A Florida Trip

[abach292]

Hi all! I am planning on taking my 3rd fossil collecting trip to Florida next week. I had an amazing time in previous trips and am planning one that will be a bit longer! I plan on collecting in Gainesville at Hogtown Creek (my first time) and the Peace River, where I will be kayaking and camping a good stretch of it over the course of 2 or 3 days. I have my own gear and kayak, but will reach out to canoe outpost for their services in the drop off up river. It is 5 degrees in Chicago today and i am excitedly spending my week over-planning the trip. I have a few questions I’d love some feedback on from this who are more familiar with the area.

 

For 2-3 days where would you recommend to launch the kayak at on the Peace River? And are camp spots easy to find along the way? I’ve floated between the Gardner and Brownsville boat ramps before, but looking to extend that type of trip, i really enjoyed it.

What other areas should I look to collect around Gainesville?

Are there any other rivers I should look into? My timeline is flexible I’ve read a bit into the Suwannee River, is that worth a stop? And any advice on prospecting or collecting there?

Also, where is your top-secret spot where I can find the mammoth teeth and 5’’+ megs? (Feel free to pm this info )

 

 

If anyone is interested in joining me (tentatively Jan 25-29), I would love to connect and collect together!

 

Below are pics where I camped at a couple years back (Brownsville) and some of my finds in the area.

 

 

 

[Ash]

You had a good hall last time! Enjoy the trip

[Bone Daddy]

Hi Abach,

 

I've never hunted the Gainesville area, so I can't help much there. Just be aware that the enforcement of the laws was tightened up recently and now some popular digging sites are off-limits. Maybe some of the local hunters who frequent that area can help with some specifics. Same for the Suwannee - although I have heard that the authorities watch that river closely for artifact poachers and much of it is off-limits to hunting (permit or not). So, double-check before hunting around there also.

 

As far the Peace goes, anywhere between Bartow and Brownville will yield fossils. Generally speaking, the sweet spot seems to be from about Wauchula to about Arcadia, give or take. I've hunted the Alafia and you aren't missing much there - just a few small teeth and nothing to write home about. Lots of sand and not much in the way of gravel or fossils. Ditto for the Little Manatee. I've had my eye on the Withlacoochee, but geology is not favorable there either, until you get close to the Gulf of Mexico where the river has been dredged.

 

 

 

 

[Shellseeker]

On 1/19/2020 at 3:25 PM, abach292 said:

For 2-3 days where would you recommend to launch the kayak at on the Peace River? And are camp spots easy to find along the way? I’ve floated between the Gardner and Brownsville boat ramps before, but looking to extend that type of trip, i really enjoyed it.

 

Camp spots on the Peace River.  The vast majority of land abutting the Peace River is private property. I''ll assume that you are looking to camp on Public Property.

Parks in Arcadia, Brownsville, Zolfo, Wauchula, Paynes Creek Park (Bowling Green), Fort Meade... most with minimal or no fees and boat ramps.

Additionally , There are access bridges over the Peace River at Nocatee, Griffen Bridge, Heard Bridge,  County Line Road in Bowling Green, Mt Pisgah Bridge, and other locations between the parks which has State owned property,  no facilities just land for no-frills camping.

 

I would leave my Vehicle at the Payne's Creek State Park (under the watchful eye of the Park Rangers) and get someone to put me plus kayak into Fort Meade Park. I figure it is 20 miles by River going downstream all the way.

 

 

 

[digit]

On 1/19/2020 at 3:25 PM, abach292 said:

Also, where is your top-secret spot where I can find the mammoth teeth and 5’’+ megs? (Feel free to pm this info )

The Florida Museum of Natural History (though not particularly top-secret).

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[dalmayshun]

Recently when driving through Gainesville, I did hear on the radio that the city council was outlawing fossil hunting within the city limits...apparently they felt too many public lands were being disturbed, not only in the creek beds, but in the banks as well. This may well be the future of fossil hunting...not allowed unless for a professional group, that one would have to get a local permit for, beyond the vertebrate permit Florida already requires. 

 

[Shellseeker]

A decade ago, I had heard that the city council in Summersville, SC outlawed all fossil hunting inside the city limits because some people could not stop themselves from destroying the banks using legal and illegal equipment on both public and private property searching for Megs.

Human nature being what it is,  this is an extremely difficult problem to solve. Whenever a large financial incentive is driving humans, ignoring rules and laws and good traditions follows easily.

I would be willing to bet that AFTER a fossil hunting ban is passed, some will ignore it.

[jpc]

This last post is a great one for the woman in Maastricht studying exactly this topic.  Was it Nancy Yates?

 

Edit:  Donna.  Sorry.