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Went fossil hunting with my daughter this morning in the Bookcliffs, North of the Grand Junction, CO airport.  We found this weathering out of the shale in a wash.  The Baculite is about 8" long and 1.5" wide.  Can hardly wait to prep this, I think it will make a nice display.  My plan is to slice the base of the matrix flat (without damaging the fossil)  so it will sit nicely on a table or shelf.

Bookcliffs Bacullite 2017_12_26 (1).jpg

Bookcliffs Bacullite 2017_12_26 (2).jpg

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That's a big baculite - congrats!  I like how it's still in its matrix - it'll be an awesome display piece - good luck with the prep work!

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  • 2 years later...

Went out for a short hike in the same location today and found a partial ammonite in a concretion.  First ammonite that I have ever found out here.  The piece is about 7" across.  Third photo shows partial preparation.  This fossil is really wanting to crumble, so I am using some Paleo Bond to stabilize it.  Mancos shale, Bookcliffs, Grand Junction, CO.

1.jpg

2.jpg

IMG_3550.jpg

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Nice finds. Thank you for the photos. Find anything in the three years between these? I'd love to see them if you have, and I'm sure others would as well.

 

 

Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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I've heard you can find some stuff near the Book Cliffs but I always bypass them on my way to Douglass Pass for insects and leaf fossils. Thanks for showing us your finds!

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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Very nice finds!! 

I had the pleasure of hunting in the Book Cliffs 2 years ago. As I followed a trail towards the cliffs from Grand Junction, I never thought I was gaining ground. What an optical illusion. Finally made it to the base of the cliffs and just started up a ravine. I found some nice baculites eroded out in the gully being explored. Are there other types of fossils to be found there??

 

 Mike

 

 

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1 hour ago, minnbuckeye said:

Very nice finds!! 

I had the pleasure of hunting in the Book Cliffs 2 years ago. As I followed a trail towards the cliffs from Grand Junction, I never thought I was gaining ground. What an optical illusion. Finally made it to the base of the cliffs and just started up a ravine. I found some nice baculites eroded out in the gully being explored. Are there other types of fossils to be found there??

 

 Mike

 

 

The only other fossils that I have seen are marine burrows and some poorly preserved clams.  At the museum in Fruita, CO I think there are some Plesiosaur bones that were found many years ago.  I plan to go out again with a screen and see if I can find any shark teeth.  I have heard that some have been found out there.

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Good luck!! Please post your findings. Hopefully one day I can return. 

 

 Mike

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