the hunt goes on

[rachelgardner01]

I like DSR. It's peaceful and quite. You get a nice little view. Over all a good spot. I have however been unsuccessful with finding an intact Dipleura! The detail that can been seen on them is fantastic. What amazing little monsters. A quick way to-be driven nuts.  I know fossil hunting is a mix of: skill, knowledge, luck and time BUT gosh darn! I will keep trying. This is what I have to show for my effort so far.

[Darktooth]

Looks like somebody was up pretty early for a hunt! Nice pics of the area. It is very peaceful there, and I like the view of the area. Have patience, keep searching, and someday you will be rewarded.

[Fossildude19]

Wow!  

 

Rachel, 

Looks like you did really good there. 

For Dipleura, parts that large are fairly rare! 

I've yet to find anything that big there.  

Great finds!

[Mark Kmiecik]

Nice finds. The thing you need to know is that the people who work the hardest always seem to have the best "luck". Weird, but true.

[rachelgardner01]

@Darktooth @Fossildude19 @Mark Kmiecik THANK YOU.   When you have the whole world at your fingertips and can see 100 different people post their perfect trilobites,  It's hard.  I try to remember that I enjoy the process of  research, digging and finding fossils.   I've always enjoyed being outside and hiking but fossil collecting brings a whole new level of relief to anxiety and stress. Haven't even dipped my toes into proper fossil prepping.  

[deutscheben]

That is a nice big piece of trilobite! And those photos are striking- the atmosphere, lighting and setting create a serious mood.  

[rachelgardner01]

@deutscheben thanks.  I guess its kinda a local hot spot. I really hope it stays open to everyone for many years to come. 

[Kane]

9 minutes ago, rachelgardner01 said:

When you have the whole world at your fingertips and can see 100 different people post their perfect trilobites,  It's hard.  I try to remember that I enjoy the process of  research, digging and finding fossils. 

It's the old "availability heuristic" whereby if we only see the successes / complete trilobites, and not the far more numerous incomplete ones, it can make us feel bummed out as though we're doing something wrong. But you're doing all the right things.  

 

Many seasoned collectors have gone several times to DSR without ever coming away with a complete Dipleura, so you're in good company. For many a serious trilobite hunter, getting one complete body fossil for every hundred moults and broken parts is not a bad ratio!

[Miocene_Mason]

Nice job, that’s a massive bug!

[RandyB]

I have a pile of dipleura parts from my NY excursions, but have yet to find a complete one. I havent given up hope, just keep hunting and eventually it pays off.  To be honest, as much as I love finding a rare amazing fossil, I love getting out and hunting for them more.  

[Al Tahan]

Very nice dipleura partial 

[Jeffrey P]

Very impressive Dipleura partial. Congrats. Those photos of the site are truly awesome. I camped overnight there once in 2015. Those photos reminded me of that special time. I collected at DSR for three years before I found my first Dipleura there, though I have seen a handful of lucky ones find them on their first visit to the site. In your quest for the big one, don't overlook the dozens of species of other cool things that can be found there such as the phyllocarids that Al and Tim have been finding lately. People are always finding new stuff too. Good luck. 

[rachelgardner01]

@Jeffrey P thanks.  Sometimes it just feels like I have had a run of badly luck at DSR. I'm sure there are road cuts that are more productive and of course Penn Dixie always gives me great trilobites but DSR  feels remote.  There's always times of spiders and snakes crawling. A little creek off to the side with birds chirping all around.  So it's always worth going back again and again.