deutscheben Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 Fossil hunting season at Illinois's Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area, the iconic Pit 11, runs from March to September every year. I didn't make it to the park at all last year, so I wanted to get out there on day 1 this year. I took the day off work and thankfully the weather cooperated- it was cloudy and in the 30s for most of the day. I picked up my rental car at 7:30 in the morning and hit the road for the 90 minute drive north. I wasn't the first one at the park, though- I saw a few other folks heading out on the trail with buckets in hand as I pulled into the parking lot off 5000 N Rd. Although I have been to Mazonia about 6 times in the last 5 years, I am still finding my way around the overgrown landscape of the park. I started out with an area I had been to before, and had some early success. Unfortunately, I followed that by wandering off to explore a new area, lugging my heavy bucket through heavy brush for 2 hours with almost no success. That (and the fact that I was in the early stages of a head cold) led me to taking it easy in the afternoon. I was only able to add a few more concretions to my bucket, but the sun did peek out briefly towards the end of the day resulting in some lovely panoramas from up on top of a ridge. I was able to chat briefly with another fossil hunter when I got back to the parking lot about the joys and tribulations of fossil hunting at Mazonia- we discussed the hard work necessary in order to have a chance to open an incredible window into a 300 million year old world, and how we wouldn't trade that chance for anything. I finished the day at the former tipple on the western side of the park, wide open ridges of dumped waste from the former mine that remain inhospitable to plant life to this day. It is an alien looking world, and usually has not been a great spot for finding fossils. However, it is easy to access at least and I was actually happy to come across a few rough bark impressions in sandstone that I picked up. The sun was getting low, so I decided to call it a day. I only collected about 1 1/2 gallons of concretions, but I was still glad I could get out to the park and find something. I will put my finds in the next post. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted March 4, 2019 Author Share Posted March 4, 2019 Here are all of the unopened concretions for the day: I picked up more split Essexella jellyfish than I normally would, since I am doing a presentation at a public library this summer on fossil hunting and wanted some to give away. They litter the ground pretty heavily in the area near the south end of Monster Lake. Here are the plant bark impressions I found on the tipple: And I did find a few other identifiable already split concretions. First is a shrimp of some sort: And finally, most excitingly, my first ever Tullimonstrum, the Tully Monster, enigmatic state fossil of Illinois. It is only the tail end, and I could only locate one half of the nodule, but I am glad to be able to say I have one in my collection now. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 It is nice that you got out, I was playing on going, but I decided against it. You did not do to bad with the concretions and I also picked you the Jellyfish, they are one of my favorite fossils from the Pit. It is nice that you found a partial Tully, they are out there, but just have to be found. Lastly, I would be great if the State would bring some type of digger to the Tipple and turn it over, there are some great fossils there waiting to be uncovered. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 Congrats on the Tully monster, Ben, and best of luck with the concretions you've collected - I hope you find some amazing goodies in them!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil-Hound Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 That's really cool. I've always wanted to go there. Well done. Excellent condition for the Tully monster. Well done. Do or do not. There is no try. - Yoda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 Nice that you found a piece of a Tully, it's certainly one on my list as well. Good luck finding stuff in the concretions that you found. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted March 5, 2019 Author Share Posted March 5, 2019 Thanks all! Once I start processing them I will post anything interesting in my Mazon Creek finds thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Bucket list location! Nice finds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 39 minutes ago, Al Tahan said: Bucket list location! Nice finds Thanks! On 3/4/2019 at 4:26 AM, Monica said: Congrats on the Tully monster, Ben, and best of luck with the concretions you've collected - I hope you find some amazing goodies in them!!! Thanks! And by the way @Monica, have you had a chance to try freeze-thawing any of the concretions I sent you last year? I've been meaning to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nala Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Hope there will be nice finds in the concretions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 On 3/5/2019 at 7:52 PM, deutscheben said: Thanks! And by the way @Monica, have you had a chance to try freeze-thawing any of the concretions I sent you last year? I've been meaning to ask. Hi again, Ben! I had saved your concretions to use as a winter project, and washed them and soaked them and then placed them in the freezer over the Christmas holidays, and then I have to admit that I forgot about them until this thread appeared on TFF! I immediately took them out of the freezer and upon thawing noticed that one had popped open! It's a type of Annularia, I believe - I'll post pictures of it at some point in order to get a definitive ID, but I think I'll wait and post pictures of it along with any other concretions that pop open. By the way - it popped open in a weird way - one piece is very small and thin while the other piece got the bulk of the rock and is much bigger - I guess that's just how some of the fossils get preserved! I'll tag you when more of the nodules open - I promise I won't forget about them again!!! Thanks again! Monica 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted March 8, 2019 Author Share Posted March 8, 2019 That's great to hear @Monica! Yes, sometimes the plane the fossil lies on within the concretion can leave it split with one very thin side. I think @Nimravishad a few examples in his "Whack it" thread. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 2 hours ago, deutscheben said: That's great to hear @Monica! Yes, sometimes the plane the fossil lies on within the concretion can leave it split with one very thin side. I think @Nimravishad a few examples in his "Whack it" thread. @Monica and that is what is nice with the freeze / thaw method, you never know where the plane line is. It is funny, but right before I read this I sent a PM to a couple members complaining about Mazon Creek fossils and the Freeze / Thaw method and time it takes. I have about 20 concretions that I have been freeze / thawing in the freezer for months and nothing is popping, some are just breaking apart. In the Spring, after it warms up, I will post the results of my freeze / thawing of 300 perfect shaped concretions over the Winter and see what pops, I am not getting my hopes up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted March 11, 2019 Author Share Posted March 11, 2019 I did find one more already split concretion that I wanted to clean up before I posted it: Some sort of polychaete worm, I'd say- I don't think enough is preserved to ID it beyond that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 Nice find. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lpetitt Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 I’m planning on going this month, where can you park for pit 11? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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