Lady_Sif Posted April 2, 2023 Share Posted April 2, 2023 My family (kids 4, 7 and 10) attempted our first foray for Mazon Creek fossils last week. We had a blast! Took it slow, explored the lay of the land and came back with around 300 concretions to freeze/thaw. Definitely a more ideal time of year to go with young kids, easier to see paths/where we were going and keep track of everyone, only one tick and no poison ivy etc. to worry about, just thorns. We ended up derailing onto some deer trails and bushwhacking through, but we also found some fun things that way. Main trails were very easy walking and the kids found enough concretions to stay entertained. GPS tracking was perfect, had whistles, camelbaks backpacks for all but the 4-year-old, snacks and rubber-coated gardening gloves plus a few kid-sized rakes. Permethrin on our clothes and picaridin lotion worked well. Pics below of some open finds (jellies, which for us novices is wonderful! We cleaned them up best we could, some are worn but that doesn't matter to a kid's collection!), then some unknowns. My husband found a great worm (we think!) of some kind. Pics below, and a few unknowns at the end. We spent Friday at the Field Museum to see their Mazon Creek exhibit. We hunted for a half day Wednesday and full day Thursday. A great weekend-type trip as a full week would be too tiring for us all. We will for sure go again, but may stick to spring before poison ivy etc. take hold. I'll update the post later with anything from our freeze/thaw cycles. Started soaking today! Few more pics next post. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Sif Posted April 2, 2023 Author Share Posted April 2, 2023 My daughter enjoyed playing with her "concretion sandwich". Pic of a bunch of likely nothings (?) or eroded specimens. 1 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 (edited) Some very nice finds -- looks like you got into the "thick stuff" and it payed off. You found much more than I thought you might, and did phenomenally well for your first outing to the Mazon Creek fossils area. All of what you found looks to be "the right stuff", and the last photo is a good example of what you need to do to get the good stuff. If you need any info about freeze/thawing them just ask. Before you begin to freeze, soak them for at least a week. Good luck. I can see from the photos of the nodules that you will have some nice specimens once they crack open. P.S. -- The third and fourth photos are very interesting. The third looks like it may be an insect nymph, and the fourth one is a ?????? Wait for a few of the other MC folks on this forum to check them out. Edited April 3, 2023 by Mark Kmiecik 2 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...
Mark Kmiecik Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 @connorp @deutscheben @fiddlehead @flipper559 @Nimravis @RCFossils @Runner64 @stats Hey guys -- take a look at photos 3 and 4 and tell us what you think they are. 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...
Mark Kmiecik Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 (edited) In the second post, yeah, too weathered to ID with certainty especially from a photo. Some may be possible if held in-hand for ID. Did I mention that you did incredibly well for your first time to that area? 'Cause you did! Edited April 3, 2023 by Mark Kmiecik 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...
deutscheben Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 (edited) Wonderful report! As @Mark Kmiecik mentioned (a few times), this is a great set of finds for a first trip out, and its delightful to see the kids enjoying it as well. I believe the most likely ID for your 3rd picture is actually a coprolite- it appears to be pretty "3D" and has a texture typical for those. All the rest of the visible fossils are Essexella, including one from the "maybe nothing" picture- the middle concretion on the right appears to contain one. Best of luck with your freeze-thawing, I hope some more interesting things pop out! Edited April 3, 2023 by deutscheben 1 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadrosauridae Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 Great report, looks like you did great! I see you also went to the Field museum! I went this past weekend for the Field, but didnt have time for any hunts. I got a little sad when I drove over Mazon creek and realized I coudl have also had a hunting day (if I had time) 2 "There is no shortage of fossils. There is only a shortage of paleontologists to study them." - Larry Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runner64 Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 Green one is Essexella, closer pic of one in red might be helpful. Pic 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 are all Essexella. Unsure on 3 but looks to be something interesting. Nice! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Sif Posted April 4, 2023 Author Share Posted April 4, 2023 @Mark Kmiecik and @deutscheben, thank you! I did a lot of research (this forum and ESCONI are great!) and the kids are used to climbing up the side of slag piles, so it was a challenge we were willing to attempt. Five sets of eyes really helps, too! We are thrilled with our finds already, there were far more open concretions than I thought there would be. We are excited to see what comes of what we hauled out. The kids really did great and want to go again, they now have their sights set on finding a Tully monster someday after seeing it at the Field Museum. Ambitious, but we have time and patience! It was the right time of year to go with kids. Our winter gear was thick and let us just plow through the brush and thorns, and we were able to see easily through the woods. Summer would be so much more challenging in so many ways, I'm not sure we'll attempt that this year. The Field Museum was a great tie-in; to kids, there wasn't much that existed before dinosaurs, but being able to walk through their exhibit showed them just how much there could be and where the fossils they found stand in the history of the world. Pretty incredible. Thank you also greatly for the ID help. I have a lot to learn there yet. Any clue on the bottom three pics of my first post, if those are anything specific please? Perhaps too weathered to tell. The boys are thrilled that the big one is a coprolite, @deutscheben, ha! I'm attaching another pic with a ruler beside it; it was our largest find from under a thorn bush, I belly-crawled for that one! Nodules are soaking in buckets, we have a deep freezer when they're ready. I'm planning to let them soak a solid 14 days first based on how dense they are, unless that would be contraindicated. @hadrosauridae, thank you so much! I'm glad you could see the Museum too, it is really amazing. Hopefully another trip that direction is in your imminent future and you can stop off to hunt! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Sif Posted April 4, 2023 Author Share Posted April 4, 2023 @Runner64 Thanks so much! Here are some more pics of the red one; it's super tiny. Also including one I forgot earlier, it's worn but has both sides and really looked to be something different. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runner64 Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 25 minutes ago, Lady_Sif said: @Runner64 Thanks so much! Here are some more pics of the red one; it's super tiny. Also including one I forgot earlier, it's worn but has both sides and really looked to be something different. Nice! I believe both of these are essexella as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipper559 Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 What a great report !!! Congratulations on your maiden voyage to Pit 11 !! You all did great !! What an enjoyable week !! Thank you for sharing it with us !! You guys ROCK !! Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBkansas Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 @Lady_Sif Thanks for sharing your finds (and your experience taking little ones). You've inspired me to take my boys (5&2) in a year or two. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Sif Posted April 5, 2023 Author Share Posted April 5, 2023 @JBkansas oh yay, I'm so glad! They'll have a great time! @flipper559 Thank you so much for your kind words and support! ♥️ It was so much fun! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 (edited) Wow, you did well! Especially for a first time! I think you already got some good ids... jellies and a coprolite. Cheers, Rich Edited April 6, 2023 by stats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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