Tantalizing Trip To The Triassic! (Picture Heavy)

[fossilnoggin]

glad you finally got there tim.

[Fossildude19]

glad you finally got there tim.

Thanks Nick.

Regards.

[Ludwigia]

Great report, Tim! I've never had the chance as yet to explore the Triassic properly, just a couple of excursions into the Muschelkalk looking for Ceratites, so it's always interesting for me to learn more about it.

[Fossildude19]

Great report, Tim! I've never had the chance as yet to explore the Triassic properly, just a couple of excursions into the Muschelkalk looking for Ceratites, so it's always interesting for me to learn more about it.

Thank you, Roger!

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Regards,

[jpc]

Nice report and cool finds. I also was hoping for the ladder photo.

[JustPlainPetrified]

Great report, great effort and commitment. I need to get one of those folding ladders too. Thanks for making this an enjoyment.

Grant.

[Fossildude19]

Thank you, JPC and Grant!

I appreciate you reading the epic.

Regards,

[Plantguy]

Cool stuff Tim! Thanks for sharing the details.

I dont know that I've ever had the pleasure of using a ladder while fossil collecting although I've wanted to have one on occasion! It would have made alot more sense to have remembered to bring one along rather than trying to pretend I was spider man. Regards, Chris

[Fossildude19]

Cool stuff Tim! Thanks for sharing the details.

I dont know that I've ever had the pleasure of using a ladder while fossil collecting although I've wanted to have one on occasion! It would have made alot more sense to have remembered to bring one along rather than trying to pretend I was spider man. Regards, Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the comments.

It was JeffreyP's idea to bring it - am glad we did.

Despite the necessity of one of us holding the ladder while the other hunted and removed rock, it was ultimately safer than climbing up to where we needed to be.

Regards,

[piranha]

Still looking forward to your first complete fish, maybe this year it will finally happen? Congrats on your great report and fossils!

[Fossildude19]

Still looking forward to your first complete fish, maybe this year it will finally happen? Congrats on your great report and fossils!

Thank you, Scott - Here's hoping.

Regards,

[Jeffrey P]

Cool stuff Tim! Thanks for sharing the details.

I dont know that I've ever had the pleasure of using a ladder while fossil collecting although I've wanted to have one on occasion! It would have made alot more sense to have remembered to bring one along rather than trying to pretend I was spider man. Regards, Chris

Chris;

On my first to Granton, Thanksgiving day last year, I noticed the overhanging ledge of black fissile shale that looked potentially productive. Granton, besides the prolific poison ivy, is an especially tough place to collect in. The shale is , as Tim said, especially soft and crumbly and it's hard to extract decent size pieces from the wall. So I saw this overhanging ledge and managed to climb up as close as I could and wedging myself in a crack and managed with a few wacks of my hammer free some already loose pieces which, it turned out, were rich in Estheria remains as well as a good-sized Diplura piece, by far my best find of the day. So when I was telling Tim about it I told him that if I had a ladder I might have gotten a lot more and he told me he had a portable ladder and so plans for this trip were born. A tough winter and other committments kept us from doing it till now, but it was definately worth the wait. Tim and John are great veteran collectors and a joy to be around.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

the law of sowing and reaping reveals itself yet again. as for the poison ivy...no such thing as a mild case for me. last time it languished 8 weeks and relief came only at the end of a blow torch.

[LoneRanger]

It's great to see that there's still a small area available for collecting at this old site. I was fortunate enough to collect there in the early 1960s, but was too young to appreciate what a fantastic site it is for Triassic fossils. I still have a clipped out newspaper article announcing the discovery of a "prehistoric flying reptile" (later named Icarosaurus) at this quarry.

[Fossildude19]

the law of sowing and reaping reveals itself yet again. as for the poison ivy...no such thing as a mild case for me. last time it languished 8 weeks and relief came only at the end of a blow torch.

Dan,

I used to be immune to it (Poison Ivy) in my younger days, but got a very bad case of it on my right arm whilst clearing some brush about 10 years ago.

My doctor was impressed with the extent of the infection. Since then, I usually just have to look at it to get it.

I think I really lucked out with this trip, to only have managed a small case of it on my wrist, I think because there were no leaves to be seen yet.

If course, all necessary precautions were taken to minimize exposure to it. Not a place to visit past March, I think.

Did you really have to burn it off to get rid of it?

You are a braver man than I Dan.

Regards,

[Fossildude19]

It's great to see that there's still a small area available for collecting at this old site. I was fortunate enough to collect there in the early 1960s, but was too young to appreciate what a fantastic site it is for Triassic fossils. I still have a clipped out newspaper article announcing the discovery of a "prehistoric flying reptile" (later named Icarosaurus) at this quarry.

Thanks LoneRanger!.

Your multi-plate of Diplurus was a big motivator for me to get there. Thanks again for posting it.

Didn't find anything nearly as nice, but I will head back there next winter/spring.

Wish I was around back then to have collected all of these cool sites.

Regards,

[Uncle Siphuncle]

i'd rather burn than itch, and the torch dulled the itch for hours per application. frontier medicine at its finest!

[piranha]

i'd rather burn than itch, and the torch dulled the itch for hours per application. frontier medicine at its finest!

Sounds more like Medieval medicine to me, Theodoric of Texas!

[Auspex]

Common sense and caution are still required, but IvyX can make a big difference.

[Fossildude19]

Common sense and caution are still required, but IvyX can make a big difference.

Thanks for that link, Chas!

Regards,

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I've been using Tecnu as a poison ivy barrier....and paid for forgetting it once!

[fossilnoggin]

if it is bad enough, cortisone shot from your dr. can provide substantial and quick relief {http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/corticosteroids-for-poison-ivy-oak-or-sumac-topic-overview}

[Fossildude19]

Thanks for that link, Nick.

Going through some shale I brought home with me, I came across another Diplurus newarki this evening - this one may be fairly complete?

Regards,

Edited September 9, 2014 by Fossildude19

[Jeffrey P]

Very cool Tim. Can't wait to see that prepped.

[Shamalama]

Great trip report Tim! Congrats on the finds. I once found some of the black shale at an excavation that was covered with the clam shrimp. Never thought fish could be found in it too!