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Northern Alberta annual September fossil hunt


JustPlainPetrified

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It happens every year. My birthday. We decide to disappear into Northern Alberta along the banks of the Little Smoky and Smoky Rivers. The weather was not warm, but at least it was not snowing like it was during this same weekend in southern Alberta. Mornings started out about -4C and warmed to +6C by the time we were trudging home with our packs full of treasures. Baculites and Scaphites were our targetted fossils, although clams were not ignored. It never seems to get any easier. The first day on the Little Smoky was the easiest on our bodies, but the mud bog for about 500 yards going in was at test on the Rav4 we'd elected to use as our mode of transportation. The driver, not totally familiar with wilderness/oil lease roads made his own decision to push through so we just urged him on (by yelling "give 'er, give 'er, don't stop!") until we came out at the top of the hill. Coming back through it at the end of the day was better as it was more downhill and we (2 passengers) elected to walk along the road and dodge the mud slinging out from under the Rav4. Okay, Day 1 - check. Day 2 was a drop down into a gorge on the Smoky River, below a friend's cattle ranch. We hadn't been there for a couple years and the dead fall and thorns were a wonderful treat to awaken our senses. A few scaphites depressus were found and a couple baculite stacks. Oh, and a wonderful negative that I photographed and another I brought back. There was also a river otter that wasn't too happy with me being in his area. The climb back up the gorge to the ranch was not any easier despite having placed surveyor flagging on a few trees. Day 2 - check. Day 3 brought us down to the Smoky River further downstream from the previous day. Lots of walking, lots of bear scat but very little evidence of fossils. We did find a few clams. We need a good slump to expose more of the fossil layer so won't head back to this area for a couple years.

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Happy Birthday!...thanks for sharing it. (I am a big fan of your cephalopod expeditions) :)

 

Are those the nests of Swallows?

"I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?"  ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) 

 

New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins    

 

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1 hour ago, PFOOLEY said:

Happy Birthday!...thanks for sharing it. (I am a big fan of your cephalopod expeditions) :)

 

Are those the nests of Swallows?

Yes, those are swallow nests. I've been to this spot probably 6 times and this is the first time I've seen them. Something must have changed to bring them into this area.

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2 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

Beautiful countryside, and fine fossils to boot.  Great way to spend a birthday 

 

Don

Yeah, ain't that the truth!

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Sorry I'm late to the party, but Happy Birthday!! :D Great fossils you found!

IMO, hunting for fossils - surrounded by beautiful scenery - is a great way to spend a birthday ;)

-Christian 

Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

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(Belated) Happy Birthday!

That looks like a fantastic location to hunt at!

I'd love to see some pictures of the finds you brought home, especially the clams :) 

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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On ‎2018‎-‎10‎-‎22 at 3:31 AM, Max-fossils said:

(Belated) Happy Birthday!

That looks like a fantastic location to hunt at!

I'd love to see some pictures of the finds you brought home, especially the clams :) 

It is a great area to hunt for fossils but it needs some new slumping to expose more area. In Alberta we can only surface collect so now digging. A wet fall with winter snows then lots of freeze thawing will be just the ticket for next year.

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