Fossil Hunting At Black Cat Mountain

[Jesuslover340]

I don't know how to really go about this, but I'll try my best...

Yesterday, my father and I went down to Clarita, Oklahoma to look for trilobites with the help of Bob Carroll. I couldn't sleep Friday night- "It'll be worth it", Mr. Carroll said (it was our first time going). We started getting ready at 1 a.m. , then left town at about 3 a.m. Two deer nearly ran in front of us in the pitch dark on our way there. After almost four hours and a couple of navigation errors, we finally arrived at about 6:40 a.m. The sun had just come up and the air was crisp. Lovely time to hammer away on layers upon layers of rock. Mr. Carroll actually spotted us first, blundering about the small, ramshackle town, clueless as to where his shop was. He had given us no specific address (" a block west of the post office" ), and when he had spotted us, we still couldn't see his shop-it was quite craftily hidden! Thin, bearded, and dark-skinned from years laboring at the quarry, he guided us through the "Oklahoman outback" to his quarry. Dad kept trying to comfort his car, telling it he was sorry for putting it through such tough terrain . Upon reaching the quarry, Mr. Carroll showed us a few samples he had obtained for us to keep, gave us each a hammer, then began to tell his story. He had gotten a lease from the owner in 1986 after having heard of it from an author/friend prior, and had since been working it nearly every day for 26 years. He takes a three week vacation to sell all he's gathered and prepped at the fossil, gem, and mineral show in Tucson, AZ every year before working in the quarry again for the next. As if to give credence to his perseverance, dedication, and hard work, the entire quarry sports mounds upon mounds of split rock bits.

After telling us what he did for a living, he wished us well and headed to his own spot, leaving us to explore. We traveled to the very top, surface collecting multiple fragments of Huntonia as we went-they were everywhere!!!

We were warned of rattlers, so Dad and I wore gloves. Spiders were unnervingly abundant (I'm arachnophobic), but I managed to ignore them as they kept out of my way. As we didn't have heavy hammers, we had to chip at the thinner sections of rock. We were unable to obtain an armored worm and possible Dicranurus pieces because of this, but there's always next time . We still found a couple of worms, multiple brachiopods, shells, sponges, and various other, more common trilobites despite this. Many need prepped, others are halves of trilos that could be prepped. We began surface collecting more steadily as the day grew hot and humid, until we finally came back down to deposit our finds and gather new boxes. Took a break, guzzling bottled water from the ice chest and snacking on nuts under one of the shades Mr. Carroll had set up. Afterwards, we looked around the bottom layer a bit, not finding much. A couple of crinoid pieces was about it, though I did turn over a rock to find a pair of Mr. Carroll's glasses-one frame was missing. He had gone up farther to get a signal, but once he came back down, I returned them to their proper owner. He chuckled before thanking me and asking, "is it worth it?" .He knew of our drive. At this time, Dad had joined; both of us gave a resounding, "yes!". We talked a little, mostly of the pairs of lizards that lived in their designated spots or layers of the quarry, soon spotting one in the middle of the conversation. Afterwards, we decided to take another quick look further up the Haragan formation (the Bois de'Arc formation being at the very top and best to hunt in the cool morning hours) after applying more sunblock, as Dad and I both are fair-skinned. Even with a lot of water, the humidity and heat became a bit much, combined with little sleep and a good amount of 'work', so we finally retired for the day at about noon, ready to eat. Before leaving for Stillwater to eat at Red Lobster, Bob Carroll took us to his shop, eager to show us his finds for the year. None were prepped yet- he still had a few weeks, but nonetheless...the scope of his shop; the amount of trilos it held was breathtaking. What he did everyday, year after year-without fail-was unbelievable. Is. And will be. He is certainly a man to be respected in his field. He was also quite kind .

We conversed a bit more, talking of coming again "whenever" before taking leave. "That wild red hair", he remarked, before we pulled out into the street, turning to wave at us. We waved back, calling out our thanks once more. We had had a brilliant day.

Six hours of collecting:

http://i.imgur.com/z0pQiKK.jpg

More pics in the following posts

Also: because I've err...now run out of room, I am willing to trade some of what I've collected to clear up some room....if interested, please see this link:

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/48758-oklahoma-trilobites-and-other-fossils-for-trade/

Edited August 13, 2014 by Jesuslover340

[Jesuslover340]

Following Mr. Carroll to the quarry:

[Jesuslover340]

My apologies for the inconvenience, but I'll be posting the rest in links because nearly all are too big to upload...

The base of the quarry (Haragan formation) :

http://i.imgur.com/0a0leS5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Rwe8Nkh.jpg

The sunrise:

http://i.imgur.com/etREASP.jpg

[Jesuslover340]

The lizard:

http://i.imgur.com/AwK4uXr.jpg

Anyone else see the face?

http://i.imgur.com/CCSCJLf.jpg

[Jesuslover340]

Some of the fossils we collected:

http://i.imgur.com/Un0qHUB.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1np5kz5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nFvJd4N.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/uiQiaZ7.jpg

[Jesuslover340]

An armored worm:

Ventral side of another:

Edited August 11, 2014 by Jesuslover340

[Jesuslover340]

Some smaller pieces:

[Jesuslover340]

Examples of Huntonia bits:

http://i.imgur.com/bhZuEI0.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/SXtE87C.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/i0vZrq2.jpg

[Jesuslover340]

More Huntonia:

http://i.imgur.com/q493RB8.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/mH0RaV9.jpg

[Jesuslover340]

Few of the nicer pieces:

http://i.imgur.com/Pl97n6q.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/58ZRsXe.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bA4HbqA.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/NflJjRc.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5S8c3Tc.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EtRozi4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pKTb7Yp.jpg

[Paleoworld-101]

Great trip report, very detailed and well written.

Your finds are cool too, those are some nice looking pygidiums and I think I spy a head in the 5th post as well?

[Jesuslover340]

Thanks, Paleo!

I think we've found two or three Huntonia heads-those seem to be uncommon in this locality...

There's a few complete-different species-as well, but I didn't want to take pictures of everything Actually thinking of proposing trading some, as I've now run out of room...

[Ash]

I love the worm! Great write up!

[nala]

Great finds and report!

[Wrangellian]

Jealous.

I like that worm too - looks like a recent dead millipede shell sitting on the rock!

Nice orthocone also.. and what is that round thing next to it?

[Auspex]

My smile is ear-to-ear, and I am very glad you had such a good time

Thank you so much for the wonderful, evocative recounting!

[Jesuslover340]

Thanks very much for the replies!

As for the worm...I could hardly believe it, as it was on the surface of a rock, exposed-quite surprising, considering it's condition! I found another about twice as long, but couldn't get to it due to lack of hammering capabilities ( hammer was too small; it would have taken awhile, chipping away, to get it, if we could even pry the slab from the others to do so) . I'll see if I can get a picture of another worm I found, ventral side...

Thanks, Wrangellian! I believe it to be a sponge...?

http://blackcatmountain.com/sponges_300.html

Edited August 11, 2014 by Jesuslover340

[Roz]

Great report! I enjoyed your trip and all your treasures! I have never seen a sponge like that! Very cool..

[Jesuslover340]

Thank you, Roz!

Edited August 11, 2014 by Jesuslover340

[Pumpkinhead]

Great finds!

[Jesuslover340]

Uploaded another picture of a worm, ventral side above

Thanks, Pumpkinhead!

[Wrangellian]

Ah, Well you got a nice variety of things there.. quite diverse, that site. And I think your worm looks just as good if not better than the ones on the website! Congrats.

[Jesuslover340]

Thanks, Wrangellian!

Had quite a bit of fun

[Malcolmt]

Great report from a place that is at the very top of my bucket list...........

[Jesuslover340]

Thank you, Malcolmt! It's definitely worth it!