Darktooth Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 I finally have time to post a report from last weekends trip. My wife wanted to take the boys to Washington DC to see the monuments and visit the museum. She said we could go fossil hunting for a day. So I chose Purse state park since I have only been there once. We stayed in Waldorf, arriving late friday night. Saturday morning we headed to the Potomac. We ended up at Douglas point. I didn't know at the time that it was a mile and a half to get to the beach! My wife and kids were crabbing when they realized what a walk it was. Once we got to the beach everyone was happy. I really liked it there and immediately started searching. I found a couple small teeth right away. My boys just wanted to swim for awhile but soon joined in on the hunt. A guy walked by we spoke for a minute and then he left. A couple seconds later he yells over to me and points out a big black snake climbing vertically up the cliff! It was a very cool sight! The gentleman left and we got back to the hunt. My wife finally joined us and we all were finding teeth. And there were tons of rayplates. After awhile the same gentleman came back and asked how we were doing. Then he pulls out the biggest Otodus I have ever seen. He said he just pulled it out of a debris pile. The tooth was so huge. Extremely thick blade and root. It was missing one cusp and part of the root, but still impressive. Of course that got the blood flowing. So we all got hunting, but no huge teeth for us. The highlight for me was finding my first croc tooth. Though not big it is complete and is not waterworn. Its between 3/8-1/2 inch. Then I found a bigger one but this was very beatup. We stayed for about three hours and then we all got hungry and decided to get lunch. When I got back to the car I looked down and noticed a tick on my calf! Luckily I noticed it before it bit me, so it was easy to remove! The next day we drove to DC and saw the sites. The highlight for me was the Museum of Natural History. Mainly because it has all the Gem and fossils. It even has a super nice Dipleura from New York! After we got back to the hotel, My wife said that on monday she wanted to do something before we headed home so I suggested going to Flag Ponds Nature Park. We didn't find a lot of teeth but I did find tons of coral. The boys were content with swimming until Devin got stung by a jellyfish! At that point it was time to go. All in all it was a very nice time to spend with family. Though short, it was sweet. I wish I would have taken more pics, but I always get too caught up in the moment. I hope you enjoy the ones I did take. I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Nice haul! Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Happy you had a nice visit to the old line state, and a productive one too! Nice fossils! “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Sounds like it was all fun (until the jellyfish). Nice report and finds. The crock tooth looks pleated. Are You sure it is a crock? (I always thought they were smoother.) 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...
Darktooth Posted July 17, 2017 Author Share Posted July 17, 2017 25 minutes ago, MeargleSchmeargl said: Nice haul! 23 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said: Happy you had a nice visit to the old line state, and a productive one too! Nice fossils! Thanks guys! I just realized that in my first pic, along with my fossils, my nightime tooth guard was in the pic too! How embarrassing! I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 2 minutes ago, ynot said: Sounds like it was all fun (until the jellyfish). Nice report and finds. The crock tooth looks pleated. Are You sure it is a crock? (I always thought they were smoother.) http://phatfossils.com/species.php?species=Crocodile Tooth this site has a lot of similar teeth from Maryland, all labeled croc “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted July 17, 2017 Author Share Posted July 17, 2017 2 minutes ago, ynot said: Sounds like it was all fun (until the jellyfish). Nice report and finds. The crock tooth looks pleated. Are You sure it is a crock? (I always thought they were smoother.) I have only seen other croc teeth in pics but the ones I have seen look similar. But I don't have much experience with them so I could be wrong. 3 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said: http://phatfossils.com/species.php?species=Crocodile Tooth this site has a lot of similar teeth from Maryland, all labeled croc Thanks @WhodamanHD! I will check this out! I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 11 minutes ago, Darktooth said: e only seen other croc teeth in pics but the ones I have seen look similar. But I don't have much experience with them so I could be wrong. Me too. 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...
Jeffrey P Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Congratulations Dave on a good time with your family and a nice haul to boot. That croc tooth sure looks sweet. Douglas Point is one my favorite collecting spots and I keep finding new things there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Congrats on the croc tooth, Dave. Looks like you had a great family outing. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smt126 Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Love the commentary on the kids portion of the trip. Sounds like my family trips to a T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Thanks for the great report, Dave! Glad you got some time out to hunt. 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...
DrDave Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Great specimens! Nice weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCW3D Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Glad you had a good time there! Douglass is a much longer hike than Purse, but I enjoy going in there as well. I usually try to talk my wife into dropping me off there so I can make the hike all the way down to Purse to meet up with her there. We almost went there on Saturday but we just got access to a private entrance at Calvert Cliffs and wanted to check it out (should have went to the Potomac). That's a nice croc tooth! Congrats! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevonianDigger Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Lol, literally made that same trip about a month ago. Picked my son up in D.C., then we stayed in Waldorf and did the trek from Purse up to Douglass Point at low tide. Was a great time! Glad you also had a good experience! Shame that the Smithsonian fossil wing is under renovation. Wish I would've known that nugget of info before standing in line to get in that day. Big bummer. Jay A. Wollin Lead Fossil Educator - Penn Dixie Fossil Park and Nature Reserve Hamburg, New York, USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil-Hound Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Wow! There are some good finds. You're making me miss that area so very much. Excellent crocodile tooth. Do or do not. There is no try. - Yoda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ropterus Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Nice finds and a great report! Love going to D.C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted July 18, 2017 Author Share Posted July 18, 2017 Thank-you everyone for the nice comments! You just can't beat a good time with the people you love! I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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