Scottnokes2015 Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Hi everyone. I live in Perryville ,Mo and want to make a trip to the mazon Creek, Illinois. I have no experience or knowledge were to go and how to collect there. Can anyone point me to the exact location I need and are the Creek beds dry now or still running.? Is it just for private collectors. I saw there is a permit needed, but that's fine. Please can anyone give me any pointers on how to plan the trip or a PDF book to guide us. It's like 6 hrs drive, so we don't want to go wrong place and not find anything. What do we look for and how are they opened? Thank you everyone for any help you can give us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Hi, Scott. Collecting Mazon Creek fossils is not as easy as it used to be. The locations available to the public by permit issued by the DOC are open from the 1st of March thru September 30th each year and by May have been thoroughly picked over by mid-March. The collecting is done not from the river itself, which has very limited access and the outcrops there are on private property. The collecting is done from spoil heaps left over from the strip mining of coal in the area, and covers an area of about 160 square kilometers, 99% of which is on private property or has been developed and/or reclaimed. It's not somewhere you can just show up and go fossil hunting and expect to find anything decent if anything at all. If you want any inkling of success you would need to do a ton of research and ideally secure permission from landowners to hunt on their property. I could show you around, so to speak, if I could, but my general health makes that impossible. There are other members from Illinois on this forum, and I'm sure that at least one or two of them will chime in and even perhaps offer to take you with on an outing. The other thing you could do is to contact and join ESCONI (Earth Sciences Club Of Northern Illinois), that sponsors two(?) trips annually to collect from a private spoil heap near Braceville. I definitely recommend making your first venture in Mazon Creek fossils with an experienced person. On your own you will spend 12 hours of road time and fuel for pretty much nothing. I'm not trying to discourage you, but I also don't want you to waste your time. Of course if you just want to check out the area and see what it's about that's fine. If nothing else do some research into coal mining in that area and use Google Earth to see what the spoil heaps/pits look like. If you can find any construction or reclamation sites in the area, those would be your best. Also, view as many MC fossils and concretions as you can beforehand, so you know what you're looking for. It used to be a show up and grab whatever is lying around kind of deal 30 years ago, but nowadays it is labor and research intensive. The terrain in most of the fossil area is brutal once the vegetation is up in spring. Also, do not hunt on private property without permission. The odds that you'll get into trouble are pretty good. Read this entire thread from this, here on TFF. The preferred method of opening the concretions is freeze/thaw, unless you have a poo-ton of experience, a very, VERY large collection and about 25,000 concretions to play with. Just remember, if you choose to whack them you may RUIN the find of a lifetime. 1 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred97 Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Scott, I agree with Mark unfortunately. Going to collect on your own is tough. I'm a newbie, went to Pit 11 for the first time this year, 4 times in March. The terrain is very difficult and it's tough to figure out where to go. I think I finally made some progress in my education and had a bit more success on my last 2 trips, but it's hard hard work. I can't imagine going now, it's probably pretty well overgrown by this time. That said, I also agree with Mark that the ESCONI trips are really good. They take you to a mining spoil pile and you climb over it and look for concretions that have weathered out, or dig (I spent most of my time digging, again it's a fair amount of work). I found a good number of concretions on those trips and the organizers are super friendly and helpful. You just have to join ESCONI ($20/year) and email someone to sign up for the trip. The May one is the 18th and 19th and I don't know if there are still spots available. They typically do it again in August. There is also an outing sponsored by the I&M Canal National Heritage Area in August. On that one you go to Mazon Creek itself, on private property. It's a fantastic trip, many good plant specimens. It's also expensive because it's a fund raiser - $150/person. But you also get a nice dinner/drinks/etc. Again the people are super friendly, just a great trip. Also not sure if they still having openings this year. I'll be at both trips so maybe will meet you at one! Good luck! Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 2 hours ago, bigred97 said: Scott, I agree with Mark unfortunately. Going to collect on your own is tough. I'm a newbie, went to Pit 11 for the first time this year, 4 times in March. The terrain is very difficult and it's tough to figure out where to go. I think I finally made some progress in my education and had a bit more success on my last 2 trips, but it's hard hard work. I can't imagine going now, it's probably pretty well overgrown by this time. That said, I also agree with Mark that the ESCONI trips are really good. They take you to a mining spoil pile and you climb over it and look for concretions that have weathered out, or dig (I spent most of my time digging, again it's a fair amount of work). I found a good number of concretions on those trips and the organizers are super friendly and helpful. You just have to join ESCONI ($20/year) and email someone to sign up for the trip. The May one is the 18th and 19th and I don't know if there are still spots available. They typically do it again in August. There is also an outing sponsored by the I&M Canal National Heritage Area in August. On that one you go to Mazon Creek itself, on private property. It's a fantastic trip, many good plant specimens. It's also expensive because it's a fund raiser - $150/person. But you also get a nice dinner/drinks/etc. Again the people are super friendly, just a great trip. Also not sure if they still having openings this year. I'll be at both trips so maybe will meet you at one! Good luck! Chris It's good to hear from someone who's been there forging some of his own "trials" (misspelled intentionally). It's fun and challenging, but not what I consider productive. It's a long drive for some, but a portion of the time in the area can be devoted to prospecting new sites. In other words, talk to the locals you meet, say hi to those you see and ask questions. Collecting on private property is VERY productive! Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 20 hours ago, bigred97 said: The May one is the 18th and 19th and I don't know if there are still spots available. They typically do it again in August. Just wanted to chime in to mention the second ESCONI trip is actually in September, and I definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to collect Mazon Creek fossils- you are virtually guaranteed to find concretions, and sometimes other members will even bring their extra fossils to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 On 5/11/2019 at 8:10 AM, deutscheben said: Just wanted to chime in to mention the second ESCONI trip is actually in September, and I definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to collect Mazon Creek fossils- you are virtually guaranteed to find concretions, and sometimes other members will even bring their extra fossils to share. We've been bringing material for the last few years. It helps everyone to find something. Our May trip is full on both days now. Check our website as we will post a report afterwards. Cheers, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 On 5/10/2019 at 11:38 AM, bigred97 said: Scott, I agree with Mark unfortunately. Going to collect on your own is tough. I'm a newbie, went to Pit 11 for the first time this year, 4 times in March. The terrain is very difficult and it's tough to figure out where to go. I think I finally made some progress in my education and had a bit more success on my last 2 trips, but it's hard hard work. I can't imagine going now, it's probably pretty well overgrown by this time. That said, I also agree with Mark that the ESCONI trips are really good. They take you to a mining spoil pile and you climb over it and look for concretions that have weathered out, or dig (I spent most of my time digging, again it's a fair amount of work). I found a good number of concretions on those trips and the organizers are super friendly and helpful. You just have to join ESCONI ($20/year) and email someone to sign up for the trip. The May one is the 18th and 19th and I don't know if there are still spots available. They typically do it again in August. There is also an outing sponsored by the I&M Canal National Heritage Area in August. On that one you go to Mazon Creek itself, on private property. It's a fantastic trip, many good plant specimens. It's also expensive because it's a fund raiser - $150/person. But you also get a nice dinner/drinks/etc. Again the people are super friendly, just a great trip. Also not sure if they still having openings this year. I'll be at both trips so maybe will meet you at one! Good luck! Chris The Braceville spoil pile is still productive. Our May field trip is full, but we have a waiting list. I've done the I&M Canal trip for about 5 years now. You will find fossils. Mostly plant material. We've been out to Pit 11 5 times this Spring. A good portion of our time is prospecting for new sites. I was there yesterday and brought back about 1 gallon of concretions for almost 4 hours of work. There are some good shapes. We always spend time prospecting for new sites. The area is very overgrown, but you can find concretions. Cheers, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 1 hour ago, stats said: The area is very overgrown, but you can find concretions. Each time I hunted Pit 11 I did very poorly. I probably didn't get far enough into the "thick stuff". A few large Essexella, and not much else. I remember wishing often that the state would do a controlled burn to rid the area of some vegetation. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 5 minutes ago, Mark Kmiecik said: state would do a controlled burn to rid the area of some vegetation. They have done that in the past and though it did produce results, I would rather see them bring a bulldozer in and turn over Tipple Hill. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 3 minutes ago, Nimravis said: They have done that in the past and though it did produce results, I would rather see them bring a bulldozer in and turn over Tipple Hill. Yeah, but only if I'm standing there when they do it and they didn't tell anyone else. 2 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 3 hours ago, Nimravis said: They have done that in the past and though it did produce results, I would rather see them bring a bulldozer in and turn over Tipple Hill. That would be awesome! At one time, the Tipple area was one of the best places to hunt. Most of the park hasn't been visited in many years. Cheers, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 4 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said: Yeah, but only if I'm standing there when they do it and they didn't tell anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakebite6769 Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 On 5/10/2019 at 12:38 PM, bigred97 said: Scott, I agree with Mark unfortunately. Going to collect on your own is tough. I'm a newbie, went to Pit 11 for the first time this year, 4 times in March. The terrain is very difficult and it's tough to figure out where to go. I think I finally made some progress in my education and had a bit more success on my last 2 trips, but it's hard hard work. I can't imagine going now, it's probably pretty well overgrown by this time. That said, I also agree with Mark that the ESCONI trips are really good. They take you to a mining spoil pile and you climb over it and look for concretions that have weathered out, or dig (I spent most of my time digging, again it's a fair amount of work). I found a good number of concretions on those trips and the organizers are super friendly and helpful. You just have to join ESCONI ($20/year) and email someone to sign up for the trip. The May one is the 18th and 19th and I don't know if there are still spots available. They typically do it again in August. There is also an outing sponsored by the I&M Canal National Heritage Area in August. On that one you go to Mazon Creek itself, on private property. It's a fantastic trip, many good plant specimens. It's also expensive because it's a fund raiser - $150/person. But you also get a nice dinner/drinks/etc. Again the people are super friendly, just a great trip. Also not sure if they still having openings this year. I'll be at both trips so maybe will meet you at one! Good luck! Chris How do I find out about the August trip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred97 Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 iandmcanal.org 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 16 hours ago, snakebite6769 said: How do I find out about the August trip? We (ESCONI) do another Braceville trip in September. It will be posted to the website, www.esconi.org. We post it about a month before the trip, which is typically the second or third week of September. Cheers, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakebite6769 Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Thanks guys. I will try and make it to these both if possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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