PFOOLEY Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 It was hard to believe that six years had passed since I last visited the badlands of the San Juan Basin...if you are interested, I posted a few of those previous trips here and here. With a new field season upon us, @Opuntia and I made our first (of hopefully many) exploratory mission to the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland/Fruitland badlands of the SJB... ...so interesting and beautiful. I am looking forward to getting back up there to see what may lie around that next bend. Until then, Happy hunting. -P. 5 18 "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 WOW!! Thanks for sharing, such a wonderfull scencery and plenty of fossils! Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Wow! Just look at all that open space and sky! Awesome report, Mike! Thanks for bringing us along. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Fantastic !!! Waking up on a Monday to your photo journey is one of the gifts of being on this forum. I'll never visit SJB but in my mind, I'll walk the plateaus and canyons marveling at what nature offers. Thanks. 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Yup, them are badlands! What is that thing below the rusted metal thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Awesome! We tend to be drawn to places that are unlike our familiar home-range surroundings. This is about as different from Florida as you can get. Love the spectacular in-situ goodness. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkdoctor Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 WOW! Thanks for the great report. I looked through this on a terribly boring conference call and found myself transported from rainy Virginia to an amazing (and dry) fossil hunt in beautiful New Mexico. It looks like y'all had a barrel of fun out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 I could lose all my worldly concerns in that environment. Thanks for posting! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaacTheFossilMan Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Wowee, that really is something... Since I was a kid, I've always wanted to go excavating in a barren deserty area like that, just like Grant and Ellie in Jurassic Park! It truly is so different to my surroundings, over here it's all flat, rolling grassland, with the occasional forest, punctuated by rivers! Thanks for sharing, I'm in awe! 1 ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HemiHunter Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 So cool! As a lifetime East Coaster, I have always loved my brief visits to the wide open Western plains and deserts. Thanks for the pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crabfossilsteve Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 Wow, there are some very cool pics in that report and the topography/geology is stunning. Looks like alot of petrified wood was out there....cool trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 Have you ever prospected Paleocene exposures (Nacimiento Formation) in SJB? Maybe 20 years ago or more, I heard of a collector who obtained permission to prospect some land and he checked some roadcuts. He found at least a handful of mammal jaw sections, some turtle shell, and crocodile teeth/scutes as float. Jess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 55 minutes ago, siteseer said: Have you ever prospected Paleocene exposures (Nacimiento Formation) in SJB? Maybe 20 years ago or more, I heard of a collector who obtained permission to prospect some land and he checked some roadcuts. He found at least a handful of mammal jaw sections, some turtle shell, and crocodile teeth/scutes as float. Jess I would love to get to some private land in the SJB Paleocene. I am jealous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/19/2021 at 12:48 AM, FranzBernhard said: WOW!! Thanks for sharing, such a wonderfull scencery and plenty of fossils!.... You are welcome...hard not share this incredible place. Thank you for looking. 1 "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/19/2021 at 5:20 AM, Fossildude19 said: Wow! Just look at all that open space and sky! Awesome report, Mike! Thanks for bringing us along. The sky seems bigger up there...you can see for 100 miles! Our drive is 110 miles and you can still see the Sandias...I tell my family not to worry, I can see home from the badlands. 1 "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/19/2021 at 5:59 AM, Shellseeker said: Fantastic !!! Waking up on a Monday to your photo journey is one of the gifts of being on this forum. I'll never visit SJB but in my mind, I'll walk the plateaus and canyons marveling at what nature offers. Thanks. The Forum is a pretty darn special place...getting to share our adventures as well as enjoying other's excursions. Never say never ...thanks for "wandering" ( even if only in your mind) the SJB with me ...I'll "see" ya in the river. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/19/2021 at 6:03 AM, Wrangellian said: Yup, them are badlands! What is that thing below the rusted metal thing? Badlands indeed. The rusty metal thing is a sheep bell...below that is turtle shell. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/19/2021 at 6:10 AM, digit said: Awesome! We tend to be drawn to places that are unlike our familiar home-range surroundings. This is about as different from Florida as you can get. Love the spectacular in-situ goodness... This is all very true. One of the great things about this Forum is getting to view exotic or foreign landscapes...and the wonderful fossils within them. ...hopefully there will be much more in-situ goodness in our future. Thank you for looking. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/19/2021 at 7:20 AM, sharkdoctor said: WOW! Thanks for the great report. I looked through this on a terribly boring conference call and found myself transported from rainy Virginia to an amazing (and dry) fossil hunt in beautiful New Mexico. It looks like y'all had a barrel of fun out there. You are welcome! ...I'm glad you enjoyed it. It has been pretty dry...amazing to see these plants starting to sprout in such a parched landscape. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/19/2021 at 8:38 AM, Uncle Siphuncle said: I could lose all my worldly concerns in that environment. Thanks for posting! Yes, definitely not hard to do out there. One thing I just cannot get over is how quiet it is out there. Thanks for taking a look. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/19/2021 at 9:37 AM, IsaacTheFossilMan said: Wowee, that really is something... Since I was a kid, I've always wanted to go excavating in a barren deserty area like that, just like Grant and Ellie in Jurassic Park! It truly is so different to my surroundings, over here it's all flat, rolling grassland, with the occasional forest, punctuated by rivers! Thanks for sharing, I'm in awe! I grew up assuming that these type of adventures were for National Geographic...so glad I learned that is not the case. Im in awe of these badlands every time I visit them...can't believe I spent so much time away from them. I will post future prospecting trips in this same thread...thank you for checking it out. 1 "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/19/2021 at 1:31 PM, HemiHunter said: So cool! As a lifetime East Coaster, I have always loved my brief visits to the wide open Western plains and deserts. Thanks for the pics! I have spent a part of my life living in Michigan...I absolutely loved the woods and the water. The mountains and open sky of the Southwest is what drew me back. Since then I have discovered a passion for fossil hunting and that would make it really hard to ever leave. Thank you for taking a look. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/20/2021 at 3:28 PM, crabfossilsteve said: Wow, there are some very cool pics in that report and the topography/geology is stunning. Looks like alot of petrified wood was out there....cool trip. Thank you. It is hard not to get caught up in taking pictures when roaming this crazy landscape. There is quite a bit of petrified wood in these areas...some of which are the stumps of giant trees. Always "wow" when you see those huge stumps sticking out of such a barren location. Thank you for your comments. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/20/2021 at 4:11 PM, siteseer said: Have you ever prospected Paleocene exposures (Nacimiento Formation) in SJB? Maybe 20 years ago or more, I heard of a collector who obtained permission to prospect some land and he checked some roadcuts. He found at least a handful of mammal jaw sections, some turtle shell, and crocodile teeth/scutes as float. Jess I have not...though they are on my radar. @NMFOSSILS99 is really excited about prospecting the SJB which gets me excited to do the same. We were just talking about how to systematically select areas to look at...in the end, we'll probably just bounce around having fun looking for fossils. I will keep posting our prospecting adventures in this thread...there will be some Nacimiento and San Jose (Eocene) in our future for sure. 1 "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 Once you've had a chance to roam the badlands, it is hard to stay away. @NMFOSSILS99 and I made our way back to the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland/Fruitland badlands where we left off, to see what lies around those bends... ...we were not disappointed. I hope you all find your excursions to be gratifying... ...as always, happy hunting. -P. 1 10 "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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