just_a_local Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Today I had an adventure and I'm very embarrassed. I forgot to bring my common sense. I limped home injured and I really don't want to admit the story! But I will share this, because I really should have known better. I have always been prone to wander. I love nature, exploring, and fresh air. I am disabled so I try to keep my wanderings reasonable for my situation. Over the years I have developed some common sense approaches that work for me: bring lots of water, paper maps, phone batteries, sunscreen, and snacks. I tell neighbors my expected destinations and return times. I wear two GPS tracking devices which continuously transmit my location to family. So what happened today? I don't know. Maybe it's just that my mind is hopping with ideas and I didn't put them into my traditional framework. I did my prepack and communications as usual and headed out. As soon as I got to the water, I started studying it with a new eye toward collecting samples to request identification. I found an item and started toward it. Right away I started making mistakes. I folded up my pant legs to expose my calves so I wouldn't get my pants wet. Wrong! The shells embedded in rock are razor sharp. Then I grabbed a branch to stabilize myself as I went down the bank. Again, wrong! The trees in Florida are made to withstand fierce winds; they are neither sturdy nor stable! I slid down the bank, getting badly cut up, with multiple bruises and knots. The free flowing wounds went into the water, of course, immediately. Ugh! I tried to get back up by stabilizing myself on ... Yeah, slippery rocks. I have mobility problems and getting up was not easy. I kept falling back in. Probably looked and sounded like a dying moose. Anyone who saw me floundering and heard me crying would have thought I was crazy. Today I made every mistake. Amazingly, I didn't hear any shells crunch so that's lucky. I stopped for a moment to ponder my absolute foolishness as a small school of fish curiously approached my wounds. Then a new hazard emerged. This site does not have much to indicate people or animals come here frequently. No footprints. Banks/rocks covered with sheets of undisturbed and fragile lichen (old and new). No gator holes. I gently fished myself out of the river and went onto dry ground to investigate some strange noises I couldn't identify. There, in the woods, I found a human habitation. Not like an ordinary tent camp with regular homeless people. This place had mounds for each tent, carefully covered and concealed. There were concealed traps. There was bedding next to each mound, neatly folded, with no leaves or dirt on it. I believe the only reason I heard noises is that the occupants wanted me to know they were there. Anyway, no fossils today. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Ok the last part freaked me out! I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_a_local Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 Yeah I left immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Really, really scary! Glad no serious harm was done. The last bit sounds like my garden. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_a_local Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 3 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said: Really, really scary! Glad no serious harm was done. The last bit sounds like my garden. Not a back garden more like the backdrop to Deliverance . Not for me. I glad your home safe @just_a_local 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_a_local Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 Thanks Bobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 It's amazing what you'll find in the woods. I heard a story of some guy finding a Russian woman in the middle of the woods. She chased the guy threatening to call the cops....creepy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 44 minutes ago, Bone guy said: It's amazing what you'll find in the woods. I heard a story of some guy finding a Russian woman in the middle of the woods. She chased the guy threatening to call the cops....creepy! He happened to ask her nationality as she was chasing him?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Meth lab or fugitives from the law? Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelius Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Flipping heck, things went a bit Lovecraftian there for a minute. Glad you're OK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_a_local Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 2 hours ago, Bone guy said: It's amazing what you'll find in the woods. I heard a story of some guy finding a Russian woman in the middle of the woods. She chased the guy threatening to call the cops....creepy! I get permission to go on private land for exactly this reason! It helps keep me safe. Most of the time people nearby provide helpful details. "Sandy, in that house, won't let you collect shells. She'll shoot you." Two people told me about Sandy on that trip ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_a_local Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 Caldigger LOL. Aurelius I had to look up that word -- yes. And thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_a_local Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 1 hour ago, Uncle Siphuncle said: Meth lab or fugitives from the law? It didn't smell like a meth lab. I do wonder about the reason for the habitats. Someone clearly went to a lot of trouble to conceal them and the traps. I didn't want to ask questions or take photos, but you bring up a good point: I should at least mention it to law enforcement. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 you got lucky, sort of "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_a_local Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 Yes Herb, things could have gone much better or much worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 The first rule in the Wanderlust Handbook is "Mr. Gravity is not always your friend". The concealed encampment is disconcerting just hearing about it; being wounded and shaky must have heightened your unease! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_a_local Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 32 minutes ago, Auspex said: The first rule in the Wanderlust Handbook is "Mr. Gravity is not always your friend". The concealed encampment is disconcerting just hearing about it; being wounded and shaky must have heightened your unease! Haha good one. Honestly, yes, it was a bit surreal. I originally intended to gather all the shinies I could. The pain was easy to ignore. I had just enough time to confirm that my two objects of interest were not fossils at all when I heard the sounds. Yes, I suppose I was in an uneasy state. I'm starting to see why so many people want to team up with someone experienced! Fortunately, this area has a local club and I think it would be wise for me to join. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 I’ve had those days! Only way to learn is by making mistakes (which can be painful). Shells are sharp aren’t they? Cut myself on one the other day. Anyway, thanks for sharing! “...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...
just_a_local Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 3 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said: I’ve had those days! Only way to learn is by making mistakes (which can be painful). Shells are sharp aren’t they? Cut myself on one the other day. Anyway, thanks for sharing! Yes! I was kind of amazed that none were damaged. Wouldn't that have been awful: the one thing I don't want to do is damage a fossil, much less take out a whole swath. I guess some are fragile and some are not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 At least there was no banjo music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwestbrook Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 Wow! Such a scary experience. Thank goodness you made it home safely, though. Could have ended up much worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 Hmm...I smell a horror story brewing. It's not even October yet. Or maybe mystery, cause you found those...guys in the woods...Detective local? In all honesty, glad you made it out in (sorta) one piece, and not multiple bite-sized pieces. Better to find nothing than becoming something's chew toy! 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...
just_a_local Posted May 1, 2018 Author Share Posted May 1, 2018 Gary, grest, meargle .... Lol! And thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatinformationist Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 You didn't notice any tall, very green plants with broad heads and a sappy aroma did you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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