The007Fossil Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Hello FF, I'm planning on making a trip down to Indianapolis in a few weeks and was hoping to get acquainted with some of the road cuts nearby (maybe near St. Leon IN or Crawfordsville IN, I'll probably go all over the place). I know that one should stick to the State Highway road cuts if they don't want to get in trouble; but I'm a bit confused on when it is OK and when it isn't... Do I just pull over on the side of the road and start picking up rocks? Are there any other localities by St. Leon or even into Ohio where it would be okay to do this? I don't wanna give fossil hunters a bad name! Best, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Brian, If you look under the Fossil Hunting Trip section on the Forum and search St. Leon and / or Lawrenceburg and yo will find some nice posts on collecting at those sites. You could spend a ton of time collecting at St. Leon and might not need to go anywhere else. You can also park on the side of the road at both places, I have never had a problem doing that. Good luck and posts tour finds if you head down there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediospirifer Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 As I understand it, Indiana law regarding collecting at roadcuts is reasonable. Park such that your car isn't blocking traffic, and no digging allowed. You can scramble all over the slope and surface collect as much as you want--and some of the cuts in that area are extremely productive! Here's a link to a Flickr page on the best known site: LINK. Enjoy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 At St Leon you may see an ominous looking sign stating "no digging". As I understand it, the sign is to be taken literally, as in "don't take a backhoe to the road side". Picking up rocks from the ground, or prying up trilobites, is fine. Almost everything you will collect will be lying loose on the ground, there is no need for serious excavating. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 I do have a question about the Lawrenceburg road cut. The one time I stopped there, a car pulled off the road on the opposite side of the road from me, and a couple of people got out and started looking at the outcrop. About ten minutes later a police car pulled over behind them and the officer got out and talked to them. They immediately got back in their car and drove off. I was packing up to leave anyway by that time. As I pulled out onto the road and drove away I noticed the police car do a U-turn so it was now behind me. I didn't get pulled over or anything, but I'm pretty sure if I was still parked I would have been told to move on. Has anyone had this experience at Lawrenceburg, or is there a place to park other than on the shoulder by the outcrop? I see on Google Earth that there is a bank or something at the foot of the hill with a fair sized parking lot, would that be a safer bet to park? Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The007Fossil Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 I'm hoping to find some carpoids (that would be the dream ), trilobites, and crinoid calyxes. Might head down to the Cincinnati arch area as well just to get a good sampling of the road cuts in the tri-state area. Prob gonna have to take another week to prepare, but I'll post whatever I find here Good hunting! Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 @FossilDAWG Don, I have never had a problem at the Lawrenceburg road cut and I have been there numerous times for numerous hours. I usually park at the top of the hill, there is a little area there to pull off. I would not park at the bank, you might get towed and it could be a long way to carry things back to the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calymene Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Their is a little known law in Indiana that doesn’t allow collecting on a road cut when you have to pull your vehicle off the road. Most police just provide warnings, but south of Bloomington on the way to the Bedford Rock Show, the police will ticket a driver looking for geodes in the road cuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The007Fossil Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 @Calymene That's interesting; is that only enforced around the time of the Bedford Rock Show? I've asked a couple people and it seems as though one may want to avoid parking near access roads and the like-- I just assumed that if your car was completely on the side of the road that would be OK. My trip down to Indiana got delayed because of an emergency visit to Arizona--but in the meantime I've also heard about some exposures off the side of railroads, too. Would anyone know if hiking along rails in IN is not allowed? Up here in MI we do it all the time LOL! Best, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now