Paperstraw Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 (edited) I've seen these kinds of threads on lots of other outdoor experience forums and they generally generate a ton of interesting, funny and spooky stories. So, I ask you. What is the weirdest thing you've ever found/seen while hunting or collecting fossils, hiking, fishing, biking, hunting, etc. Edited December 31, 2011 by Paperstraw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 ...within the Rules of The Forum. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axelorox Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 While searching for footprints on a lake shore I came across a dead crawfish. Missed stepping on it (with bare feet I might add) by a foot or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Lets see, trash, glass(lots of it) hypodermic needles, dead deer, dead possums, pvc pipe, light bulbs .... should I go on. I used to think, this is weird. But now, it's all in a days hunt at GMR. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) Just today as I was hiking out of the abandoned quarry I frequent when I was greeted by the sight of a man, his wife and his machete walking towards me. He had just moved into the area and wanted to know what was down there. He said he caught kids going down there through his property which he had posted. He then proceeded to tell me that he'll shoot anyone on his property and he's a really good shot. I explained to him that I take the road in and out and I know who owns the property the quarry is on and have permission to be there. When I got home I called the Trust that owns the land and she told me that they still own it and I still have permission to collect there. But I still may not go back. Edited January 1, 2012 by JimB88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Weirdness that transitioned into disbelief, then awe: A Burt Rutan designed Beachcraft Starship (yeah, this was a while ago); the twin turboprop pushers made an unworldly sound, and when I looked up, it seemed like something out of Star Wars! I stared, gaping, until it was out of sight... "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitbat Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Standing atop a butte of Oligocene strata in Southeastern Wyoming, I was startled by the sight of two USAF B-1 Lancer bombers doing a low-level training run. The REALLY strange part is that they were BELOW me! -Joe Illigitimati non carborundum Fruitbat's PDF Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 My son and I were chased off a site by a helicopter.... Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 a sweaty disheveled man, coming lurching out of the woods, 5 gallon buckets banging both his knees, hunched over, feet grown to the size and shape of deflated fooballs made of heavy clinging mud, they made a curious sucking sound each time he tried to lift one out of the ooze... oh wait, that's me, after a day hiking and collecting... "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkbyte Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 a sweaty disheveled man, coming lurching out of the woods, 5 gallon buckets banging both his knees, hunched over, feet grown to the size and shape of deflated fooballs made of heavy clinging mud, they made a curious sucking sound each time he tried to lift one out of the ooze... oh wait, that's me, after a day hiking and collecting... Are you sure that was you? I thought you described me perfectly. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Confucius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indy Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Standing atop a butte of Oligocene strata in Southeastern Wyoming, I was startled by the sight of two USAF B-1 Lancer bombers doing a low-level training run. The REALLY strange part is that they were BELOW me! -Joe Too bad you didn't have your camera with you That would be the POM (Photo of the Month) Flash from the Past (Show Us Your Fossils)MAPS Fossil Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Standing atop a butte of Oligocene strata in Southeastern Wyoming, I was startled by the sight of two USAF B-1 Lancer bombers doing a low-level training run. The REALLY strange part is that they were BELOW me! -Joe That had to be an incredible site. Here in eastern NC, we are able to watch lots of Marine aircraft training and flying, but never below us. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 I saw a naked guy flying a kite in a beach chair.... This was last summer along the coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitbat Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 It was DEFINITELY wierd to be standing on the ground and looking DOWN into the cockpit of a flying aircraft...especially one the size of a B-1 bomber! -Joe Illigitimati non carborundum Fruitbat's PDF Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Ok, here's one. When on geology field camp in Wyoming, we stopped at a ranch to hunt for tiny insects in a shale exposure. At lunchtime, we sat under a tree to eat. As we talked over who found what or whatever, someone noticed the half dozen or so coyote skeletons that were hanging down from the tree all around us. Oooo-kay.... I guess they wanted to send the varmints a message. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kehbe Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 I wanted to check out the Muncie Creek shale under this bridge Its actually a bridge under a bridge which runs for about three city blocks and climbing down under it I smelled campfire smoke. As I neared the bottom I looked around and noticed several grocery baskets full of gallon jugs of water and then I saw them, a dozen or more shanties built of old plywood and torn and tattered blue tarps, old bed mattresses, trash and debris everywhere and a village of homeless people, over twenty folks, stretching a full two city blocks. I probably had nothing to worry about but it was rather unsettling and needless to say I got out of there pretty quick. Reminded me of trolls and troglydites. Heck of it is, I bet they already found all the good fossils! It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) I wanted to check out the Muncie Creek shale under this bridge Its actually a bridge under a bridge which runs for about three city blocks It looks like someone's playing Jenga with rock strata and overpasses. Edited January 1, 2012 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Ok, here's one. When on geology field camp in Wyoming, we stopped at a ranch to hunt for tiny insects in a shale exposure. At lunchtime, we sat under a tree to eat. As we talked over who found what or whatever, someone noticed the half dozen or so coyote skeletons that were hanging down from the tree all around us. Oooo-kay.... I guess they wanted to send the varmints a message. I think for ranchers this their way of saying that they are doing their part to protect everyone's stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Neat stories, all! Mine's not too weird. Just a bit unusual. A few years ago, in Western NY, I was fossil hunting a creek, and noticed a 6 inch catfish, partiallly out of the water on his side,...just laying there. He was moving a bit, but looked like he was pinned to the ground. I moved a rock near him to see better, and try to get him back in the water, ... and a 2 1/2 foot black snake was holding on to him with his fangs - when I moved the rock, he startled, ... slithered into the water, and took the catfish with him.... Neat, but it kinda creeped me out. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcounts Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) How about this one: Police trying to identify human remains spotted Saturday by fossil hunter It wasn't me but it was right by my house! and on a spot I've been to several times looking for ammonites. Edited January 1, 2012 by jwcounts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 the wierdnesses have been way too numerous to enumerate and elucidate, but one major weirdness used to be just like a recurring dream, groundhog-day-type strangenocity pervading every fossil trip. but then he went off to college. whut? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Driving home from a collecting excursion in the Catskills. I was on a very small gravel road surrounded by gallery forest (high trees with tall grass underneath & no underbrush) and I spotted a flock of wild turkeys moving quickly. Immediately I had the image of a pack of small dinosaurs moving thru a mesozoic forest. The image still is with me. Not quite weird but very striking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas-Tunnel Rat Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 A Chupa-Thingy. What someone had to say it. PUBLICATIONS Dallas Paleontology Society Occasional Papers Vol. 9 2011 "Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy and Paleoecology of Outcrops in Jacksboro, Texas" Author Texas Paleontology Society Feb, 2011 "Index Fossils and You" A primer on how to utilize fossils to assist in relative age dating strata" Author Quotes "Beer, Bacon, and Bivalves!" "Say NO to illegal fossil buying / selling" "They belong in a museum." Education Associates of Science - 2011 Bachelors of Science (Geology & Biology) - 2012 est. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy784 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) Once while smallmouth fishing in the Brandywine Creek, just before dawn. I was quietly wading downstream to my next "hole". As sunlight started to just make the sky glow, I heard an ungodly crash on the forested hill in front of me. Being an observer of nature, I froze to watch. Here's comes a massive white tail deer, a buck, probably 6 or 8 pointer. He's running downhill at about 30 miles an hour, headed right for me. I was standing, motionless in the middle of the stream, he had no idea I was there. He was gaining momentum as he raced toward the creeks 5 foot high clay bank. In one motion, he lept off the crest, landed in a foot of water and I kid you not.........dropped deader than a stone, instantly. It didn't wiggle, shake nothing. He just lay there with steam billowing off his motionless body. Mind you, this wasn't more than 30 feet from my feet. That was surrealistic. I believe I muttered to myself, "now that's not somethin you see every day". Edited January 1, 2012 by flyguy784 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 A Chupa-Thingy. What someone had to say it. We're lucky up here they hate the cold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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