SE MN Lovely Fall TFF Hunt!

[Bev]

@Raggedy Man and his "phantom" wife, Laura, came up to fossil hunt for her 31st Birthday and what a hunt it was! I was busy the first day they were here with my little Airbnb Whispering Winds checking people in and out but they had a wonderful day hunting and Paul found a Bumastis trilobite - they are trilobite hunters. He will have to post his pictures.  :-)

On Saturday I had invited new fossil friend, Todd, from the Twin Cities to hunt with us. He had come on a paid hunt earlier (he left with 2 5 gallon pails of fossils that very long fossil hunting day) and we had bonded and this was a good opportunity for him to get some real fossil hunting done. I had heard about the "mythical" Seven Springs down a favorite sometimes dry wash and was on a mission. So off we went to hunt Orodovician fossils and Seven Springs!

It was a lovely fall day in Minnesota in the 60s with leaves slowly turning brilliant colors and falling to cover the floor of the wash. The first part of the wash was not particularly fossiliferous but we had perhaps a mile or two to go to Seven Springs, so I was warning Todd not to pick up too many fossils.

And yes that big plate was beautiful, but too heavy to carry out - that is what hammers are for...  :-)

The day was beautiful and each corner drew us around another. Paul and Laura had gone up the wash.

And there were plates that just weren't going to come back with us.

But the siren's call of more fossils to be found just kept us going...

But this worn Fisherite showing the side structure was one I just had to have!

We rounded one bend to see wild morning glories blooming against the gleaming white rocks of the Galena Formation.

We were back in pretty far and hit a very fossilierous wall. I was on a mission and just had to keep going to find Seven Springs - was it real or not? Todd was happy to be left there.  :-)

The next corner of the wash called to me, and the next, and the next... I ran across the tracks of a large white tail and knew I must be near water.

Finally! The first of Seven Springs!

My mission had paid off! Seven Springs!

So serene and beautiful!

I had dropped my backpack back by Todd and so fossil hunting my way back was only what I could stuff into my fly fishing vest. When I finally got back, Paul and Laura had hiked down the wash to see what the old folks were up too.  :-)

 

Continued...

 

[Bev]

Hiking back out of that wash was quite the trek loaded with fossils! "Are you comin' Bev!"  :-D

But it is always a learning experience when going out with other fossil hunters. Laura showed me how she carries her tools.

And there were so many fossils that Todd and I had just walked right by, like this awesome chair coral that Paul found!

Laura brought back this great plate, Fisherite and gastropod.

Plus she got some awesome Stroms and more!

Todd carried this collection of cephs, etc. out on his back and in a 5 gallon bucket!

My back was killing me just hauling these out!

We were exhausted but happy! Tipped a few whiskeys, went out to eat and made plans for Sunday morning!  :-D

 

Continued...

 

[Bev]

Sunday dawned and even though the old folks had aching backs we were on the rocks where Todd wanted to go - my favorite quarry.  :-D

The kids went down below and we stayed on top. Now me, I like to walk along and pick them up, but Todd was into working for them! This was an exceptional Hormatomas sp.  :-)

Nice large Maclurites sp., an index fossil for the Ordovician.

Cephalopods and gastropods is what he wanted and what he got!  LOL  :-D

Another one, Todd?  :-D

 

Continued...

 

 

[Bev]

A very nice cephalopod! Whoops that one is the Hormatomas sp.!  LOL  :-D

Biggest Maclurites imprint I have ever seen! Almost looks like an Ammonite!

I did come away with this absolutely stunning Maclurites crassus! Better than the one I'm currently using as my image! Plus enough more, just just picking them up, that I had to unload my backpack to repack better ones and felt like I could barely make it back to the car!

 

Continued...

 

[Bev]

This was my take for the day. I wanted to go home and rest my back but they wouldn't let me... No one had brought their maps so it was up to me to take them to the hunting spots they wanted to go too.  Laura plied me was pain killers and Todd with ice cold wine.  :-)

We went to @ Pappa Daves trilo spot. Raggedy Man amid the shale.

Laura and Todd coming trilo parts. I was sitting beside the road.

Then onto Wubbles!

 

Darn, it is kicking me off again and that is NOT 3.95 MB!

 

Continued...

 

 

[Bev]

Wubbles! One of Paul's, and my, favorite sites.

We hit another site and it was over for Old Bev. But the kids went out again and came back with this incredible chunk of cephalopod!

And I am tired of fighting with this program now, so I will end with the lovely Laura.

Laura turned 31 fossil hunting. Loving hubby gave her a gastropod and she did her first wire wrap and created a one of a kind necklace of it for her Birthday!

 

And I was so tired by the end, I couldn't even take any more pictures! But hey, our adventures were apparently infectious as the mother and daughter who were staying and biking the Root River Trail had started looking for and picking up fossils and rocks! LOL  And mom found a lucky heart rock, took it to Diamond Joe's Casino, and won $200!!!  :-D

A WONDERFUL weekend fossil hunting with TFF Friends!

[ynot]

Wonderful trip report Bev!

It does get harder to keep up with those young-uns, but You did very well from the looks of it.

Tony

[Bev]

Thanks Tony! I truly hope that with things settling down a bit here I can contribute to TFF more again. This is such a GREAT SITE for fossil hunters and I have met so many wonderful people through the site I want to give back with all of my heart. Granted, an old and worn out heart but what I can do while I still can do it...  :-D 

 

On a positive note, I do tell everyone I give a fossil tour to about TFF and how they MUST get on if they are truly interested in fossils! The place to be if you are a fossil hunter! And hey, this year I sure have given a lot of fossil tours through Eagle Bluff and my Bluffcountryfossils.net site, so hopefully a few new members.  :-D

[Ludwigia]

Great trip report, Bev! I'm happy for you that you managed to persevere on to Seven Springs. Sure would love to come along with you some day.

[Monica]

Fantastic report, Bev!  The scenery is beautiful, and boy do I love all of those gastropods you found!!!  I'm very  

 

Monica

[Miocene_Mason]

Great report! Finds are not too shabby either!

[Kane]

Thanks for the stroll through some lovely scenery, Bev.  Finding some great fossils in great company is even better in picturesque surroundings. Well done, you guys! 

[Malcolmt]

Great post great pictures. Nothing better than a day spent out in the field with friends

[Bev]

On 10/3/2017 at 3:09 AM, Ludwigia said:

Great trip report, Bev! I'm happy for you that you managed to persevere on to Seven Springs. Sure would love to come along with you some day.

 

Hey @Ludwigia Ludwigia, If you ever get to Minnesota just give me a shout! I would be honored to take you hunting the Ordo here!  :-D

 

On 10/3/2017 at 4:38 AM, Monica said:

Fantastic report, Bev!  The scenery is beautiful, and boy do I love all of those gastropods you found!!!  I'm very  

 

Monica

 

Thanks @Monica !  If you ever get down this way, give me a shout! Yes, I'm a gastropod girl!  LOL  -D

[Bev]

Thank you all for your nice comments! We did have a truly lovely weekend, finding lots of fossils and enjoying the company of other fossil enthusiasts.  :-D

[Ludwigia]

5 minutes ago, Bev said:

 

Hey @Ludwigia Ludwigia, If you ever get to Minnesota just give me a shout! I would be honored to take you hunting the Ordo here!  :-D

 

Thanks, Bev

[Try10Byte]

Bev sure knows how to show a girl a good time! We had a wonderful trip filled with fossils, good food, and even better company! The weather was lovely and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday trip... well except maybe to have found a trilobite or two. lol

I have added a picture of the necklace that I crafted for my birthday. I really enjoyed making it!

Thank you Bev for everything! We will be sure to visit you again!

.ecklace

[Bev]

 

Thank you so much Laura! Had a Great Time hunting with you & Paul and just plain visiting!  :-D

[smt126]

It looks like fun was had by all. Bev is a great host. Happy birthday and welcome to the forum Laura.

[Bev]

8 hours ago, smt126 said:

It looks like fun was had by all. Bev is a great host. Happy birthday and welcome to the forum Laura.

 

Thanks! We did have fun last summer!  LOL  :-D