....still Laughing......

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Zackly my point, Tracer...every square inch of San Antonio is covered up with that nasty, flint-hard, sterile (unless you like those nasty rudist things) Edwards limestone...feel free to bang away at it in those road cuts along Loop 1604 and Hwy 281...just try not to let the hammer bounce back and send the pick end into your gourd.

I told one of my local Forum buddies yesterday about this exchange with the incensed collector from the north, and my buddy said that last time he visited the site in question, there was another guy there hunting the place commercially...sometimes it doesn't make sense to let site info out unless you don't care if you ever find another fossil there again, ever.

So I started this thread off in a flippant direction....let me redirect it slightly.

Now for a site that may offer a sliver of hope...there used to be an abandoned quarry in the NE part of town at Thousand Oaks and Wurzbach Freeway called Longhorn Quarry. It is Pecan Gap Formation and its massive, friable, while chalk was sparse in fossils, but on occasion it used to spit out those killer complete but squashed Echinocorys texanus echinoids, Pachydiscus travisi, Trachyscaphites spiniger porchi and Didymoceras reevesi ammonites, Eutrephoceras nautiloids, Squalicorax kaupi teeth, even a squashed fish head. The place has since been transformed into a softball park, but there are still some hillside exposures left. The construction tore up the zones I had figured out, but one of you hyper motivated individuals ought to give it a try.

Now I'll throw out another bone...about a mile or two away at Harry Wurzbach Freeway and Nacogdoches Rd is the Capitol Cement quarry. They were pretty friendly toward me calling up and arranging a trip every now and then. I've even arranged and gone in alone before, no group or club required. In the Austin Chalk I've taken mostly Eutrephoceras campbelli nautiloids and one big Hemiaster texanus echinoid. But there is a big flat at the contact between the Austin Chalk and Pecan Gap Chalk that comprises a big aerial exposure of phosphatic debris. Most of the the phosphate is black and is primarily composed of shark tooth blades, bivalve and gastropod molds.

Are these my best sites? No. But since I have no plans to ever visit them again and they still may have some repeat potential, have at 'em....

[Ludwigia]

Scuse me while I pick myself up from the floor. Nando & tracer have stolen the show up to this point. I'll stay tuned in. By the way, I agree with Everything that's been said here so far. No exclusions. But you're not gonna get anything out of me.

[Boneman007]

Personally I hate the find-and-sell-on-ebay fossil hunters, but who's to say that you (Dan) had anything to do with him/her being there. God forbid that they actually found the site on their own!

I say, since I've been there myself, tell everyone and show them who's boss!

Either that, or buy some no tresspassing signs and put them on the site! :lol:

Anyway, since I know this individual has RAPED and shared many sites in the past, including one that he was told not to rape or share, I say hit the delete button and mark him as spam! :growl:

[MikeD]

This is too funny! Yep, "Tight-lipped Dan", that's what I call him. That guy must have recognized an out of place rock from the Arroyo of Anonymity. Oh, and thanks for the tip on Whiskey Bridge and all those other places. Now I have somewhere close to go. HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAA!

keedler, I'll leave you a couple of chiggers.

[tracer]

ooooohhhh! me lubs this tropic cuz me can gets all worked up! you know what i hates?! i hates teh opposite too. dats when somebloody sends me on a "snipe hunt" by telling me of some great spot like three/four hours away and when i gets dere, teh greatness has mysteriously vaporized. you know, like completely. dey done stole a day from my life and punctured my heart hopes.

dat's mean beyond words, but it for sure do happen.

back on teh other ponit, tho, some sites mean a lot more to some people dan dey do to others. when i'm got one semi-good site near me, and i gots to dribe hours and hours to look for other sites and theys more crummy, and you gots eighty seven hunnert sites near you, and my site is far from you and not that good to you cuz you love forams and it don't got dem much, den we have what i like to call an "difference of opossum" regarding dis site. to you it's barely worth mentioning, frequently, and to me it's gold, gold, gold and i tunnel to it so as not to be seen driving dat direction...

fossils are pepple too! respect dem!

[Shamalama]

Love this Topic! Can I get Nando and Tracer to perform at my next party "Vaudeville Style"?

You think you Texans have it bad? Try having everything covered with green stuff most times so that your down to just road cuts and quarries and the latter won't even let you in any more (insurance/liability purposes). Of course what good sites we do have are then hit by the commercial collectors *cough* St. Clair *cough* and the for profit field trip people (who belong to clubs and used to do the same for said clubs but now would rather make money doing it). I don't mind sharing the public knowledge sites to newbies but still hesitate because maybe I get sued when they don't find anything or get hurt because they don't know what they are doing or tresspass.

Dan we poke fun of you for it but fully understand why you keep your sites close to the vest. Thanks for at least letting us peek in every now and again.

[FossilForKids]

During my cross country trip Dan shared some absolute primo locations........... but then he made me look at a fancy smancy pen and I can't seem to find them any more!

[FossilForKids]

I am willing to share the most Primo fossil site in all of Texas....... as soon as I can find where I put Dan's address The Woehr Formation is loaded with ammonites, ecchies and the occasional modern squirrel!

Edited September 15, 2010 by FossilForKids

[Scylla]

Nando, I was trying to use your fossil site server but I accidently sent you a cashiers check for too much mony, could you send me back the excess in cash? thanks.

Tracer, nice try trying to cover your tracks, but the GPS locator I planted in your boot heel works as soon as you come out of the tunnel.

Seriously funny.

Maybe we should push for more paleo parks, allow amature only collecting, no sales. That will extend the life of some sites and give newbies some hope of finding something on their own.

[Roz]

During my cross country trip Dan shared some absolute primo locations........... but then he made me look at a fancy smancy pen and I can't seem to find them any more!

Did you borrow that pen from Worthy?

[LanceH]

I get regular emails from people wanting sites. They almost always have a 9 to 12 year old son that is "crazy" about dinosaurs and/or is in Boy Scouts.

Edited September 15, 2010 by LanceHall

[Uncle Siphuncle]

And John aka FFK fronted me some good sites once upon a time that filled a niche in my collection I would have otherwise had no shot at...and his site info remains unmentioned even in private circles...and his up front magnanimous nature prompted me to reciprocate on a grand scale. One hand washes the other in this business, but if you get too carried away, there ain't enough soap and water to go around, so some sites simply must be rationed for best long term results.

[tracer]

i use that alcohol hand sanitizer stuff cuz there's too long a line at the sink cause of this business...

[FossilForKids]

On a more serious note. The greatest gift that Dan can provide a collector is not a location to any specific site because the sad truth is almost all fossil site are finite in their existance either in their size or the ever present specter of sudden inaccessibility. What Dan can give you to help you find fossils is provided on this forum on his METHOD for finding fossil sites. Hard work, google earth, a ton of research, and truly knowing your formations will provide you with more opportunities than Dan ever could.

Granted you might miss the cultural exchange with a dozen migrant workers or canoeing over waterfalls but that stuff is overrated!

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Lance et al

Rather than turn away every parent with a kid asking for sites, do what I do....as far as personal sites go, pick a few that still produce, but you are done with it, and send everyone to those few sites. That way you enjoy the joy of sharing yet dodge the chance of somebody taking advantage of something you worked hard for and still value.

I think of sites in 5 groups:

-the classic Texas sites which are well known yet hyper productive,

-sites shown to me by other collectors which I refuse to share even if I fall out of touch with the person that showed me,

-personal sites I'd send kids and families to and not worry about how the information is managed by them,

-personal sites I'd share with trustworthy, serious collectors and museum types willing to reciprocate with sites of equal value and able to keep the info to themselves, and finally

-personal sites I'd rather just work alone.

There are ways to share without blowing a hole in your game plan, making the information exchange a win-win situation, even if the other guy has nothing to offer in return. The classic Texas sites I mentioned previously will keep the families and newbies and itinerant collectors plenty busy....just let people know that they'd better be willing to drive to the fossils as Texas is a big state.

My personal philosophy is that I should really only share the classic, well known sites and those of my choosing which I found by the sweat of my own brow. If someone wants to go out on a limb and show me a personal site or two, I don't feel that its my right to return to the site uninvited, bother the other person for repeat invites, share it with others, or leverage the information in any way to my own benefit. I expect the same in return and when collecting philosophies differ, I just hunt alone or with my son and enjoy the solitude and the finds on my own terms and at my own pace. Taken slightly out of context, I like how another veteran member of this Forum once summed up a situation regarding how fossils should change hands, and I will apply that idea here too....in an adult world gifts are for children and adults should be prepared to pay for things in one way or another.

Edited September 15, 2010 by danwoehr

[Foshunter]

Well put Daniel.--Tom

[Just Bob]

I am willing to share the most Primo fossil site in all of Texas....... as soon as I can find where I put Dan's address The Woehr Formation is loaded with ammonites, ecchies and the occasional modern squirrel!

Can I get that squirrel to go?

[racevw112]

I agree, well put Dan.

I feel everyone can go and find their own secret spots....All it takes is some work on that persons part.

Do I have enough time to do the work and find a secret spot? No.

Am I going to ask someone about their secret spot? No.

Am I content on the public spots that I know about? Yes.

[Roz]

I stand by that ole navy saying...

[MikeD]

Well said, John and Dan.

[FossilForKids]

People just want to know....."Woehr are all the fossils??" :lol:

[barefootgirl]

Nando your hilarious! :lolu:

If you ever come to my part of Texas I will share my fossil locals with you.

[Foshunter]

Nando your hilarious! :lolu:

If you ever come to my part of Texas I will share my fossil locals with you.

And she will show you THE THUMB.--Tom

[barefootgirl]

And she will show you THE THUMB.--Tom

:cigar:

[frozen_turkey]

NandomasFossilLocalitiesSafeBackup@givemeyourfossilplace.com[s

Its a FAKE!!!!!!!

So you better send all of your sensitive site data to

frozen.turkey101@gmail.com

If you realy care about YOUR site sensitive data