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Florida Fossil Hunt , Part 2


minnbuckeye

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The winter of 2018-2019 was rough on folks from Minnesota, people who normally judge their self esteem on surviving mother nature's cold and snowy fury. So when the time came to depart for my snowbird trip to Florida, I could not have been more excited to go. Here is the local landscape  as we left. 

 

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 Then on arrival to the Sunshine State. What a stark contrast. I could never give up my winters for this , as nice as it is to visit. 

 

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 Hunting for fossil treasures in Florida is usually limited to a single day per trip for me. But this time I was blessed with three outstanding excursion from three wonderful members of the forum, JCBShark (alias Jeff), Shellseeker, (alias Jack), and Sacha, (alias John). Unfortunately my hopes for finding fossils were dashed due to high water, but my friends were nice enough to attempt to conquer mother nature and we pressed on. I will let you decide if they were successful.

 

 Here were the participants for Day 1, a trip on foot to get to some special spots. 

 

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 As can be seen, it was NOT an easy hike.

 

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Here was Day 2. Kayaking up the creek for a few miles was not easy due to high water. But going back was a very peaceful float, as these pictures of Jack show!! Something needed after an old man (me, not Jack) paddles like he did and then shovels gravel all day!

 

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 And finally, Day 3. I thought this day might be a bust. Rain and low clouds had set in. 

 

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But John guaranteed me sunshine by 10 am, and thankfully  he was correct! As I waited for John to arrive, I checked out the barge canal for echinoids. Definitely visit this site at low tide. It makes it much easier to visualize the bank for loosened fossils. Can you find the Eupatagus on the bank?

 

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As I said, the sun came out as John predicted! Couldn't get a closeup picture of John. He was off like a rocket while I floundered with my kayak. As you can see, he was on to echinoids long before I reached the beach.

 

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 A shot of a typical barrier island where we searched

 

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2019-04-053.thumb.jpg.af689d487f47a42b0caafc133b07f4cd.jpg2019-04-007.jpg

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This rib was actually found in a land site. I know the typical Dugong rib. But this one is different. Any thoughts???

 

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Best tooth of the trip was found by Jack, who graciously put it in my screen!! I love how the light interacted with the meg's serrations!

 

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Well, for a trip at a difficult time to collect, I would say it was very successful!!! Granted, some of the fossils weren't personally found by me. They were discovered by either of the three "Js" and given to me. Speaking of which, John presented me with this stunning piece of coral he brought from home. It will go on display in my living room for sure:

 

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Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my finds. It is now time to ride off into the sunset.

 

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@Shellseeker, @Sacha, @jcbshark

 

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What a fabulous post! :)

What a marvelous trip, super photos, nice company, great finds.:wub:

Very glad you did so well, i love the echinoids and Tifgy loves the tortoise and turtle pieces. 

Are the markings from a piece of the ivory? 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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3 minutes ago, BLT said:

Or could it be a water shoe footprint? :popcorn:

That's two guesses! 

Cheaty cheat cheater! ;)

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

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1 minute ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

That's two guesses! 

Not a kayak, ivory or footprint. since BLT guessed 2x, I don't want to penalize her. So limit the guesses to twice a day.

 

12 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

What a marvelous trip

 

Almost as good as a trip to Morocco

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7 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

That's two guesses! 

Cheaty cheat cheater! ;)

At the time I posted my second guess, there wasn’t a rule stating ONLY one guess a day. Lol :D 

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1 minute ago, BLT said:

At the time I posted my second guess, there wasn’t a rule stating ONLY one guess a day. Lol :D 

It's all good! 

You've given me a second guess! :D:ninja:

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

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1 minute ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

It's all good! 

You've given me a second guess! :D:ninja:

I guess my competitive nature is starting to show. Gotta tamp it down a notch! Lol

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2 minutes ago, BLT said:

I guess my competitive nature is starting to show. Gotta tamp it down a notch! Lol

Yeah, me too! :rolleyes:

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

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Wow you guys made out like bandits! Looked like a great expedition, Congrats.  :thumbsu:

Looks like a giant land tortoise leg spur.

 

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