NSR Jackpot(ish)

[Captcrunch227]

I finally convinced myself to head out to the North Sulphur River again. After 2 attempts of coming up empty handed I was having trouble convincing myself that it was worth the 4 hour round trip excursion. Knowing the date for damming up the river looms nearer and nearer I decided to brave the cold water.

 

I'm glad I did.

 

This time with some help and guidance from a friend my trip was much more eventful. Having NEVER found a Mosasaur vertebrae my trip was made just 10 minutes in when a beautiful Mosasaur vertebrae was just sitting right there on the surface. Already a massive success in my book. A little ways down the creek my friend begins to tell me how he has found 2 Mosasaur premaxes in this spot throughout the year. I replied, "Dude, I would lose my mind if I found a piece of Mosasaur jaw!"

 

No joke, less than 1 minute later we turn a corner and I notice something barely sticking out of the shale and mud at the bottom of the creek. I pick it up, turn it over and staring back at me is a tooth socket! Needless to say, true to my word, I did indeed lose my mind!

 

Apparently my excitement and loud noises I made scared off all the other fossils as I didn't find much else for the next several hours. Still this was by far my best and most exciting fossil hunt. Totally worth getting stuck and sucked up into knee deep mud for.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Very nice. 

I like it when perseverance pays dividends. 

Congrats. 

[facehugger]

Not too shabby. I know exactly what you mean. The drive from Houston is +5 hours, and I have also come back with relatively meagre finds. Location is just so heavily hunted. Sounds like you got it after a decent flood. Congrats!

 

We might as well enjoy NSR before it becomes a lake sometime in the undisclosed future...

 

[FossilNerd]

Looks like the third time (trip) was the charm! Sometimes it’s not the quantity of the find, but the quality. This is a trip you will likely remember for the rest of your life, and to me at least, the memory of the find is as important as the fossil itself. Congrats!   

[Creek - Don]

Congrats. I also found first  mosasaur vertebra when I first went to the NSR two months ago, including 20 exogyra oysters. That was very exciting feeling.

[garyc]

Congrats! NSR can be an enigma for us Texans who live far South of it. I’m always happy if I find one keeper each outing. Maybe if I was able to go more often than once a year my eyes would be better trained. 

[Captcrunch227]

Thanks for all the kind words fellas. @FossilNerd I think you really nailed it on the head on that one. Nearly every fossil around here are invertebrates. Finding that first vertebrae and then the jaw will be moments I treasure for sure