Panama City Florida

[Herb]

I'm going to be in Panama City, FL the last 2 weeks of December (21st-1/1) . Any tips for collecting in that area? I would like to meet any other FF members in that area just for fun. If interested you can MSG me here or at Herb40291 at bellsouth.net.

[verydeadthings]

I've collected a bit in this area. There's an excellent FGS publication on fossil localities in the panhandle available online:

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00003731/00001/1j

Alum bluff on the Apalachicola river is a well known fossil locality, but I'm not sure if collecting is allowed there, and I've never been. Presumably there are other exposures on the river as well. I've seen some nice gastropods from the Chipola river and its tributaries, but I personally had no luck when I tried kayaking it. I would recommend the Econfina creek, because it's fairly close to Panama City. It's a great kayaking trip, with clear water and multiple springs. I've found sand dollars and bivalve molds, as well as a diving knife, which seems like a rather silly thing to bring on this creek. In my limited experience, you're going to have the best luck screening or snorkeling the local rivers, and you're going to want a kayak or boat. I'd say it's worth a trip to the Econfina just to check out some of the springs, I don't think you need a kayak to access them. At this time of year, you'll probably want a wetsuit Don't confuse it with another Econfina river/creek that's much farther away in Florida, it's about an hour drive from Panama City if memory serves. Hope you found this helpful!