JustPlainPetrified Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Last week I was able to meet up with some serious ammonite hunters. I started with a rancher east of Milk River and we went about 100 kms east of there into the badlands and looked for dinosaur fossils. Lots of pieces but nothing of any import, but it was a good outing. I then met with friends at Bow City and we entered some coulees up from the Bow River (on private land, with permission) and we found some fabulous ammonites. One that I am pictured in still rests there today as it was much too big for us to get and and believe me, we would have if it were possible. We made three trips that day alone into the coulees hauling out ammonite pieces. The last part of the trip was in the Manyberries area of Alberta and it was quite the moonscape we searched for ammonites, cuttlefish, and lobsters in. I only found a few pieces, but the one with the Mosasaur teeth marks in it is special. As I get older it gets a lot harder to keep up with these guys, but I'll keep trying as long as I can find room for the goods I bring back. Oh, the rattlesnake was special. It didn't want to give way at all and we had to distract it just to get around it. Still, we were the ones trespassing on its home turf so it had a right to rattle a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Nice report and great pictures. I think it may be time to invest in an ATV. Thanks for the great report and field trip. 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...
belemniten Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Huge ammonites ! Great trip thanks for posting Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils Regards Sebastian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Beautiful Ammo nice find. Nice country Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 You could probably buy an ATV with what you could sell that big boy for. Great pics, thanks for taking us along for the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBOB Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Looks like a lot of fun and great ammonite! That's a big boy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 But you could have just rolled big boy down the hill Thanks for the report. Love to roam those badlands someday. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchy2 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Thanks for the report. We will have to hook up one day and share some of our spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted October 9, 2016 Author Share Posted October 9, 2016 2 hours ago, frenchy2 said: Thanks for the report. We will have to hook up one day and share some of our spots. Yes, I would like to do that one day, but likely not this year. Too much snow already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Nice find. I would like to have seen the rattler this time of year and followed it. Its outside of or on its way to a hibernaculum for the colder months. The winter colony must be close by. Re snow. We've collected every month of the year in the Manyberries area. Snow free days are common. The issue is more one of hours of daylight and too cold to camp in the area. The same with areas around Dinosaur Park...about mid January the Red Deer River is frozen and you can actually access a few otherwise inaccesible hoodoos. The worse time for collecting around Manyberries is late February to the end of March on warmer, sunny days. The dirt roads are mush from freeze/thaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted October 9, 2016 Author Share Posted October 9, 2016 I did manage to find an ungual, and part of a carapace showing marginal spines, likely and a part of a soft shelled turtle. I am not too certain about thee ungual, but turtle is the closest I could find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted October 9, 2016 Author Share Posted October 9, 2016 6 minutes ago, Canadawest said: Nice find. I would like to have seen the rattler this time of year and followed it. Its outside of or on its way to a hibernaculum for the colder months. The winter colony must be close by. Re snow. We've collected every month of the year in the Manyberries area. Snow free days are common. The issue is more one of hours of daylight and too cold to camp in the area. The same with areas around Dinosaur Park...about mid January the Red Deer River is frozen and you can actually access a few otherwise inaccesible hoodoos. The worse time for collecting around Manyberries is late February to the end of March on warmer, sunny days. The dirt roads are mush from freeze/thaw. Yeah, I never thought of following it! It would be nice to get back into that area sometime but it's a long way for me to travel unless I am going to take the week. It's about 7 1/2 hours from my place to Manyberries. Less time to get to the Bow near Bow City, but not much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 The turtle is Trionyx. Turtle shell is a hint of potential micro vertebrate sites ...you'd have to be on the ground to spot them. The ungual is a great find...hadrosaur manus. They come in a few variations as a lot of possible genera in the Campanian formations. The only isolated specimens identifiable to 'probable' genus would be Edmontosaurus in younger Maastrichtian formations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchy2 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Yes, small hadrosaur manus. Very nice find. It's a bit of a drive for me too from Canmore, but I can usually get away for 3 days. We just went fossil hunting near Dinosaur Provincial park. I'll write a short trip report soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smt126 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I would have given myself a hernia and ruptured disc before I let that thing go lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Nice finds and thanks for the report! Loved the rattlesnake! I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 2 hours ago, smt126 said: So true. There's fossil hunting and there is fossil hunting. I recall walking the shore at Lyme Regis with my uncle...afterwards strolling up the stairs to a pub and have a pint (I had a shandy) Then there is 'fossil hunting' as in the remote parts of the Alberta badlands. It can be hard enough to hike around even without any weight. I've made my jacket into a sling, tied my belt to the arms and then spent a few gruelling hours dragging it...... literally with the Turkey Vultures circling overhead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted October 10, 2016 Author Share Posted October 10, 2016 5 hours ago, smt126 said: I would have given myself a hernia and ruptured disc before I let that thing go lol Now you know how I felt physically...by next Spring it will have been buried again by runoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted October 10, 2016 Author Share Posted October 10, 2016 3 hours ago, Canadawest said: So true. There's fossil hunting and there is fossil hunting. I recall walking the shore at Lyme Regis with my uncle...afterwards strolling up the stairs to a pub and have a pint (I had a shandy) Then there is 'fossil hunting' as in the remote parts of the Alberta badlands. It can be hard enough to hike around even without any weight. I've made my jacket into a sling, tied my belt to the arms and then spent a few gruelling hours dragging it...... literally with the Turkey Vultures circling overhead. I can tell you, I had a full back pack and then had a blue canvas bag also filled with pieces that I slung over my head and carried in front of me. Only one of my partners was able to carry it a few yards for me before giving it back and making it my problem. Here's a piece that I thought was a negative that I mistakenly took in my pack. Turns out some nice red color in it and quite thick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 5 hours ago, smt126 said: I would have given myself a hernia and ruptured disc before I let that thing go lol I've had both and believe me, you don't want to go there. Now my mobility is limited with a metal cage implanted in my lower back and hernia scar tissue that still gives me problems. "Let it go Dad!" (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchy2 Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 What are you planning on doing to prep the last piece you posted? Will you consolidate and polish it? I have a few bacculites with promising that I need to prep but I'm unsure of what I should do first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Always nice to see pics of fossil hunters out in the field. Nice stuff too. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 On 10/10/2016 at 8:34 AM, frenchy2 said: What are you planning on doing to prep the last piece you posted? Will you consolidate and polish it? I have a few bacculites with promising that I need to prep but I'm unsure of what I should do first. I think as the winter sets in I will get to polishing that piece and see how it turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchy2 Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 6 minutes ago, JustPlainPetrified said: I think as the winter sets in I will get to polishing that piece and see how it turns out. Will you consolidate first or just polish with dry/wet sand paper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 59 minutes ago, frenchy2 said: Will you consolidate first or just polish with dry/wet sand paper? I have already put Opticon on it and will sand next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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