Mazon Creek Questions please

[Lady_Sif]

Hello from Wisconsin! My husband and I are bringing our 10, 7 and 4 year old kiddos to the Pit 11 area at the end of next week for a couple days to try to find some fossil concretions. I have the Wittry book, joined ESCONI, and have read this forum thoroughly and am grateful for all the info provided by you wonderful experts, thank you! I am realistic however that a 4-year-old is going to limit just how much walking we can do, especially as it's rough terrain. Could someone please confirm whether it is okay to just park alongside the road *anywhere* around the Pit 11 area? Specifically W5000 North, Merchants Rd (route 6) and Kankakee? Trying to shorten our walking distances as much as possible, but don't want to be ticketed or towed! I could always have my husband drop us off and go park in the lots, but it would be good to be closer to the vehicle throughout the days for multiple reasons. Also, am I right to be concerned and cautious about venomous snakes? Seems like this would be prime territory, I know it's early spring so not as likely, but stepping into a copperhead den is a concern when exploring with young kids. Thank you so much for any feedback! 

[connorp]

If you have small children, I can pretty much guarantee you will have no success. Most areas require long hikes and lots of scrambling through brush to get to.

I would suggest you skip Pit 11, and sign up for the ESCONI trip to a private spoil pile in May. It’s much much easier to find concretions, and lots of children attend the trip.

[JBkansas]

Thanks @connorp, looks like they have a pretty active field trip schedule.

https://www.esconi.org/esconi_earth_science_club/field-trips/

 

Last year's trips:

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by JBkansas

[RCFossils]

I would agree with Connorp.

I think it is a wonderful thing to get your kids out exploring but Pit Eleven is not a great place for this.

The hiking through thick brush and rough terrain alone might discourage them from future adventures.

To my knowledge, there are no poisonous snakes in the area (I have never seen one in 40 years of collecting). Insects (especially ticks and chiggers) are the main concern.

ESCONI trips are your best bet.

There are also organized trips to the Mazon River every year which will likely yield better material however it is expensive.

 

[Lady_Sif]

Thanks all! I definitely want to bring them to an ESCONI trip and know that will have far better yields, but the minimum age is 5 for the kid-friendly trips so we wouldn't all be able to do it until next spring when my youngest turns 5. I'm realistic about not coming home with much (if anything) this first trip, but the kids will have fun just exploring and it's something close and novel. They may do some shore fishing too! We're big rock hounds, so they're accustomed to scrambling around the woods or rock piles; we have the gear, we've done quartz mining, copper mines, float copper hunting etc. My husband and the boys will be able to explore further in, we're set with compasses/gps tracking etc. and I'm a fan of Sawyer Permethrin on our clothes and Picaridin lotion as needed for ticks etc. I appreciate the info and feedback, glad to know snakes won't be a concern and I'll keep expectations very low! It will be fun to just explore a new place and be outside. Thanks again! 

[Mark Kmiecik]

No venomous snakes to worry about. You will find nothing without hiking at least a half mile from the nearest parking spot which is the parking lot. Your four-year-old will be begging to go home after about 10 minutes in the rough stuff. You should call it a hiking trip and occasionally check the edges of the trail for nodules. I can almost guarantee that your first visit will yield nothing unless you make it deep into the thick stuff. I wouldn't recommend it for kids under 12.

 

My recommendation is that you consider it an "exploratory" trip to get the lie of the land, and expect to find nothing or very little. Everything that was exposed during winter within 30 minutes of the parking lot has been found and collected by March 15th. (season opens March 1st)

Edited March 24, 2023 by Mark Kmiecik

[Nimravis]

I agree with what everyone has stated above.