Oldman River Spring fossil hunt

[JustPlainPetrified]

It was finally time to shake off the mud from the Fall hunt and head south to the Lethbridge, Alberta area and search the banks of the Oldman River for ammonites that many have fallen out. Ideally we like to walk along the ice on the edge of the bank. That didn't happen. The highway cam photos showed ice on the river, but our location was wide open. We had lots of wind; so much that the shale was blowing into our faces. About 100 kmh but we held on! Quite the day on the steep slopes and a few success. Imagine my surprise when a chuck I found opened to reveal some great colour. The next day we found our way the a 4500 year old medicine wheel, perched high above the prairie. Look closely in the background and you can see the modern era in the form of wind turbines. I trust everyone is staying safe and avoiding personal contacts and get over this Covid-19 thing.

[JustPlainPetrified]

On this trip I did find a few pieces of partial ammonite. The main beast was very erodes inside the concretion, so only a few pieces were worth keeping. This is one such piece. The photo doesn't do it justice, but it's about 6 inches in size and the color if mostly fractured red. Still, it prepped out nice. I'll have a second piece to show once it is coated. Most of these ammonites are placenticeras meeki from the Bearpaw formation.

[JustPlainPetrified]

Finished these two partial ammonites. The sun really makes the colors pop out but the photos don't do it justice.

[jpc]

This looks like a spot my wife and I visited last summer.  We were staying with a friend in Lethbridge who took us there.  We found clams and a few sparkly ammonite bits.  We gave them all to her, since we are not alowed to take them out of Alberta.  

[caldigger]

The latest thing in Springtime collecting gear.