abach292 Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 This weekend was the first weekend that the Mazon Creek formation in Braceville, IL was open for collecting. Each year, visitors and avid collectors flock here every spring to gather concretions from this woodland, that potentially hold 300 million year old plants and animals. They are very difficult to find these days. It used to be a coal mine where fossils were gathered by the bucketload. These days, you would be very fortunate to gather 1/2 bucket in a full days collecting. I went the mornings of 3/3 and 3/4, for about 2 hours of collecting each. The haul was a total of 27.8 lbs of potentially fossiliferous material. Only 1/10 of the concretions will hold a good fossil. For my in-the-field trip report you can check out my blog: http://americanfossilhunt.com/2018/03/04/mazon-creek-opener-2018-day-1/ ...there I post some field photos and the day's collecting vibe. Below is what I came home with. Not much to show off in regards to already opened concretions, a few jellyfish and worn out ferns, but the closed ones will hold the treasures. Here is the collecting terrain, at the South Unit, just before the bend in the trail. I also collected the North end of Monster Lake. Here is the ~28lbs in full There were some very nice symmetrical shapes within the finds. Another close up of some of the more promising ones. And the ones that were already opened in the field. Will post updates as these crack open! for now, they are out for processing.... AKA soaking in water for 5 days, then freezing, then thawing, then freezing... for about a dozen times. I was fortunate enough to run into some ESCONI and FF members on my way out on Sunday. I wish it wasnt an early call for me, would have loved to been out there with them! Updating this thread as the finds open, but it may take a week or 2. And will likely be out collecting again before then. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runner64 Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Nice finds out there looks like you found a lot of them! I’m planing on making a visit to Mazon Creek next weekend. I notice that I find substantially more in early spring before any vegetation grows in covering the area. Can’t wait to see what you got once they start popping open! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Andrew, some really nice looking concretions there, hopefully something will pop out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Looking forward to seeing what pops out after some freeze-that cycles. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acatsews Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 We were there today--our first time ever! Even if we had walked away with nothing, it would have been worth it as it was a positively perfect almost-spring day. We felt pretty successful for not knowing what we were doing. Now I have a handful of pre-opened that I need to identify and one lovely fern my son found, that I dropped a second after slipping it into a bubble-wrap sleeve. It's shattered. As am I. We are already making plans to return. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Good seeing you Andrew. We had a good day today in the sun. Here's a picture of my bucket near the end of the day. That's a 2.5 gallon bucket. Cheers, Rich 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Nice running into you, Andrew. We had an ok hunt, not superb. But what a nice day!!! We'll see what pops, but i found a few usual suspects. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 2 hours ago, acatsews said: We were there today--our first time ever! Even if we had walked away with nothing, it would have been worth it as it was a positively perfect almost-spring day. We felt pretty successful for not knowing what we were doing. Now I have a handful of pre-opened that I need to identify and one lovely fern my son found, that I dropped a second after slipping it into a bubble-wrap sleeve. It's shattered. As am I. We are already making plans to return. Oh, the heartbreak! Right after the month of love, too! 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...
digit Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I'll be up in Chicagoland mid-April but I'm not sure how busy my schedule is yet. Planning on making a roadtrip up to Minnesota to visit family. If I'm in the Mazon Creek area over a weekend (the days that seem to work the best for most people) I'll give a shout out on the forum to see if anybody is free for a meet-up. Always enjoy wondering around looking for nodules even with the ever-present ticks which seem so fond of me. Looking forward to seeing images of what people are finding this season at Mazon Creek. Cheers. -Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Thanks for the report, it's great to hear so many folks have made it out to hunt so far this season. I am hoping to get up there in the next week if I can squeeze in a day off work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Russell Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Nice haul, gentlemen! Another Mazon opener has come and gone without Rob. Lol. I hope to get down there before tick season begins, anyway. We’ll see. Too many houses to build, which is a good thing. Hoping to see some nice fossils from those nice looking nods, Andrew and Rich! Keep us posted! Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Can't wait to see what you find! Very exciting. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFossils Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Nice haul and great trip report. I made it out on Friday. It was a bit chilly but managed to collect a five gallon bucket full. I was lucky enough to find a rare lobster like crustacean Mamayocaris that had naturally split open. The tail is tucked under but it is nicely preserved. This is only the second example that i have ever found. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 It’s a cool type of hunting you Mazon creek hunters have, and an awesome fauna to match! Good luck, may the concretions hold tullies and other strange critters from the past! “...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...
stats Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 On 3/7/2018 at 1:26 PM, Rob Russell said: Nice haul, gentlemen! Another Mazon opener has come and gone without Rob. Lol. I hope to get down there before tick season begins, anyway. We’ll see. Too many houses to build, which is a good thing. Hoping to see some nice fossils from those nice looking nods, Andrew and Rich! Keep us posted! Just put some in the freezer tonight after soaking them for a few days... hopefully it doesn't take too long! I'll post some pics, hopefully good stuff! Dude, let us know when you are free. We talking about you Sunday. Were your ears burning? We were all wondering when you are going to make it out! Cheers, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abach292 Posted March 10, 2018 Author Share Posted March 10, 2018 Thanks for all the interest and replies, and good luck to anyone who gets out there this weekend! Looking forward to a good season in the pit with you all. On 3/7/2018 at 7:19 PM, RCFossils said: Nice haul and great trip report. I made it out on Friday. It was a bit chilly but managed to collect a five gallon bucket full. I was lucky enough to find a rare lobster like crustacean Mamayocaris that had naturally split open. The tail is tucked under but it is nicely preserved. This is only the second example that i have ever found. Wow a 5 gallon bucket! you are a pro! Would love to see a pic of that crustacean, that is an excellent start to the season, i am jealous for sure, but mine is still out there I am sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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