Bundle of North Texas Winter Trips 2022

[PaleoPastels]

Hey again everyone! I have a LOT of overdue trip reports, experiences, and finds I’d love to share. Ive been busy traveling around Texas exploring and having the best outdoor fun before I buckle down and start my academic journey. 
 

I want to start off saying Happy Holidays and Happy New Years to everyone here! I will never forget anyone who has been kind to helped me, especially this year, and I wish everyone only the best. I literally mean it! Some of you remembered me from years ago and scrambled to help me like a guardian angel- I’ll make you guys proud someday. 
 

 These adventures are me trying and improving- handling life the BEST I can and spending time outdoors. This year for me has been… insane. Some of you already know this, if not long story short, only months ago I found out I was diagnosed with a serious and legitimate trauma-related amnesia where I lost most of my memory from a set of years which unfortunately included most paleontology related things I knew and did & any trace of my blossoming paleontology career when I was 17/18 years old when I even had a science job. During the pandemic I started remembering random terms & latin names, instinctively and luckily found my way back here but at that time only for collecting. It wasn’t until late summer this year I remembered who I actually was, what I wanted to DO and WHY I moved to Texas. The shock was… very intense. I have made phenomenal progress processing & accepting… having to relearn so much and move forward. The progress I’ve made in only months takes a lot of patients years to reach to my point of mental healing and I’m proud. I really believe if I keep at it I’ll catch up to my peers academically AND become closer to the person I used to be, become who I should have been by now. I’m even ready to relearn how to drive again so I can go on more adventures with other future paleontologists! This post is me trying my hardest and even seeing new things. My roommate is helping me study both for paleo-memory related things & for my placement test.  

 

Late in November I decided to join DPS! What better way to re-learn and meet people than to join a club. We went out on a private trip to the OK border and I instantly found a giant Eopachydiscus and a few other ammonites including multiple Mortoniceras & a baby Oxytropidoceras. Im actually working on a personal research paper for the giant ammonite- for FUN! I want to be able to publish this ammonite’s story someday- there appears to possibly be deep predatory teeth marks on one side of the “shell” and I want to know more about my prehistoric friend. That day was extremely important because I met Roger F. for the first time- the gentleman who co-wrote my TX Cretaceous shark book! He’s one of my favorite people now to talk to since we both love prehistoric sharks. I was SO flattered I was mentioned heavily in the December paleo newsletter for my recent finds- it’s reassurance that others see I already made significant progress! 
 

MORE PICTURES! In-situ too! 

When I found “monster” it/she(?) was already broken in half. This was my first Duck Creek ammonite find EVER so I was going to extract it no matter what! 










So… my roommate came with me and helped me carry “monster” up the bluff and GAH he goofed and broke one half  and the other broke in the car despite a towel & whole roll of foil- wasn’t strapped properly. I forgive him,  I have a remainder bottle of some thick B-72 & 2-3 packs gel superglue to the rescue! I only recently started to fix it, ATM I have one more piece to glue back and only a little limestone matrix left to shave off. Because of that accident it was way easier to carry back inside, clean up, and admire the sutures! 

 

Next adventure, I wanted to take a weekend off to explore the Red Beds of northwest Texas in early December! I went to the Seymour Whiteside museum and to try to find my own Permian freshwater shark Orthacanthus teeth! I came out here to also see an artist friend but I also accidentally met one of my female paleontologist heros, legendary Holly Simon, and she presented me with an Otodus meg. shark tooth- wished me luck on my paleontology career. I wasn’t prepared!  While Mesozoic marine vertebrates are my career-goal focus I thought it would be fun to get my nails ruined in that red Permian soil and learn about other animals- especially Xenocanthids! The Diplocaulus on display were adorable. Ya’ll should definitely visit the Whiteside Museum of Natural history! 

MORE PICS

*To encourage people to visit the museum, Im NOT showing all the specimen- just a few photos. There was a LOT of amazing stuff inside and it felt bigger inside than it looked outside! LOVED the prep room since Im into fossil prep. 









(me trying not to loose it! ) 









^WOOOW!

 

 

Excited to get my own hands dirty and 3 hotel muffins later- we drove waaay out across Archer & Navarro formations to find a good public exposure. Some great nature shots! I found a giant centipede exo which I took home!  

 

I found an excellent exposure which we actually used a Permian lithography map of a formations in Utah (same age!) to help locate a layer where the teeth could be! (Successful btw!) I saw what I needed and scooped up some of this gravely stuff the rain washed out in a baggie for later. I surfaced picked a tiny microfossil fish tooth (?) and later when I got home- MY PRIZE! Tiny little Orthacanthus microfossil! When we were actually there we tried looking through the gunk and wet sieving it in the creek with no luck of a larger tooth.

 

We were also very close to Wellington Formation in OK and another day took a trip out there. That drive was wild because we drove through a park for a picnic area that had like 15 wild turkeys appear out of nowhere running around and they were even falling out of the trees over us! It happened so fast… I couldn’t react to take a photo but I have an IG vid of it. We drove around EVERYWHERE in search of a famous pond- now super closed to the public btw. I eventually found out where it was and we got as close as we could in the “creek” off the roadside without actually potentially trespassing. I lucked and found the TINIEST gravely spot in the “creek”of what I was looking for, crossing my fingers, scooped a baggie for home. SUCCEESS AGAIN! Two more teeth and wow different color than my Texas one! I still have most of the bag to sift through! 

We drove alll that way. For micro freshwater shark teeth. xD 
 

MORE PICS

Neat how the cusp tips are black in person, yet so pale underneath a microscope! 

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED- Reached photo MB limit

 

[PaleoPastels]

Continuing…..

 

On the way home from Permian adventures I was actually napping/meditating and I had this instinct to stop and have Cole pull over after having weird heart palpitations- and to my surprise we were at a roadcut!    We got out of the car and I instantly found crinoid after crinoid and a few other goodies including urchin fragments! Lots of brachiopods as well. I knew 100 I was in a Pennsylvannian formation, most likely Harpersville. Fun accident except for fire ants EVERYWHERE… thank goodness for my backpack which I packed lint rollers. xD I might come back up here when I have more free time & after a good rain wash. I wonder what’s all here!

MORE PICS

 

 

Not a trip report, but I went to the DPS Holiday party and got my book autographed by one of my heros.
Showed Roger a my recent finds and he seemed pretty excited! 

 

For Christmas, since it’s just my roommate and I, we decided to go camping for a few days! We camped out in NorthEast Texas along the NSR and hit up a lot of bridges, did a lot of climbing down steep banks. Mind you it was below freezing in Texas but for my tolerance and my Icelandic wool clothes it was seriously no problem the whole trip. I stepped through the ice only ankle-deep once, soaked my toes another time. Luckily the river in only inches deep at most right now in my spot! I literally couldn’t think of a better way to spend the holidays with my best friend. I didn’t find my prize tooth this trip because there was SO much ice even the gravel was frozen to where you had to fight to pull something out. 

So ya’ll remember fruitbat? YEARS ago like a decade ago he shared his favorite spot with me before he passed and we had to hit it up and of course pay respects on Christmas Eve. He was so kind to me on the forum.  

Oh my SEA STARS! A seastar arm!!!! :O 

 

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horse ankle bone 


A nice fishy fang! 


I could literally just cross the ice gravel bar-to bar!  

 

TO BE CONTINUED- again  

[PaleoPastels]

Continued: Christmas at NSR photos! 
 

(probably the only herping I’ll get to do in this weather HAH. xD ) 

I have an ID for this one.  Best find of the trip! It’s not my prize target but I’ll take it!  

 

Ice is the mineral of life. It takes life, melts and gives water to life, gives nature rest and sleep, ice preserves life’s natural beauty like a stopped clock. That is why ice is my favorite crystal. 
 

-words my me. 
 

 

Some pics from about a week ago, close by that special spot.  

Nice little fishy jaw! Most likely enchodus. 

GAH I was so happy. Such a large chunk!   

 

My BEST S. texanus tooth! Favorite find of the day. 
 

My “paleo pack” has a new keychain! 
 

 

We fossil hunted and ate tasty food during daylight hours then drove to the park & stared at the milky way galaxy arm & watched shooting stars. The BEST Christmas lights is looking up at a sea of stars on Christmas Eve. I loved being out in the middle of nowhere in the cold, best s’mores weather and too frigid for ants or mosquitoes so the ground was very pleasant. There was a family of coyotes we swore were singing jingle bells.  Because there was a meteor shower I made some wishes for my friends!  As I was making some of them bright shooting stars visible shot across the sky as if the universe knew how intense of wishes they were. (I actually caught video of them on camera!) They were wishes for people I haven't even met, yet care really deeply about so it was very meaningful and beautiful to experience. One wish had TWO visible shooting stars shot at the same time,  I thought it was special. 
  

*taken with pixel phone camera

 

Mother nature presented me with some cool gifts! I never ask for anything except for wishes…. but I did get a book and Utahraptor figure.
 

One star wish I made in particular I hope comes true.

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by AmmoniteDelight

[Mikrogeophagus]

Nice report! Looks like you've had a lot of successful trips. I think that piece of sea star from the NSR is my favorite of the bunch. Also glad you are getting along well with DPS. 

[AK hiker]

Wonderful report, brought back fond memories from a trip my wife and I made to north Texas this spring. We visited 5 museums and like you my favorite was the one in Seymour, WMNH. Best wishes for the new year and your paleontology studies/adventures. 

[Stephen50]

Thank you for sharing your trip.  What exciting adventures!  I wish you all the best!

[PFOOLEY]

You've got some excellent photos...I enjoyed reading your report.

 

Cool fossils but the cactus a partial turtle shell are pretty sweet.

[RuMert]

Nice scenery and finds

[Brazos Aaron]

Fantastic photos and thanks for sharing!