Cole Hill 1-8-18

[Wrangellian]

[Al Tahan]

Seems like we should try to re approach the family and try to clarify our intentions and maybe see what their intentions are for the future. We do this for fun and we don’t intend on digging to sell etc. we could even make up a waiver sign it and give it to the family to ensure the family we won’t sue if someone gets hurt. If we do it right it should get a good reception.....I think.

 

oh yea had a good time with Leon today. I’ll prolly post the trip tomorrow 

[Darktooth]

22 minutes ago, Al Tahan said:

Seems like we should try to re approach the family and try to clarify our intentions and maybe see what their intentions are for the future. We do this for fun and we don’t intend on digging to sell etc. we could even make up a waiver sign it and give it to the family to ensure the family we won’t sue if someone gets hurt. If we do it right it should get a good reception.....I think.

 

oh yea had a good time with Leon today. I’ll prolly post the trip tomorrow 

This may be a good idea. I know that more and more people are going there and maybe they are more concerned because of that fact.I would very much like to hear about your hunt.

[Al Tahan]

@Darktooth you think there are people who go there that aren’t with the forum? I only know of you me and jack who have been there. Must be more people or somthing. 

 

Im still on the 4 hour 45 min drive back to Austin right now. Brutal but worth it

[Darktooth]

8 minutes ago, Al Tahan said:

@Darktooth you think there are people who go there that aren’t with the forum? I only know of you me and jack who have been there. Must be more people or somthing. 

 

Im still on the 4 hour 45 min drive back to Austin right now. Brutal but worth it

This is a very well known classic Dipleura site. It is even mentioned in the book Trilobites of New York. There are plenty of people who go to that site. There are other forum members who have been there. Members of the Syracuse club, other clubs, people who are not members of the Forum or clubs. I heard that schools have done field trips in the past. 

[Al Tahan]

I’ll just throw this out there....there is another site with the same unit exposed. I think it’s to the east a little in the beaver creek forest. It’s on beaver creek rd. I’ve found it on google maps. It’s another dipleura site. I found it on Karl Wilson’s website. I’m gonna scout it out this year and see what the deal is. Alan Lang told me about a guy who claimed to have a dipleura spot with amazing preservation. Claimed the “skin” was preserved whatever that means lol. I think it was just another dipleura site and the “skin” was prolly just ornamentation and nice detail in the fossil. Unfortunately he passed away before telling Alan the location. There is more out there we may note know about!

[Darktooth]

There are other site to find Dipleuras. I have found complete ones at Cole Hill and Deep Springs and partials at at least 3 other sites. It was not my intention to get anyone nervous about this site closing. But maybe this is a good time to have a discussion about trying to keep all sites accessible. As I stated before, many people go to this site. Sometimes when we go to sites and don't run into anyone else, we assume no one goes there, or at least few do. But one really has no idea what goes on when we are not around. Fossilhunting has become a very popular hobby and pastime in the past few years. Just look at how many people join this forum every day. And again not everyone is a forum member or member of a club. I am trying to put some perspective to this so please bare with me. If one takes a look at trip reports here on the forum, you will see quite a few people are hunting every day. But these are only the ones we hear about. Some individuals don't report any or all of these trips. Let's think about the thousands maybe millions of fossilhunters that we don't hear from. Are all these hunters conscientious? Are they respectable to landowners? Do they leave trash behind? When approached  by a landowner have they maybe been rude? Has anyone destroyed their property?This list could go on and on.  The point is that right now we all should be working towards keeping existing  sites open. Not necessarily  finding new ones. One prime example is Brownies Beach which has become extremely popular. When I first started going to Calvert Cliffs I met a Ranger at Flag Ponds Nature Park. He told me that the town council had talked about closing access to the cliffs for years because how many people were going there. Some sneaking in at night. Some digging in the cliffs which is against the law.  But instead of doing that, for now, they decided to charge a hefty entrance fee between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Partly to make money from those who would go there regardless and partly to keep those out who maybe dont follow rules. Atleast this was what was explained to me. Fossilhunting in general is a great activitiy on many levels and for many reasons. It is also an obsession  for many, which there in lies the problem. We as fossilhunters are never satisfied. Whether we do it simply to add to our collections or for those who are driven my money. We are always looking for the next best thing. We go out every chance we get. We sometimes collect hunreds of items in a trip and yet we can't wait to get out again asap. And let me state this: I am no better then anyone when it comes to that.  But there are times when I have had to take a step back and analyze  my actions. When i was younger and just getting into Minerals and Fossils I did not have anybody to learn from for the first year and a half. Then I joined my club but it still took awhile to learn from others what was right or wrong. Some things are very obvious, others more subtle. But that is one of the great things about the forum. We have so many knowledgeable members who are more then willing to share that knowledge. It is up to those who are learning from the experts, to use that information  wisely and do not abuse it. 

[Calico Jack]

@Darktooth at least some of that rock was me ! I stopped by again a couple days before I went back to school and put in a fair amount of elbow grease (I didn't post a report because I came up totally dry). I had a brief encounter with one of the landowners as I was headed out (I think it was the husband?). He pulled in, gave a friendly wave and then drove off. It's too bad that we're getting mixed signals. Hopefully the site remains accessible going forward.

[Darktooth]

2 hours ago, Calico Jack said:

@Darktooth at least some of that rock was me ! I stopped by again a couple days before I went back to school and put in a fair amount of elbow grease (I didn't post a report because I came up totally dry). I had a brief encounter with one of the landowners as I was headed out (I think it was the husband?). He pulled in, gave a friendly wave and then drove off. It's too bad that we're getting mixed signals. Hopefully the site remains accessible going forward.

I don't think that we will have to worry about this site staying open along as we respect the property and the owners.

[ShoreThing]

On 1/10/2019 at 11:30 AM, Darktooth said:

There are other site to find Dipleuras. I have found complete ones at Cole Hill and Deep Springs and partials at at least 3 other sites. It was not my intention to get anyone nervous about this site closing. But maybe this is a good time to have a discussion about trying to keep all sites accessible. As I stated before, many people go to this site. Sometimes when we go to sites and don't run into anyone else, we assume no one goes there, or at least few do. But one really has no idea what goes on when we are not around. Fossilhunting has become a very popular hobby and pastime in the past few years. Just look at how many people join this forum every day. And again not everyone is a forum member or member of a club. I am trying to put some perspective to this so please bare with me. If one takes a look at trip reports here on the forum, you will see quite a few people are hunting every day. But these are only the ones we hear about. Some individuals don't report any or all of these trips. Let's think about the thousands maybe millions of fossilhunters that we don't hear from. Are all these hunters conscientious? Are they respectable to landowners? Do they leave trash behind? When approached  by a landowner have they maybe been rude? Has anyone destroyed their property?This list could go on and on.  The point is that right now we all should be working towards keeping existing  sites open. Not necessarily  finding new ones. One prime example is Brownies Beach which has become extremely popular. When I first started going to Calvert Cliffs I met a Ranger at Flag Ponds Nature Park. He told me that the town council had talked about closing access to the cliffs for years because how many people were going there. Some sneaking in at night. Some digging in the cliffs which is against the law.  But instead of doing that, for now, they decided to charge a hefty entrance fee between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Partly to make money from those who would go there regardless and partly to keep those out who maybe dont follow rules. Atleast this was what was explained to me. Fossilhunting in general is a great activitiy on many levels and for many reasons. It is also an obsession  for many, which there in lies the problem. We as fossilhunters are never satisfied. Whether we do it simply to add to our collections or for those who are driven my money. We are always looking for the next best thing. We go out every chance we get. We sometimes collect hunreds of items in a trip and yet we can't wait to get out again asap. And let me state this: I am no better then anyone when it comes to that.  But there are times when I have had to take a step back and analyze  my actions. When i was younger and just getting into Minerals and Fossils I did not have anybody to learn from for the first year and a half. Then I joined my club but it still took awhile to learn from others what was right or wrong. Some things are very obvious, others more subtle. But that is one of the great things about the forum. We have so many knowledgeable members who are more then willing to share that knowledge. It is up to those who are learning from the experts, to use that information  wisely and do not abuse it. 

This is spot on brother!...on another note, we need to get back to your old stomping grounds in MD sometime!

[ynot]

Hoowray for Dave!!

 

Hope the next trip there goes better, but at least You got out.

[Darktooth]

1 hour ago, ShoreThing said:

This is spot on brother!...on another note, we need to get back to your old stomping grounds in MD sometime!

I will get back there this year. Right now is hard to say when.

 

50 minutes ago, ynot said:

Hoowray for Dave!!

 

Hope the next trip there goes better, but at least You got out.

Thanks Tony!