PaleoNoel Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Sorry for the long wait for this post. I said I was going to do a write up for it in the days following my return, then once again in October and then after I had finished my trip report from my 2016 trip to Maryland's Potomac River back in December, but alas I never got to it. But now I'm finally sitting down to write about my experience from my week spent fossil hunting in Wyoming's badlands. I flew out of Boston in the morning of July 13th and landed in Denver by around mid-day. My parents got the rental car and we were on our way to eastern Wyoming. It was dinner time when we pulled into Laramie and we went to a Mexican Restaurant which had great food but gargantuan portions, we made our way back to the Comfort Inn we were staying at and soon got a grasp of how low quality it was. Sockets coming out of walls, old hairs on the bed, the scent of cigarette smoke permeating throughout the room, not quite as comfortable as advertised. The next day we left the motel in haste and went to the University of Wyoming's geologic museum, which had a number of great displays of fossils of which many were found within the state. Here are few shots of what we saw. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 21, 2019 Author Share Posted January 21, 2019 After our morning visit to the museum, we set out for the day, making our way up to Casper, where we would spend that night. This route took us through the Snowy Range Pass which was a beautiful area we stopped for lunch and had the chance to explore for an hour or so. We even got to do a little bit of early fossil hunting! We learned that stromatolite fossils had been found in this pass so we did our best to look for the (no keeping here though!) I believe we found some but let me know if I'm wrong. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 21, 2019 Author Share Posted January 21, 2019 After spending the night in Casper, which was far nicer than where we stayed in Laramie (then again, any passable motel was better than that place) we head to our north east in the direction of Newcastle. It took us only a few hours to get there so we got brunch at a small diner in town, then made our way to the Sage Motel where I met up with the PaleoProspectors crew, led by Dr. Steve Nicklas. I got my own room and started to settle in, said goodbye to my parents and said hello to the incoming fossil hunters (my parents went off to go hiking and exploring the monuments and parks in SD and WY while I was fossil hunting with the group). 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 21, 2019 Author Share Posted January 21, 2019 The following day was delayed slightly due to the rain from the previous night (this will be a recurring theme as it was the rainiest year in a long time for that area). We set out onto the ranch following breakfast and hunting prep. Mike, one of the guides, led us to a channel deposit where we would hunt for a few hours. I was anxious to get my first finds of the trip so I raced (speed walked through rough terrain of cacti, yucca and spear grass) to the outcrop. As one does in with these sites, I crouched down on my hands and knees to get a closer look at the ground. Here are some of my photos from the first half of the day. A result of the rain; a beautiful field of flowers ahead of the exposure. Here's the outcrop in the background of the photo The first few finds of the day... What would have been a BIG croc tooth for the area if it were complete A smaller croc tooth in great condition And a crocodile or turtle toe bone + the bone in my collection Here are a few fossils I found that day from my collection. Salamander vertebra & mouth plate Triceratops jaw section Other reptile limb and digit elements 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smt126 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Other than the bad hotel, it sounds like you had a great experience. Thank you for sharing your experience and finds with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 Day 2 we were given the chance to fossil hunt through an large area. This particular spot was full of hills, washes and gullies where one could find all sorts of things. My best finds of the day were a partial Tyrannosaurus tooth and some amber. Towards the middle of the day I went to help dig at the bonebed where Steve was working on unearthing the larger bones of Edmontosaurus and Triceratops which were disarticulated and strewn across a large area likely caused by a flooding river. I worked on clearing away dirt from a large hunk of frill and a vertebra, that locality still has a lot of bone left to be uncovered and will likely yield many more in the future. Here are some photos from the day. Turtle Shell Crocodile scute My prospecting buddy Tooth fragment of a theropod Amber 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 Before I go to bed and before I begin a recap of day 3, here's the aforementioned T. rex tooth I found. It was broken into multiple pieces when I found it, the explosion likely caused by the freezing and thawing it faces during the changing seasons. The tip is now in one piece after gluing it together while in the motel, but the rest of the tooth is still in need of repair. If anyone could let me know what kind of glue I should use to keep it in one piece please let me know as I've forgotten the variety used by PP. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 And here's a shot from the bonebed w/ the triceratops vertebra 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Great trip, I'm sure. My one comment... you were in Casper and didn't stop in at the Tate Museum? I would have given you an a+ tour. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcordova Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 PaleoNeal, you used the services of a company or went to a Ranch where you can pick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 24 minutes ago, lcordova said: PaleoNeal, you used the services of a company or went to a Ranch where you can pick? Company, PaleoProspectors is a group which takes parties onto private ranches along with providing housing and food for weeks at a time. Participants get to keep everything they find unless it is deemed scientifically important (generally pertaining to articulated specimens of animals). They are a great service and I would recommend them to the highest degree. You meet many interesting and unique people, learn a great deal about the area and spend time in nature. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcordova Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Thanks !!!!! I'll take a look at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 4 hours ago, jpc said: Great trip, I'm sure. My one comment... you were in Casper and didn't stop in at the Tate Museum? I would have given you an a+ tour. I wasn't as involved with the forum at the time of this trip and didn't know of your involvement with the museum. However, I would have loved that opportunity and if I end up in that area again I'll shoot you a PM. Also if I remember correctly we came into Casper aiming to get dinner and to our motel. The next morning we headed out early squeezing out the time for a trip to the museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pemphix Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 13 hours ago, PaleoNoel said: I wasn't as involved with the forum at the time of this trip and didn't know of your involvement with the museum. However, I would have loved that opportunity and if I end up in that area again I'll shoot you a PM. Also if I remember correctly we came into Casper aiming to get dinner and to our motel. The next morning we headed out early squeezing out the time for a trip to the museum. No sweat. I would be happy to meet you and show you around if you come back out. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-fossils Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Looks like a fantastic hunt so far! Curious to see what more you found 1 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 1 hour ago, Max-fossils said: Looks like a fantastic hunt so far! Curious to see what more you found Thanks! I'll get to the remaining days as soon as I can, that's where the fun truly begins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepTimeIsotopes Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 2 hours ago, PaleoNoel said: Thanks! I'll get to the remaining days as soon as I can, that's where the fun truly begins! Well, let’s see it! Each dot is 50,000,000 years: Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic........... Paleo......Meso....Ceno.. Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here Doesn't time just fly by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 Well I suppose my memory was less potent than I realized, I left out a big part of day two! I knew I was missing something, and I certainly was. In the second half of the day I visited a microsite which had apparently yielded some nice finds the previous year which included an ankylosaur scute. I spent the afternoon on my hands and knees poking through cretaceous dirt and stone which weathered out of a hillside. Luckily for us this site was easily accessible by dirt roads thanks to the oil company which is present on the ranch, all you had to do was follow a short trail after the third oil rig down from the main road (which is how I remembered navigating it when I returned later in the week). To say the least I was pleased by my discoveries. The best of which was a section of crocodilian jaw, along with a nicer triceratops shed tooth, some croc scutes and surprisingly a few gastropods preserved in matrix.. A view of the site Croc scute in situ Triceratops tooth in the field And the croc jaw in the field 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 Here's the croc jaw after a bit of prep to take the dirt off And a welcome surprise- an unerupted tooth still in the jaw 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 And here's the gastropod I found in the matrix from this site on day 2. Not something I see too often from hell creek or lance fm material. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pemphix Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Very cool finds - congrats!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Finally I'm getting to day 3! We start the day at a location nicknamed "Benny Hill", a well known spot by the paleoprospectors members who have hunted in Wyoming as being plentiful and diverse in what you find there. I spent a day here the previous summer and was thoroughly wowed by my finds (many of my best finds you can see in my gallery). This year proved to be quite the day as well, though there was less to be found in the matrix than previous year. The Benny Hill site is a small rise in the prairie which has exposures of an orangy-brown conglomerate laden with concretions, gar scales, bits of bone and the occasional dinosaur or crocodile tooth. In many cases the fossils are found independently from the matrix so carefully scanning the surrounding dirt for small stuff will pay off big time as it did for me. Here's a shot of the site from last year. Due to our activity there the conglomerates have diminished a bit. Hopefully an ample amount of weathering will replenish the material for next dig season! Here's a myledaphus tooth still in the matrix. These are a relatively common find out there and the teeth belong to a variety of freshwater guitar fish. This one is the largest in my collection. It has since separated from the matrix. A number of dinosaur teeth were found by other fossil hunters at this site on that day which included a ankylosaur tooth, a nanotyrannus tooth and a thescelosaurus maxillary tooth. I found several triceratops spit teeth, but the real prizes were the dromaeosaur teeth I found. Both of which were found isolated from matrix. I believe the larger one is a Dakotaraptor The smaller one may be an Acheroraptor 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 In the second half of the day we went to another microsite which I refer to by several names; "The Whale Rocks" due to the hard grey capstones resembling the silhouette of a cetacean, "The Sandbox" due to the floor of the site being covered in sand and "The Micro-Microsite" because everything I've ever found there seems to be a shrunken version of what you would typically find in one of these deposits. Several of my best finds that day came from an anthill which I would periodically poke through (letting the ants calm down a bit each time before returning). Here are a few pics of this unique site, some of my angles come from atop the wind carved sandstone. Here's the anthill I was poking at 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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