Bev Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I am going to start this from the end, and then you will know why I used this title. Six year old Andreya's first fossil hunt of the year, and within three minutes she says, "Bev, Bev, I found a weird one!" WOW! I knew it was a trilobite (IDed by Piranha as a Flexicalymene pygidium) and I've got to admit I was LOL Of course she wanted a necklace of it in her favorite colors - blue and gold. So we started the afternoon hunt after lunching at Dairy Queen on the $5 lunch deal at what I call my "Brachiopod" site. A beautiful spot that is out of the way, serene with only the lolling of cows in the distance and the occasional sound of farm machinery from the rise. It was a perfect late July day with highs in the 70s, the fresh air laden with wild flower fragrance and various colorful butterflies punctuating the soft breezes. I believe this is Maquoketa Shale, but I don't know for sure. It is not nearly as steep as it looks. It is layered with rock and then kind of muddy fill. Andreya "on the rocks". Continued... The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Here she is on the rocks with her FIRST trilobite!!! This is the same little girl who at 5 years old on her FIRST fossil hunt came up with an utterly stunning Halysites Coral in the first 10 feet!!! She put me to shame! Such good eyes! Fossils have to be big enough for me to see without my reading glasses, then I have to put on my reading glasses to actually see if they are fossils! My the brachiopods! And when I started really looking at the shelves of rock they are FULL of crinoids and trilobite parts! Almost every shelf! Truly a wondrous site that I had cataloged as just perfect brachs! I had brought along a laminated copy of my fossil ID sheet and we were laying them on the sheet and identifying them - she can't read yet, but it has pictures. Of course she wanted to find a Hormatoma, but not this trip. She was getting bored, so we went to a dry wash where all we found were some rough agates about fist size. Then we hit a Decorah Shale site (I think it is Decorah Shale) and the first rock I picked up had a trilo piece. But she was bored... Continued... The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 So then I took her to a river to hunt. Current was too fast for her to wade. So went a bit upstream. But it was too muddy... I picked up a couple of interesting water worn hash plates. Continued... The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 It sounds like you two had a great time. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Then we went to another river down the road. I picked up several very nice hash plates including two with trilo parts. And Andreya got to wade. And see raccoon tracks, and pick up fossils and got a little muddy and scratched up and then she wanted to go home. Well, Gia the collie dog always gets a free pup cup at the DQ after a fossil hunt, so we got twist cones. Andreya said she had never had one before and liked it. Came home and sorted out haul! LOL Grandpa made pizza - everyone is happy! Continued... Below - I thought I had maybe found a mammoth tooth, but NOT. The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 The haul... The necklace... A Good Hunt!!! :yay-smiley-1: The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 It sounds like you two had a great time. Congrats. Thanks Ryan, we did!!! The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 The whole story is now here: http://www.bluffcountryfossils.net/blog/andreyas-big-hunt/ The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PennyT. Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Bev is a great grandma- and when we hunt, I don't get bored, hee hee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 If you get bored, I'll just take you to a new place! Or Dairy Queen when you are tired. LOL The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.