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May 8, 10, 12 2018 Peace river trips. End of season?


Sacha

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FF member @TyRex23 (Tyler) came down for a full week of hunting the Peace River and it's tributaries last week, so we met for 2 of those days to see what we could find. I don't have pictures of his take, so I hope when he gets organized he'll post some of his better finds. Before he came, I prospected a couple spots in the Zolfo Springs area to ensure he had a chance to get some mammal fossils before we went meg hunting. I thought I had a pretty decent couple spots picked out, but overall I didn't do well although I think Tyler got a couple things. Here's my disappointing take for the day.

 

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So on the 10th, we were going to find megs. There were some large excavations in the river where hunters have been working for the last few weeks. I've done very well in a couple of them, but several have petered out so we worked a couple with moderate success. Here's my take for the 10th. A couple of the little megs are in decent shape, but most are rough.5af8240bb5239_May10.thumb.jpg.6fa619c367e9bdbd60a4791225dc76a5.jpg

 

 

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Well near the end of that day, we hit another spot and Tyler started a hole and worked it for a couple hours with decent success. I looked at the weather prediction for the next 10 days and saw that rain is more than likely for 8 of the next 10 days, so even though I was pretty beat, I reloaded my stuff and went again on the 12th to dig in the hole that Tyler had started. I was really beat (I don't know how @Shellseeker does it. Anyway, 5 hours of digging turned out to be pretty productive. No new specimens to extend my collection, but a pretty decent take for what may be the last day of the Peace River season. Lets hope the weather channel has got it wrong (again). Here's the last day's take.

 

5af825d42ec76_May12.thumb.jpg.056e1bf0c92de1e3f51ab8aad7ceacc9.jpg

 

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Seems to have got better day by day. 

Overall a pretty decent haul, I should say.

Thanks for sharing. :)

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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Holy cow John! Nice work....what is the socket piece above the horse teeth on the right?

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59 minutes ago, TyRex23 said:

Holy cow John! Nice work....what is the socket piece above the horse teeth on the right?

 

That's a horse medial phalanx (just above the hoof). 

 

I wish we had started in that spot Tyler!

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That is too cool. Just posted my ID help finds. Will post the others later this week.

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Any meg day is a good day, nice finds in my book!

“...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

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Any complete horse tooth is a very nice find, too me. I have been hunting the peace in Arcadia and a bit of Brownville for a couple years, only one meg to show for it, but it is nice, it measures 2 inches. I found it laying exposed near the waters edge in the photo.

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PB030008.JPG

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14 hours ago, Sacha said:

I was really beat (I don't know how @Shellseeker does it. Anyway, 5 hours of digging turned out to be pretty productive. No new specimens to extend my collection, but a pretty decent take for what may be the last day of the Peace River season. Lets hope the weather channel has got it wrong (again). Here's the last day's take.

 

Well John, You know WE are addicted,  Certainly I am, but you also. On the 3rd day , it is pure hell getting out  of bed, my muscles ache, my ligaments and tendons hurt and I am tired from lack of sleep.  But I manages to drag myself out of the house into the dark, pointing the Tacoma toward the Peace River..:headscratch:

Once I am in the River digging, there is an Adrenalin surge that carries me to the Tacoma after an end of day digging. My real problem to staying alert on the drive home..

And look at that third day haul, 5 horse teeth, a nice Phalanx, a couple of Llama teeth.. nice shark teeth.... Keeps you coming back day after day..

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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19 minutes ago, Shellseeker said:

 

Well John, You know WE are addicted,  Certainly I am, but you also. On the 3rd day , it is pure hell getting out  of bed, my muscles ache, my ligaments and tendons hurt and I am tired from lack of sleep.  But I manages to drag myself out of the house into the dark, pointing the Tacoma toward the Peace River..:headscratch:

Once I am in the River digging, there is an Adrenalin surge that carries me to the Tacoma after an end of day digging. My real problem to staying alert on the drive home..

And look at that third day haul, 5 horse teeth, a nice Phalanx, a couple of Llama teeth.. nice shark teeth.... Keeps you coming back day after day..

As addictions go, it is a good one. At one point, I even considered digging at night, with lights but thought better of it!:megdance:

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19 hours ago, Peace river rat said:

Any complete horse tooth is a very nice find, too me. I have been hunting the peace in Arcadia and a bit of Brownville for a couple years, only one meg to show for it, but it is nice, it measures 2 inches. I found it laying exposed near the waters edge in the photo.

Sweet root, looks a little like a posterior. Nice find

PrrMeg2.JPG.74d470eec46ed582580bf762ca2301a7.JPG

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Really cool finds John!!! Especially that last haul is incredible. Well done!

Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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6 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

Sweet root, looks a little like a posterior. Nice find

PrrMeg2.JPG.74d470eec46ed582580bf762ca2301a7.JPG

Sure made my day, that same day, I found a whale vert, 3 horse teeth and 12 glyptodont/armadillo scutes and this was all laying exposed on top of several land areas in a flood plain. By far, my best day ever. 

PB030015.JPG

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I'm glad Tyler got to experience the Peace River with one of it's experienced TFF guides. Looks like you all put in a lot of work and even though John may have been disappointed with not finding any exciting finds, we all realize that his bar is set pretty high. Hope Tyler had fun.

 

I was out doing some coral reef survey training in the Bahamas which occupied both of the last two weekends for me. I had hoped to get one last shot at the Peace this upcoming weekend but it looks like a virtual surety of significant rain all week and through the weekend. Hoping it doesn't completely push the river levels out of fossil hunting range and (with fingers crossed) maybe a bit of a dry spell after this system moves through our area we might get one more chance the following week.

 

Love to see images of things coming out of the river (even if I'm not the one finding them).

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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Hey John, thanks for showing the latest! I enjoy seeing you alls finds. I'm disheartened to see discussion about end of season though but I can absolutely see why as the calendar keeps advancing and the rain keeps dousing us...we've had over 6 inches here locally and its been swampy to say the least. Hurricane season starts in less than 2 weeks and I'm still in denial as I havent been able to get out to a creek/river. Hoping it aint so. 

 

Be safe and take care. 

Regards, Chris 

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Well, the Peace River has just risen 3.5 feet (not inches :() in the last 5 days of near continual rain. Unless this tropical system that is blowing up from the south finally comes to and end and we have a remarkable dry spell before the official start of hurricane/rainy season in less than 2 weeks, I think we can stick a fork in it for this season--we're done, well done. :wacko:

 

I really hoped to have been able to visit the river more this season to inspect the massive rearrangement of the river bed by Hurricane Irma but I was only able to go in early in the season when the water was still too high (and cold) and one additional trip which produced a few nice items. More importantly, one of my favorite spots looked like it had expanded having a thick layer of sand pushed off the gravel layer. Sadly, I was only able to get out and prospect this new area once. Let's hope it doesn't get covered back up by next season.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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LOL, our hopes are tied directly inverse to the rising waterlevel..watched it go from 24 " below normal, to 17" above normal as you said. All we can hope is that the quick rise, and flow of the water washes more out, so next time we can get on the river,  all those fossils will be waiting. 

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That is the one upside of a rapid rise in the water level with rains saturating (and softening?) the banks. Fingers crossed for next season. :fingerscrossed:

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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15 hours ago, Plantguy said:

Hey John, thanks for showing the latest! I enjoy seeing you alls finds. I'm disheartened to see discussion about end of season though but I can absolutely see why as the calendar keeps advancing and the rain keeps dousing us...we've had over 6 inches here locally and its been swampy to say the least. Hurricane season starts in less than 2 weeks and I'm still in denial as I havent been able to get out to a creek/river. Hoping it aint so. 

 

Be safe and take care. 

Regards, Chris 

OK, I'm no longer in denial...Good forecast John! 

FLOOD WARNING FOR THE ALAFIA RIVER AT LITHIA

We normally dont see anything when this occurs as the river is about two milesaway but a Flood warning for us just came in for our general area tomorrow thru Tuesday...

 

MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST 924 PM EDT SAT MAY 19 2018THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA FL HAS ISSUED A* FLOOD WARNING FOR THE ALAFIA RIVER AT LITHIA * FROM LATE SUNDAY NIGHT UNTIL TUESDAY MORNING. * AT 09 PMSATURDAY THE STAGE WAS...12.1 FEET. * MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST. * FLOOD STAGE IS 13.0 FEET. * THE RIVER ISFORECAST TO RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE BY EARLY MONDAY MORNING AND CONTINUE TO RISE TO NEAR 13.3 FEET BYMONDAY EARLY AFTERNOON.THE RIVER IS EXPECTED TO FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE BY TUESDAY MORNING. * IMPACT...AT13.0 FEET...RIVER DRIVE AND SQUIRREL RUN WAY DOWNSTREAM OF STATE ROAD 640 ARE COMPLETELY COVERED BY WATER.ONE HOME BEGINS TO FLOOD. * IMPACT...AT 12.0 FEET...WATER BEGINS TO AFFECT RIVER DRIVE AND SQUIRREL RUN WAYDOWNSTREAM OF STATE ROAD 640. * FLOOD HISTORY...THIS COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 13.3 FEET ON AUG 26 1945. &&FLD OBSERVED FORECAST 8AM LOCATION STG STG DAY TIME SUN MON TUE WED THU ALAFIA LITHIA 13.0 12.1 SAT 09 PM 12.4 13.2 12.9 11.4 9

 

Regards, Chris 

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@Plantguy, I don't get it Chris. I'm watching the Zolfo gage and it's hovering around 6 feet which is diggable, but just barely. I expected it to be about 10' by now. The Alafia is only 15 or 20 miles from Zolfo. (I feel sorry for that 1 house on River Drive or Squirrel Run)

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1 hour ago, Sacha said:

@Plantguy, I don't get it Chris. I'm watching the Zolfo gage and it's hovering around 6 feet which is diggable, but just barely. I expected it to be about 10' by now. The Alafia is only 15 or 20 miles from Zolfo. (I feel sorry for that 1 house on River Drive or Squirrel Run)

I didnt get around to looking at any guages...I actually had the notice sent to me directly as a resident in the area last night while I was browsing the forum. Here's a look at rainfall totals for the month for the state...Apparently we have been hammered very locally. Stay dry!...

rain_barchart.png

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12 hours ago, Sacha said:

@Plantguy, I don't get it Chris. I'm watching the Zolfo gage and it's hovering around 6 feet which is diggable, but just barely. I expected it to be about 10' by now. The Alafia is only 15 or 20 miles from Zolfo. (I feel sorry for that 1 house on River Drive or Squirrel Run)

I was out hunting Wednesday and Thursday in waist deep water, with some decent finds. So I know digging when this gauge says 4 feet is very doable.  I agree that 6 feet is OK to dig at Zolfo..

The "wave" may be coming downstream, John

I will be at the Peace River at 9 am tomorrow,  I will let you know how it works out.  I'll expect that I will find a place to dig, but it might be those shallow locations that I have saved for EXACTLY this situation.

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The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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