Khyssa Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 On July 1st Dad and I went up to Georgia to go hunting for fossil coral in the Withlacotchee river just over the border from Florida. After picking up a kayak from a friend in Tampa and having dinner with friends we made the three hour drive up and checked into a hotel by 9 PM. The following morning we met up with Jeremy (Sir.tommy.the.toad) at 8 AM in the hotel parking lot. After a short drive we arrived at the river and all three of use were quick to get out of the cars and make our way down to the water's edge. During that short walk we noticed that the ground was littered with gun shell casings of all calibers as well as the shattered remains of clay pidgeons, mirrors, and glass bottles. It was clear that besides being an active boat ramp it was also apparently the local shooting range. After getting a look at the river and admiring some of the rock formations we headed back to the vehicles to unload the kayak and the canoe. Once we had all of our gear together and the boats in the water we quickly set off eager to find some coral. The plan was to head down river to the largest of the coral shoals that Digit had told us about. Along the way we admired all the large trees and rock formations along the river banks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 (edited) On the way down the river we had to get out and haul the boats over shallow spots but all in all it was a very pleasant trip down. Our destination was large section of exposed rock in the middle of the river. We ground the kayak and canoe to make sure they didn't float away, got out with our hammers in hand, and tried to figure out the best way to find the right rocks. Everywhere we looked there were chunks of fossil coral just waiting to be picked up but as this was the first time any of us had been there we weren't quite sure how to find the hidden jems amongst it all. We wondered about in a group for a while comparing rocks before seperating into seperate sections of the river. Dad headed out into the deeper section, Jeremy walked a little up river, and I started digging through the sand to one side of the expossed shoal. I did my usual and ended up parking myself in one section of shallow, quick moving water and sorting through sand and rocks to see what turned up. Periodically Dad wandered over to have me check out what he found to see if it was worth keeping. I told him to start a stack of the prettier pieces on a dryish patch of rock by the kayak so we could decide how much could be stacked on the kayak. In the meantime I was finding lots of pretty but small pieces that appeared to be leftovers from were other people had cracked open promising coral chunks. On one of my trips over to a bag I had sitting on some rocks I noticed a black and white butterfly flying circles around me. Finally I felt it land on the back of my head. Freezing in place I asked Jeremy, who was walking past me at the time, if he could take a few pictures. He did so and I walked back towards the river expecting the butterfly to take off as soon as I moved. To my surprise it simply move from the back of my head to the side of my face where it ended up clinging to my hair and glasses. After that I took several selfies since it didn't seem to care how much I moved. In fact the butterfly stuck with me while licking at the sweat on my skin for about a half hour. At one point I even put my hand over it by accident and that just caused it to move from my head to my upper arm. It wasn't until my Dad walked up that it finally left. Edited July 12, 2016 by Khyssa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 Once we had collecting enough coral that we thought we had a full load we headed back up river towards the boat ramp at about 11 o'clock. On the way down we had noticed a number of small piles of rocks scattered along the river banks. As we paddle up river we realised that neither the canoe nor kayak were as loaded down as we'd thought. Since we had some more room we decided to stop and check out one of the more interesting piles. It turned out to be a great decision as we found a number of good finds ev en with the deeper, murky water. By about 12:30 we had finished filling the boats and our arms had gotten quite sore from all the hammering. And we still had to make the rest of the trip back to the boat ramp. On the way back we had to cross a large shallow section that had a slightly deeper channel to one side. As we pulled the boats up the channel I managed to catch my left foot on a loose rock and ended up falling face forward into the water, hitting my knee on another rock on the way down. My knee hurt enough that I ended up laying there for a few moments. Once I sat back up and reassured Dad and Jeremy that I was fine Jeremy decided he had to take a picture on my mishap. Yes, his sense of humor matched up well with mine and my dad's. The rest of the trip back went without a hitch. Once we were back then we had the joy of unloading everything and hauling all the coral up the rather steep ramp to the cars. Then came the fun to lifting the canoe and 80 Lb kayak back onto the roofs of the vehicles. Needless to say by the time that was done we were all exhausted and we still had to make the long drive home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 Once we finally made it home and unloaded the van I had just enough energy to spread the coral out in a bin in the front driveway, eat a quick dinner dinner, shower, and then pass out. I think I was in bed around 7 and didn't wake up until 8 the next morning. Later that day I had to make the 1 hour 15 minute drive down to Tampa to return the kayak. I took some of the best coral with me to show my friend. Now she can't wait to make the trip up there to find some coral for herself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 And here are some shots of the smaller pieces. These are all from before I cleaned them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 The next day I spent the morning bleaching all the coral and then soaking them in clean water. That was several hours of hot work in the driveway. As an added bonus now a good portion of my driveway is much whiter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 (edited) WOW, quite the haul!! Looks like some very nice pieces in there!! Looking forward to seeing the cut geodes You found. Thanks for the virtual tour. Tony Edited July 12, 2016 by ynot Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Breakin' Rocks Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 That agatized coral looks amazing ... and it's not even cut or polished ! Very cool trip report. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajustr Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Thank you for the awesome report! It sounds like you had a fantastic trip and look at all the goodies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Great finds Kara: ) Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Excellent report and finds! Thanks for sharing with us. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vieira Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Fantastic report Nice finds. Congratulations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 (edited) Thank you, everyone! It might be a while before I can get some of my pieces cut and polished. I thought I had access to a saw for cutting but it ended up being too small. I'm in the process now of trying to find someone else wih a big enough saw. May have to join a rock club. I have quite a few that I want to slab but these are the two I'm most eager about. Edited July 12, 2016 by Khyssa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 And here are some of my other favorites that just need a little more cleaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 One more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimlock Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Those are some beautiful finds. Glad you had such a good trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 (edited) Sir.tommy.the.toad took a bunch of pictures of the trip as well and then emailed them to me. I believe that he is out of town for work at the moment so I'll post a few of them for him. We'll all just have to wait for him to get back before getting to see his finds! Edited July 12, 2016 by Khyssa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrodB Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Nice day. I always enjoy your trip reports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Great report, love the butterfly tale. You've got some beautiful pieces their Kara John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 Nice day. I always enjoy your trip reports. Great report, love the butterfly tale. You've got some beautiful pieces their Kara Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir.tommy.the.toad Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 (edited) Hello all, I am still in Japan for a few more weeks. I will post up more stuff and pics when I get back. It's just so hard to post from iPhone. I had an awesome time very fun and can't wait to do it again. I am also trying to see what fossil fun I can get into here in Japan. Thank you for posting for us👏👍 Edited July 12, 2016 by Sir.tommy.the.toad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Great report. The butterfly staying with you like that is pretty cool, I don't think I have ever seen one do that. Oh, and the coral is really amazing too. 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 May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Hi Kara, nice report. Was just commenting on your Sarasota trace earlier...you've been busy! Continued hunting success! Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDudeCO Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Great report Kara, thanks for sharing! You got quite the haul there! Next time I'm I Florida maybe I can join! Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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