the branches on the bottom. In the last photo you can see can see three Ibis sitting in the tree over the river - its a good idea not to paddle under them! Yesterday turned out to be another great day with some exciting finds. The morning turned up probably the largest piece of antler I have found at 4" long and 1.5" around. About mid morning a Tapir tooth with roots popped up along with a partial vert that I have yet to identify. Shark teeth continued to appear in each clean out. Took my break for a walk around and suddenly came upon what seems to be the rest of the turtle plastron/underside shell pieces from the poor deceased turtle I found part of on Tuesday - Now I really have a package for my son's collection! To my pleasant surprise the afternoon turned up another Tapir tooth crown and a 1/2 crown. A dolphin tooth and a half of another one wound up in the sifter a little later. Continuing the Dolphin theme a periotic also managed to turn up. Another vert came up but it is probably too damaged and encrusted to be able to ID, but I kept it anyway. A small set of modern deer teeth also appeared. Some photos of the two days worth of finds - First group -left side - cup of miscellaneous shark teeth,3 tapir teeth/crowns, one dolphin tooth, one partial dolphin tooth, dolphin periotic right side - Snaggle tooth shark, tiger shark, lemon shark Some of the larger finds - Left side - Gator maxilla (?), two turtle leg spurs, mammoth tooth chunk, two small pieces of ivory Right side - Antlers, unk vert, armadillo scute, patella(?) It was a rewarding two days and I am looking forward to getting back next week!

I have triplet grandchildren, almost 6 yrs old, who are ripe for discovering stuff. I've dabbled with flintknapping and have a couple purchased fossils that they are interested in. I am looking for some small fossil material that hasn't been cleaned so that they (and I) can "discover" the ancient creatures and research their known history. This material needn't contain complete specimens...I'm thinking maybe whole or partial trilobites, etc. I have some appropriate working tools. We are a bit north of San Francisco and not not close to any good collecting location. online has lots of prepped fossils but I'd like to get some as-found stuff. Any suggestions for finding this kind of thing online? Please PM me with any info. Thanks.

I just wanted to know what feilds I can work in in the future. I love picking up rocks and fossils, Is there some kind of mix between paleontology and geology? Could I make a living on this kind of job? I am hoping to study in austrailia some day.