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Trip from Northern Washington to Northern California


Zenmaster6

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This trip started out in Tacoma Washington.
Our first stop was Centralia WA.
Supposedly there were marine sediments 35 million years old that encompassed bivalves, gastropods and some other small marine life. 
Of course I have another spot near my house with a similar variety of fossils so I was less interested. None the less I spent 2 hours there

looking through clay and checking if I could see any siltstone or shale. Unfortunately I did not find anything here.
The next stop was near Portland Oregon in Butte Creek where there have been numerous whale teeth and some other vertebrate fossils.
I of course was certain that collecting vertebrates was also illegal in Oregon so I skipped out on keeping anything I found. I came up dry again in Butte creek after an hour of looking.
Next I searched Myrtle Creek Oregon briefly as it was getting dark. I didn't see much there, however there could have been plenty that I simply missed in the dark. (also I only looked for 15 minutes)
The next day, I went to Riddle Oregon, where supposedly Jurassic Leaf fossils could be found and also some Bivalves, Gastropods and Ammonites. I skipped looking around the town and went straight to Cow Creek (goes through Riddle) and saw fossils across the water, however during February, there was no chance of me swimming across. The current is quite strong too. It also was loaded with private property signs and we even saw a guy looking back at us with a rifle over his shoulder. That is when we left. 
We heard about Ashland and the great cretaceous formations off the road at I-5 near Klamath Mountain. We traveled up there but found Nada.
In California we searched along Gazelle Road and found a few possible corals. Gazelle Callahan Road is Silurian. I got permission from a land owner to search along his property.
On the way back we stayed at a motel in Medford. Planning for the day tomorrow I read on PDFs that I was checking the wrong spot along I-5 for the cretaceous fossils south of Ashland. 
I plotted exactly where they were on maps and got ready to go the next morning. When I arrived at the mountain pass, it had snowed at least 2 - 3 feet. There was no way I was finding anything.
Disappointed, we left to go back to Riddle, When I arrived in Riddle, I decided to search the town for Jurassic - Cretaceous fossils. While searched a road cut near town, I found some Bivalves called Buchia (according to the formation species guide) This was the only spot where I did end up finding fossils unfortunately but I did want to share what I found.  I still have a whole whiteboard full of fossils I have yet to go through so I couldn't upload all my finds. Riddle Oregon was actually packed with fossils if you look closely.  Thanks for reading : )

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Glad you managed to find some fossils :) 

Can we see some pictures of the sites you visited?

-Christian

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

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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Sorry you came up blank in so many spots but very happy you managed to at least get some nice looking bivalves.:)

Thanks for sharing your experiences. 

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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It's always frustrating to not find anything at a site that looks promising, but luckily you did end up finding some pretty bivalves - I love their ornamentation - congrats!

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Trying to find good fossil sites can be a lot of work but can also be fun if you run into a really good spot.  I too was kicked out of Riddle years ago but after finding one giant ammonite.  The site along I-5 you have to know exactly where to look but it may be hunted out?  There were shrimp concretions on one side of the highway and ammonites on the other but that was a very long time ago.   Myrtle creek Ive never hunted but im purty sure you need to check out the rocks.  Lots of bone material I heard, but again, that was many years ago.  I do wish you luck on your next fossil outing.

 

RB

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2 hours ago, RJB said:

Trying to find good fossil sites can be a lot of work but can also be fun if you run into a really good spot.  I too was kicked out of Riddle years ago but after finding one giant ammonite.  The site along I-5 you have to know exactly where to look but it may be hunted out?  There were shrimp concretions on one side of the highway and ammonites on the other but that was a very long time ago.   Myrtle creek Ive never hunted but im purty sure you need to check out the rocks.  Lots of bone material I heard, but again, that was many years ago.  I do wish you luck on your next fossil outing.

 

RB

Unfortunately I saw a southern Oregon University post talking about their "field trip" (in which one student found a cretaceous shrimp, like you said) and decided I would do deeper research. I found a ridiculously hard to find PDF containing their course plan and exactly the geo co-ordinance of where it was. I had it all planned out, but after the snow happened, there was no way it would happen. Also, speaking of riddle, would you be so kind to PM me some details on that? I had a few questions about the location.

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6 hours ago, The Amateur Paleontologist said:

Glad you managed to find some fossils :) 

Can we see some pictures of the sites you visited?

-Christian

I unfortunately video recorded the whole trip but I'll see what pictures I can scrap together that I did take. There is a picture of a concretion in there somewhere. None of them had anything in them.

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4 hours ago, Monica said:

It's always frustrating to not find anything at a site that looks promising, but luckily you did end up finding some pretty bivalves - I love their ornamentation - congrats!

Thank you! they are Jurassic - Cretaceous age, minimum 120 million, maximum 170 million. Long before Trex : D 

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4 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Sorry you came up blank in so many spots but very happy you managed to at least get some nice looking bivalves.:)

Thanks for sharing your experiences. 

Yeah, some spots there were for sure fossil rich areas but I had no means of crossing the rivers. For whatever reason it seems all fossils are on private land / unreachable areas. That's why they are so cool once you find them. I want something else other than Jurassic bivalves though, like maybe a crab or shrimp. Back to the deep internet web blogs loosely referring spots to me. 
Some of the spots I found I used this website: http://donaldkenney.x10.mx/FOSSINDX.HTM

 

But the information can be pretty old. For example, in Riddle, street names have changed and Nichols station doesn't even exist anymore, they closed off the nickel mine and I had to ask a 70 year old woman from town how to get there.

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1 hour ago, Zenmaster6 said:

I'll see what pictures I can scrap together that I did take

From the pictures you showed, they look like rather beautiful places :) 

-Christian

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

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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4 hours ago, RJB said:

Trying to find good fossil sites can be a lot of work but can also be fun if you run into a really good spot.  I too was kicked out of Riddle years ago but after finding one giant ammonite.  The site along I-5 you have to know exactly where to look but it may be hunted out?  There were shrimp concretions on one side of the highway and ammonites on the other but that was a very long time ago.   Myrtle creek Ive never hunted but im purty sure you need to check out the rocks.  Lots of bone material I heard, but again, that was many years ago.  I do wish you luck on your next fossil outing.

 

RB

 

RB

 

Yes, a friend checked out the shrimp site near the border years ago.  As I recall, he found the formation but not any shrimp.  That's fossil collecting for you.  It's good to have those days when you prospect but don't find much/anything.  All that time driving around just getting to the area, then looking for the site and possible alternate sites.  All the time walking, climbing, digging, and flipping rocks.  You appreciate the good find later a lot more.

 

Jess

 

 

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1 hour ago, siteseer said:

 

RB

 

Yes, a friend checked out the shrimp site near the border years ago.  As I recall, he found the formation but not any shrimp.  That's fossil collecting for you.  It's good to have those days when you prospect but don't find much/anything.  All that time driving around just getting to the area, then looking for the site and possible alternate sites.  All the time walking, climbing, digging, and flipping rocks.  You appreciate the good find later a lot more.

 

Jess

 

 

certainly

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