Prospecting the San Juan Basin

[Wrangellian]

3 hours ago, PFOOLEY said:

 

Badlands indeed.

 

The rusty metal thing is a sheep bell...below that is turtle shell.

Which for us is the Goodlands!

 

It's surprising to me that there aren't more people out there poking around, with all the agreement that the place is special and spectacular. I guess not everyone can live there and it's quite a drive/fly away from civilization.

[digit]

[Opuntia]

Always a blast in the Badlands. 

¡Oralé!

[crabfossilsteve]

Again there are some very cool shots in this report.  Especially like the pic the pic with the "bottom/rooty" end of a tree stick out of the rock and then some distance further the the top of the tree is sticking out again.  Also, the death gaze of the surrounding scenery is cool.  That location is a fossil environmental dream scape.

[PFOOLEY]

On 4/24/2021 at 2:55 AM, Wrangellian said:

Which for us is the Goodlands!

 

It's surprising to me that there aren't more people out there poking around, with all the agreement that the place is special and spectacular. I guess not everyone can live there and it's quite a drive/fly away from 

 

Goodlands...I like that.

 

The Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness is a park with 50+ square miles of badlands to explore...you can also find many people there if that is what you're after. I choose to visit the many lesser known pockets of Kkf to roam...in the quiet...without the people.

 

 

12 hours ago, crabfossilsteve said:

Again there are some very cool shots in this report.  Especially like the pic the pic with the "bottom/rooty" end of a tree stick out of the rock and then some distance further the the top of the tree is sticking out again.  Also, the death gaze of the surrounding scenery is cool.  That location is a fossil environmental dream scape.

 

Thank you, Steve. These landscapes can be very surreal...and to top it off there are fossils!

 

It's pretty crazy to see logs laying like that...as if they just recently tipped over. I thought that particular tree was very cool. 

[fossisle]

Great scenery and photography, thank you for taking us there!!

[taj]

Great scenery, thanks for sharing!

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by taj

[PFOOLEY]

And you may find yourself with too much working and not enough fossil hunting

And you may find yourself wanting new fossils with no time to get them

And you may find yourself with very few visits to the Forum

And you may find yourself daydreaming of the desert

And you may ask yourself "well...how did I get here?"...

 

...dang...how did I get here?

 

It has been months since I made it out to the desert...finally got a plan and am gearing for an adventure with @NMFOSSILS99. I was looking back through photos, trying to figure out where we should rendezvous, and realized I never got around to posting our last trip...

 

...from months ago.   

 

Some goodland eye candy for your enjoyment...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[PFOOLEY]

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[PFOOLEY]

...@NMFOSSILS99 , this trip was late April. Has it really been three months?!...

 

...let's not do that anymore.

 

I hope you all find time for spectacular adventures...

 

 

...as always,

 

Happy hunting!

 

-P.

 

[Bobby Rico]

Great thread report. Love the badlands landscape  and plants photos.  Great finds too. Cheers Bobby 

[minnbuckeye]

Great presentation of landscape mixed with fossils!!!! I can't believe I missed your April post. Both are extremely inviting. Candy to my eyes! My wife and I, just last night , were talking about another trip to Wyoming. Now I will have to rethink our decision. New Mexico seems like worthy competition with Wyoming for both fossils and scenery. Make sure to fossil hunt more frequently and keep up the great posts so forum members like myself can at least dream of such excursions!!   

 

 "And you may ask yourself "well...how did I get here?"... "     For me it is WHEN can I get there! Life is too short.

  

Mike

[fossisle]

Wow Mike , amazing scenes!!

[Jeffrey P]

Your awesome photos tell plenty of story, Mike. Love, love, love the gorgeous and sparse desert scenery!!!! Thanks for sharing it. 

[PFOOLEY]

@minnbuckeye, @fossisle and @Jeffrey P, thank you...I am happy that you enjoyed the photos.  I feel like they don't do the place justice...truly a magnificent, awe inspiring area...maybe, one day, we'll get a chance to roam them together.

[PFOOLEY]

@NMFOSSILS99 and I hit the road for a prospecting trip into the Upper Cretaceous Campanian of the San Juan Basin.

 

Our first stop was the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone...

 

...it turned out to be a pretty good day for finding plants...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...though I was hoping for an Ammonite horizon, a fossil leaf locality was worth the visit. 

 

Onward...

[PFOOLEY]

...to our next stop in the Menefee Formation...

 

 

...a truly beautiful landscape with a lot of potential. The heat was cooking so our time here was limited. We did manage to find some interesting petrified wood...

 

 

 

...some gorgeous scenery...

 

 

 

 

 

 

...the smoking section of the goodlands...

 

 

...Quita was there...

 

 

...and a pretty great time exploring.

 

 

I look forward to getting back here...perhaps a bit earlier in the day to give a thorough search.

 

I hope you all had splendid adventures...

 

 

...as always, happy hunting.

 

-P.

 

[digit]

Wonderful imagery. Thanks for taking us along with you.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[PFOOLEY]

A few weeks ago, @Opuntia and I had an opportunity to roam another pocket of Upper Cretaceous Kirtland/Fruitland goodlands.

 

Here are some photos from that adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PFOOLEY]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PFOOLEY]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PFOOLEY]

 

 

 

 

 

 

These areas are pretty amazing, hard to depart from and always leave me eager for a return...

 

 

....happy hunting.

 

-P.

[Ludwigia]

3 hours ago, PFOOLEY said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Am I seeing some fossilized newspaper here?

 

[PFOOLEY]

16 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

 

Am I seeing some fossilized newspaper here?

 

 

Not fossilized but yes, newspaper...looks like someone prospected here before us. I chose not to disturb it but I think I may go look closer to see if I can find a date on the print.

[PFOOLEY]

Well, it has been entirely too long since I was last afoot in the desert (really gotta quit making it so long in between adventures )

 

@Opuntia and I made a plan to go see if we could explore the Galisteo Reservoir. I knew there had been a large fence put up at the entrance a number of years ago but this time we were met with some "No Trespassing" signs...a real bummer. We paused a moment and figured out what plan b and c were going to be and hit the highway.

 

Plan B was to try and get into an area of the San Juan Basin where there are Upper Cretaceous marine outcrops near La Ventana. We scurried down the dirt road excited of what would be strewn across the shale for us to find. A couple of miles from our destination, we reached this wash...

 

 

...which we may have been able to cross going this direction, but was highly doubtful we could make it back through on our way out...bummer. We paused a moment...discussed plan C and D...discussed plan B again and decided to stick to that plan and hoof it in from here.

 

We grabbed our bags and headed down the road. As we walked along we couldn't help but agree that it was a gosh darn beauty of a day and we were lucky to be able to enjoy it...

 

 

...and a real stunner of a landscape.

 

We reached our spot, the (Santonian) Satan Tongue of the Mancos,  and hit slopes. My first find was this tooth...

 

 

...and then I noticed two more near by. I was excited to find some associated teeth as it is not common in the areas I search. Just up the slope I noticed these...

 

 

...and these...

 

 

...holy smokes! I knew what I was finding was important and patiently plucked each Ptychodus tooth from the shale. I sat back grinning...

 

 

....as I had scored an associated tooth set from Ptychodus mortoni. I later chatted with Dr. Spencer Lucas about the find...lucky and unusual is how he described it. We also discussed that after reassembled it would represent the first associated Ptychodus tooth set from New Mexico...pretty darn cool.

 

Delighted with my discovery, @Opuntia wandered over the hill and took a gander at the teeth, showed me some of his finds and then we decided to go take a peek at the (Turonian) Carlile and Juana Lopez around the bend.

 

This location is an unusual outcrop...

 

 

....with all the usual suspects. Coilopoceras springeri...

 

 

springer...

 

 

 

 

...Placenticeras pseudoplacenta...

 

 

 

...Romaniceras mexicanum...

 

 

...and Prionocyclus Hyatti.

 

 

Pleased with the finds and the beautiful scenery, we decided to head back to the Satan Tongue to look around a bit more.

 

I was so glad we did. Clioscaphites sp. ...

 

 

 

 

...Baculites codyensis...

 

 

...and Placenticeras syrtale.

 

 

 

We packed our treasures and strolled back down the road towards the truck. We chatted about the outcrops and the potential they hold. We chased horned toads and commented on wildflowers..

 

...turned out to be a pretty special trip.

 

I hope you all find your adventures to be special...

 

 

...as always, happy hunting!

 

-P.