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New Spoils Are Arriving At The Pit Of The Pungo In Aurora


John Hamilton

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I called George at the Aurora Fossil Museum last week to ask when the new spoils were going to be delivered. He told me that five piles had been delivered to the main pit and more was on the way. After I got off the phone I decided I would make the trip to Aurora on Saturday, 1/29/2012 which couldn't get here quick enough. I had mentally prepared myself for for dealing with the sticky mess that goes with the fresh material. But nothing could prepare me for quagmire that the heavy rains had created on Friday. Needless to say I sucked it up and had fun getting muddy with my wife and children. Here are a few pics of our finds. We found a little bit of everything from worm: worm tubes, barnacles, verts, coprolite, makos, hemis, tigers and sand tigers. I also brought home ten buckets to screen on rainy days.

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Looks like you had a great time... i never been to Aurora do they let you bring back a pickup load of material ??? always up for a road trip.... to a new place...

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Looks like you had a great time... i never been to Aurora do they let you bring back a pickup load of material ??? always up for a road trip.... to a new place...

I usually bring back a few bucket fulls. A truck bed full would be frowned upon.

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Ha ha, besides, do you know how long it takes to screen, wash and dry a truckload of pungo!?!? Ha ha.

DO, or do not. There is no try.

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I've often dreamed of bringing my own water source so I could sift/wash right there on the spot. Of course it would make a mess, but I still think about how I could do it. I'd have to have some sort of reservoir holding tank with a 100 gallons of water or more, and a hose, and...well, maybe its not a practical idea after all.

I also wondered if they could get the Fire Dept to go over and wash the pile down, but I guess the rains do that naturally after a while.

Daryl.

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Hey Daryl, I saw a guy walking the piles one day with a pump/jug of water with a hose, like those you use to spray ant poison. But it was just water. He refilled it a couple times. Not a bad idea really, but then again, is the work worth the hassle of hauling all that around... I once thought about bringing over a Bin, filling it up with water, and screening in the bin. My first day ever in Aurora, was on a "pouring down rain" day in February. I actually started screening away in mud puddles... The rain was a little annoying, but being in a gore-tex coat and wearing waders probably looked pretty odd as well. At least I stayed dry!

DO, or do not. There is no try.

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I thought on the 4 hour plus ride back i would let my wife screen in the bed of the pick up ha..... :Bananasaur:

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I thought on the 4 hour plus ride back i would let my wife screen in the bed of the pick up ha..... :Bananasaur:

:meg dance:

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I thought on the 4 hour plus ride back i would let my wife screen in the bed of the pick up ha..... :Bananasaur:

laughing%20on%20the%20floor%2024.gif

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Hey Daryl, I saw a guy walking the piles one day with a pump/jug of water with a hose, like those you use to spray ant poison. But it was just water. He refilled it a couple times. Not a bad idea really, but then again, is the work worth the hassle of hauling all that around... I once thought about bringing over a Bin, filling it up with water, and screening in the bin. My first day ever in Aurora, was on a "pouring down rain" day in February. I actually started screening away in mud puddles... The rain was a little annoying, but being in a gore-tex coat and wearing waders probably looked pretty odd as well. At least I stayed dry!

Mike, I considered the small tank sprayer idea too, but figured I'd run out of water to quick, and not be able to wash much surface off either. I'd love to dive down to get some more material, but I still have a ton of buckets from last year to wash and sort through.

Daryl.

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I was down there on sunday and there were still just 5 piles in the front. The back is empty. They have been empty for a week. I sure hope PCS and the town get on the same page and get that place filled up. Just seems like PCS has forgotten all about us collectors whose hard work and calls and petitions helped them get the permits they needed.

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

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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Yes these piles are placed just accross the street from the museum. They are available for anyone to stop by and look through or to get a few buckets to take home. Of course patronizing the museum is always appreciated. :)

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Yes these piles are placed just accross the street from the museum. They are available for anyone to stop by and look through or to get a few buckets to take home. Of course patronizing the museum is always appreciated. :)

Thanks, obssesed1. I would love to make that trip and bring a little gravel home with me.
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One word of caution.... if you are hauling the gravel inside a car be sure to use buckets with tight fitting lids. Once a bucket full of that gravel gets dumped in the intierior of your car you will never get it all out.

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One word of caution.... if you are hauling the gravel inside a car be sure to use buckets with tight fitting lids. Once a bucket full of that gravel gets dumped in the intierior of your car you will never get it all out.

Uh oh, story time....

So, about 7 or 8 years ago I was on my way home from a weekend trip to Lee Creek. I had stopped off at the museum for a visit and filled up several 5-gallon buckets full of spoil pile material. At the time I was driving a Ford Escort station wagon. I had the back seat folded down to accomodate all my gear and the buckets. Well, I made it all the way home...almost...got to an area in southern Maryland somewhere in the town of Waldorf and had to come to a sudden stop to avoid rear-ending the car in front of me. Well, when I stopped, three of the buckets slid forward and tipped over. I didn't have lids on any of the buckets, and I had filled them right to the top! OMG ,that stuff went everywhere. It fell down under the front seats, up the middle on the console area, emergency break area, everywhere. It was a mixture of dry, damps, and soggy material. What a stinking mess I had on my hands. By the time I got home it was almost 10pm. I was tired from the 400 mile trip and all I really wanted to do was unload some stuff and go in and shower etc. Instead, I unloaded what I could, then drove down to the local Shell gas station with a Vaccuum outside and went to work. I scooped up what I could with my hands, but vaccuumed up the rest. The next day I was washing the inside seats and carpets. I never got it all up from all the little nooks and crannies and crevaces. That car still had some material in it when I sold it a few years later.

Moral of the story...."Use lids on your buckets!"

Daryl.

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even when the buckets i get tip over in the back of my truck, i have to spray it all out with a hose to get it from the bed liner.

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

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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Uh oh, story time....

So, about 7 or 8 years ago I was on my way home from a weekend trip to Lee Creek. I had stopped off at the museum for a visit and filled up several 5-gallon buckets full of spoil pile material. At the time I was driving a Ford Escort station wagon. I had the back seat folded down to accomodate all my gear and the buckets. Well, I made it all the way home...almost...got to an area in southern Maryland somewhere in the town of Waldorf and had to come to a sudden stop to avoid rear-ending the car in front of me. Well, when I stopped, three of the buckets slid forward and tipped over. I didn't have lids on any of the buckets, and I had filled them right to the top! OMG ,that stuff went everywhere. It fell down under the front seats, up the middle on the console area, emergency break area, everywhere. It was a mixture of dry, damps, and soggy material. What a stinking mess I had on my hands. By the time I got home it was almost 10pm. I was tired from the 400 mile trip and all I really wanted to do was unload some stuff and go in and shower etc. Instead, I unloaded what I could, then drove down to the local Shell gas station with a Vaccuum outside and went to work. I scooped up what I could with my hands, but vaccuumed up the rest. The next day I was washing the inside seats and carpets. I never got it all up from all the little nooks and crannies and crevaces. That car still had some material in it when I sold it a few years later.

Moral of the story...."Use lids on your buckets!"

Daryl.

I left my post genaric because I knew that it had happened to you and that you could tell the story much better than I. And just like clockwork you chimmed right in! :P

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I left my post genaric because I knew that it had happened to you and that you could tell the story much better than I. And just like clockwork you chimmed right in! :P

Yep! Let me also add that not only do I use lids (tight fitting as you say), but I also use a rope and/or bungie-cords to wrap around the buckets to keep them snug and secure so they can't tip over to begin with. Last year I took my wife's Honda Odyssey van which we keep in immaculate condition. I bought a brand new 10'x12' tarp and layed it down after I took out the middle and rear seats. The tarp was long enough to go up the sides part ways so protect them from our shovels, screens, etc. Anything that dripped, spilled, leaked, you name, got caught on the tarp. It was great. When we returned home from our 4 day trip, we unloaded the gear and buckets, then slid the tarp out and whala, clean van! Then a quick trip to the dealership for a free carwash to remove all the grime from being parked in the field down the street from the museum, and everything was shiny as new. I also learned to bring trash bags to keep our wet dirty clothes in. Who said you can't teach an old (46) dog new tricks.

Daryl.

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