Fox Hills Ammonites!!

[minnbuckeye]

        Here it is, the tail end of winter and  I find myself composing a "trip report" from way back in May!!!! Please excuse the tardiness, but it took 9 months  for me to pick away at the concretions I collected and extract the fossils within. It was a learning process and I must admit, I DESTROYED the nicest ammonites that I had found. Instead of learning techniques on my lesser specimens, I jumped in and "prepped" the biggest and best first. What I ended up with were many bits and pieces of  crumbled ammonites. And super glue did NOT fix the problem. The issue at hand: the matrix is very hard and the ammonite very delicate. Not a good combination for not knowing how and hastily prepping something.

 

         It was Memorial Day weekend, time for an extended road trip after a long winter. My wife and I had never been west of Minnesota in the 30 some years since departing Ohio for the Gopher State. So we thought the time was right to experience what our next door neighbor, South Dakota, had to offer. I must say, we were thoroughly impressed with the state's variety of landscapes and great people. Our excursion actually extended into a bit of Wyoming.  

 

 

 

 

From Devil's Tower, we worked back through the Black Hills/ Mount Rushmore/Black Hills Institute and the Badlands National Park, each with it's unique topography. I recommend visiting these sites to anyone that has not. Well worth the trip!!! As our vacation was drawing to a close, we again crossed the grassy plains (though we envisioned amber waves of grain, not grass)  and overnighted in the town of Mobridge. The next morning, I was to meet up with Grady  (gradycraft on the Fossil Forum) for a little fossil hunting in the Fox River Formation while my wife relaxes with her books at the motel. Though I was totally impressed with the state of South Dakota, I was not impressed with Mobridge's accommodations. Here is a view from our hotel room!!! 

 

 

 

Nothing to see but a large car wash out your window. Now I was going to leave my wife to this,  while I was off enjoying myself. I did honestly feel guilty, but not guilty enough to stay behind! Grady met me in Timber Lake and from here, our adventure began. Shortly after exiting Timber Lake, the vastness of this landscape became apparent again. One could honestly feel what it was like for the indigenous Indians before European settlers arrived. One could envision herds of buffalo taking advantage of the lush grasslands around the area. A spectacular place!!! Here I am following Grady on the way to who knows where.

 

    

 

 

Fifteen miles on gravel roads and we turn  onto a "path" leading through a few rickety wire gates. Then  off we were again. Still flat as a pancake, NO rocks in sight.

 

  

Where are these fossils I kept asking myself. If it wasn't for the great scenery, I might have worried more that we were on some "wild goose chase". Another 10 miles off the beaten path and I was really beginning to wonder about Grady!!!  

 

 

  

 

 

Finally, a little variety in the landscape showed up and then we dropped into a small valley with a stream running through it. I was ecstatic when I saw Grady's brake lights. We must be there.   

 

[minnbuckeye]

 

 Still not understanding where the formation was, I looked all around. No rocky ledge, no shale to split. It wasn't until Grady bent down in the stream bed, picked up a round river rock, and hit it with his hammer did I understand what we were to do! I was impressed beyond words.   

 

 

 

 

 

These are a few other concretions split open.

 

    

 

Here is Grady and his children checking out the stream bed:

 

 

We also had the company of a young lady studying geology. This picture definitely shows the concretions we were looking for. I would guess she was as happy with her finds as I was.

 

 

 

 

[minnbuckeye]

 

 There were 3 types of ammonites that I found. Pictures just do not bring out the colors that these ammonites possess. I tried multiple types of lighting, but nothing worked to my satisfaction. First and rarest were Hoploscaphites nicolletti:   

 

 

 

 

  

Next  were the most delicate Sphenodiscus lenticulares: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ynot]

Nice trip report, even if it is a little late.

Thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to seeing some of what You found.

 

Tony

 

PS You beat Me, Nice pictures!

[minnbuckeye]

 

Then the most common ammonite, Discoscaphites conradi: 

 

 

[Archimedes]

very nice, thanks for sharing you adventure  

[minnbuckeye]

[minnbuckeye]

[minnbuckeye]

[minnbuckeye]

 

Pelecipods were common in the concretions:  

 

 

 

Gastropods were unique, so different than what I collect in the Ordovician. It amazed me how beautiful the outer shells were, but more intriguing to me was the way the inner cast of the gastropods presented themselves, so smooth and glistening: 

 

 

 

 

[minnbuckeye]

 

Finally, here is a mixed bag of Baculites, petrified wood, some unknown tube, and cute LITTLE clams that were everywhere. I did not get an ID on these.   

 

    

 

 

Grady came through with flying colors. What a wonderful host. Unfortunately, I departed way ahead of everyone else in order to save my wife from her motel room confinement! Grady drew me a rough map of how to get back to Mobridge, turn here by the tree, go through this fence, around this and that till you hit the gravel road. Yah right!! I should have gotten lost forever, but here I am writing to tell about it. So if Grady ever draws you a map, don't worry, be happy!! He will get you home. The only problem I had on departure was that I was riding much lower with my stash of goodies in the pickup bed, causing me to bottom out a few times. A nice problem to have! Hope you enjoyed my excursion to South Dakota.

 

[Fossildude19]

Excellent report and Finds! 
Thanks for bringing us along.  

[FossilDudeCO]

Great report!

Thanks for bringing us along for the fun!

[Wrangellian]

Nice stuff, Sure helps to have someone to show you the sweet spots.

You mean Baculites?

What age are these, somewhere in the Campanian or Maastrichtian? That high-spired snail in the upper left of the one collage looks so much like an unidentified one that I find in my local Santonian spot, I'm curious if it has a name!

 

PS why does the foreground and the top of Devil's Tower look blurry? Strange..

[doushantuo]

Fantastic report,and really world class photography of the ammonite material,Minnbuckeye

[smt126]

Those are some beautiful pieces you have there. Is there some ammolite on some of them? 

[Ludwigia]

Thanks ever so much for sharing your adventure. I find your prep results not at all bad. We all have to learn somehow. One of these days I'd love to dig into that formation. Sigh...

[minnbuckeye]

5 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

You mean Baculites?

What age are these, somewhere in the Campanian or Maastrichtian? That high-spired snail in the upper left of the one collage looks so much like an unidentified one that I find in my local Santonian spot, I'm curious if it has a name!

Yes, baculites. Sorry for spelling. Never good at spelling when I was in skool!

Upper cretaceous I think. Possibly Timber Lake formation. Not really sure  other than "fox river ammonites"

I think the one in upper left is same as lower left, which I took an educated guess at it's identity.

 

Also, my camera lens was acting up for awhile. It was not noticed until we returned home and I loaded the pics on the computer. Thank goodness the camera corrected itself and my pics of the ammonite hunt were not blurred!

[caldigger]

Mike, sorry it took so long to visit your neighboring state.  I am sure it takes a long time to traverse all those 1000 lakes you have up there.  Thank you for taking us along on the trip.  We enjoyed the outcome as well.

[minnbuckeye]

57 minutes ago, caldigger said:

 I am sure it takes a long time to traverse all those 1000 lakes you have up there

 

Actually I am a "river rat" and have experienced more rivers than lakes!!. Minnesota has wonderful opportunities for those who like flowing water.

[fossisle]

Wow great report and awesome ammonites!

[gradykraft]

6 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

Yes, baculites. Sorry for spelling. Never good at spelling when I was in skool!

Upper cretaceous I think. Possibly Timber Lake formation. Not really sure  other than "fox river ammonites"

I think the one in upper left is same as lower left, which I took an educated guess at it's identity.

 

Also, my camera lens was acting up for awhile. It was not noticed until we returned home and I loaded the pics on the computer. Thank goodness the camera corrected itself and my pics of the ammonite hunt were not blurred!

 

We were in the Fox Hills Formation and also bordering the Pierre Shale Formation. I'm not a geologist or an expert, just a rock head!  And minnbuckeye, I'm super happy you enjoyed your trip and thanks for the updates. 

[Uncle Siphuncle]

My favorite ammonite preservation in the US.  Well done.  Thanks for posting.

[FossilDAWG]

If those are the "lesser specimens" and you destroyed the better ones, the destroyed ones must have been spectacular.  Your "lesser specimens" would be the prize of many collections.

 

Don

[Wrangellian]

Ah, I see 'Graphidula' now, missed it the first time.

BTW I think that 'tube' is a scaphopod.