Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 (edited) Today I drove 6 1/2 hours - 340 miles (Round trip) to meet up with about 20-25 other ESCONI ( Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois). This site visited was a shaft mine on private property and we were allowed to collect for 5 hours, making for a long day when you add in the drive time. I believe that the fossils found at this location are about 600,000 to 1 million years younger than the fossils found at Mazon Creek. If I am wrong, one of the Forum menders that were in attendance can correct me. As usual, I may miss a name, but here are some that I knew were present: @stats , @deutscheben , @flipper559 , @jdp . I had missed out on the trips to this location last year and really wanted to attend this year after seeing the pieces of bark that were found in the red dog shale that is found at this location as well as concretions. The red dog shale has the fossils baked into the shale as a result of a fire that occurred on the shat mine about 6 years ago. This pieces found are really pretty. This shaft mine was in operation from 1904 though 1946 and was owned by several different companies, including the Peabody Coal Company that ran the strip mining operation around Pit 11, etc. It was a hot day, first time this year we were in the 80’s and the wind was a constant 25 mph and gusts had to hit 35 mph. This post will be picture heavy and will most likely take a few posts. I will start with a lot of pictures of the area and the collectors, one I finish that, I will add pictures of my finds at the time that I found them. Most of my finds I did keep, since it was my first time there and I wanted a representation of the fossils found at the location. I know that some types of fauna can be found, but I only found flora, and most of that was bark, which I liked a lot more than ferns, etc. Now on with some pics- A pic of me- thanks @deutscheben Edited April 24, 2022 by Nimravis 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 Comparing Finds- lol 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 Wood from the mine. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 The end of day wrap up- This is George and he came up with a great way to keep ticks off of your legs at this location and especially Pit 11, pantyhose. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 Now for many of my finds- 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 (edited) My biggest find of the day. Edited April 24, 2022 by Nimravis 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 That’s it folks. If you live in the Chicagoland area and you do not belong to ESCONI, you should look at joining so you can get into this location and others. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 (edited) Great photos and specimens, Ralph! Good to see you! Glad you had a chance to come out! It was a great day! I don't see a photo of your large piece. I mostly went for concretions today. I'll get some photos up in the next few days. As for the hill, it's looking quite a bit different than last year. They moved material around. Have a look at this photo from last spring. It seems to have a different shape. The material on the top and whole front side were much less weathered. Cheers, Rich Edited April 24, 2022 by stats 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 @stats that piece was posted above, but here it is again. Hammer for scale. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 looks like a fun outing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 31 minutes ago, jpc said: looks like a fun outing. It was, but I miss the cold lol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Super site photographs and a ton of splendid fossils. I really do love those fire burnt pieces, that's a lovely colour. Glad you had a fun day out and found some nice bits, Ralph, and I always like it when forum folk get together. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 1 hour ago, Tidgy's Dad said: and I always like it when forum folk get together. It amazes me on how many people who collect fossils are not on the Forum except for randomly looking at it. I told a number of people yesterday that they should join. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Wow! My scroll finger got a cramp looking at this report. Looks like y'all had a great day. And what an impressive site! 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilhunter21 Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Nice trip report! It looks like everyone had a lot of fun! Amazing finds! -Micah 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipper559 Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Great trip report Ralph !! I love all the photos . You have some nice finds as well !! I really like all the different bark. It was nice to see you again Ralph and spend the day collecting !! It was plenty windy, but a beautiful day !! Rock On !! Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 34 minutes ago, flipper559 said: It was nice to see you again Ralph and spend the day collecting !! Ditto Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 1 hour ago, Ludwigia said: Wow! My scroll finger got a cramp looking at this report. Looks like y'all had a great day. And what an impressive site! This is a site I will visit again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdp Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 This was a great day! It was really nice to finally put some names with faces! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 This is one of my favorite finds of the day. I believe I have the ID correct on this piece. 4 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Thanks, Ralph. I enjoyed your presentation. 1 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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