Halloween Fossil Hunt

[Bev]

It was a beautiful, warm (almost 50 degrees!), sunny Halloween day in Minnesota when Kris and I went fossil hunting together. I took her to the BEST gastropod site in Minnesota! She loves the snails too.  :-D Age is Ordovician and we were in the Stewartville member of the Galena Formation for both sites collected. 

 

Kris at site one pointing to gastropods stuck in the rock.

 

Hormatomas stuck in the rock.

 

 

We didn't go a 1,000 yards and her pail and my backpack were full of great finds. And I got these pics of those we could not take. 

 

 

Maclurites reverse cast.

 

 

Imprint of a cephalopod.

 

I took her to one of my favorite spots to just hunt in peace and quiet. So many fossils trapped in the bedrock! This site never ceases to put me in awe of how the earth has changed through the millennia.

 

 

A shame I didn't take more pictures, but I had not planned on posting the hunt. But @minnbuckeye inspired me to do so with his "Last Hunt of the Year".  :-)

 

My haul, and Kris had a more impressive collection that I didn't get a pic of.

 

 

I had just gotten a stunning calcite lamp from Niagara Cave - my favorite place to buy non-local fossils and rocks!  :-D - and put my finds around it on the kitchen table. They are still there and the lamp is a gorgeous night/accent light in my kitchen.  

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this "postcard" from southeastern Minnesota, the northern tip of the Great Driftless Area on the North American continent.  :-D

[Tidgy's Dad]

Stunning.

I'm jolly glad you did decide to share these super finds with us, Bev. 

[Bev]

5 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Stunning.

I'm jolly glad you did decide to share these super finds with us, Bev. 

Thanks for being so kind.  :-D

[connorp]

Great stuff. Minnesota never disappoints. Thanks for sharing.

[FossilNerd]

Thanks for taking the time to share Bev. Neat finds! I really like the Maclurites.

 

[Bev]

58 minutes ago, connorp said:

Great stuff. Minnesota never disappoints. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! Illinois has some great hunting too!  :-D

[minnbuckeye]

Great finds Bev!! We were probably hunting the same day. And as mentioned in my post, many more gastropods in the Galena above the Decorah. By the way, didn't I see that hunting location in a TV show lately?

 

Mike

[Bev]

1 hour ago, minnbuckeye said:

Great finds Bev!! We were probably hunting the same day. And as mentioned in my post, many more gastropods in the Galena above the Decorah. By the way, didn't I see that hunting location in a TV show lately?

 

Mike

 

Hey Mike! Nope on locations for a TV show. Actually, the only place we went with Laura was Masonic Park. I think I have taken you to both sites , they are within 10 miles of Spring Valley, side roads off Hwy. 16. That was a beautiful day to be hunting!  :-D Did you get the pics of where your tin ended up? That Artsy Fence and now the, work in progress, Dragon? You made those possible! :-D

 

 

Work in progress on this one! LOL  :-D

[Bev]

12 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

Thanks for taking the time to share Bev. Neat finds! I really like the Maclurites.

 

 

Thank you so much! I love the Macs! They were my first fossils to find and ID!   :-D