Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 Forum member Evans and I had a big day today. 800 miles round trip, 400 echinoids of at least 9 species and a half dozen ammonites between us, 24 hours without sleep. The Boracho formation is divided into 2 members comprising upper and lower Washita equivalents of North Texas, covering a marine sequence from roughly 103 to 99 MYA. We took two 24 foot ladders and worked 20 miles of road cuts, driving steel for 10 hours from dawn to dusk like the proverbial John Henry. In addition to single echies we took several multiple specimen/multiple species slabs. Good times. I'm tired cuz I only slept 2 hours before leaving at 1 a.m. last night. Pics in my Nov report once I get things prepped. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infidel Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 Industrial echi hunting? Sounds like fun. Take it easy, but take it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 Sounds like a safe and successful trip. Can't wait for the photos...you should at least throw out a "teaser" pic. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 "Iron Man" fossil collecting! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossisle Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 (Thanks) for (giving) us that trip report, where else would you want to be on a holiday? Cephalopods rule!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig rocks Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 Can't wait to see your pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 28, 2009 Author Share Posted November 28, 2009 Boracho Fm pics Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infidel Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 I know you said you were "driving steel", what all does that entail? That looks like pretty solid matrix those are in, what does it take to extract them? Take it easy, but take it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evans Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 I know you said you were "driving steel", what all does that entail? That looks like pretty solid matrix those are in, what does it take to extract them? "driving steel".....we had a chisel in one hand and a three pound hammer in the other for almost twelve hours straight. When we started it was was a crisp 36 degrees Fahrenheit complimented by the infamous West Texas wind. The only rests we took for food or drink was on the short drives between road cuts. I feel like I was hit by one of the passing trucks on the highway yesterday, my hands only stopped vibrating recently allowing me to try to take a pic or two of a few of the finds that I gave a quick washing. If you look closely you can see a few of spines on the Macraster. Hopefully a later prep job will reveal more. Brian Brian Evans For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 Like the in situ shots...good stuff, guys. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh-Man Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 Cool stuff Dan - Happy THanksgiving!!! The pix made me think of one of my safety articles though: Gravity is not your friend!!! Sounds like you didn't have any problems with it though... What is geology? "Rocks for Jocks!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 29, 2009 Author Share Posted November 29, 2009 Oh I got nervous a few times at the top of my ladder. You know when you can't get the foot of the ladder very close to the exposure, so its at a bit of an angle, then your nerves get the whole aluminum thing shaking about at the resonance frequency and you are afraid of falling and busting your acetabulum on the jagged rocks below - good times! You couldn't see it in our photos, but I actually wore a parachute. After a while I was squinting to ascertain quality of some of the echies up at maximum grabbing range and slightly beyond, leaving some *yes Dan Woehr actually said "leaving some"* for hardier souls with longer ladders. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 What a hunt! Did anyone ask what you guys were doing? Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 i'm just thinking there have to be some echinoids closer to ground level that you can scarf instead. i've known two guys who fell off ladders and rearranged themselves, and it was a big deal. but thanks anyway for the trip report and pictures. good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 ...we had a chisel in one hand and a three pound hammer in the other for almost twelve hours straight... ...on top of an old 24 foot ladder That's a dance some would call "Doin' the Darwin"! I have to enjoy this kind of adventure vicariously...thanks for making that possible "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossisle Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 That is some chisel!! I can see the marks all the way down the face of the road cut Cephalopods rule!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 That's what I call a road cut! Nice finds, guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobC Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 Very nice, Dan! Finally someone around here understands the Truth--you can never, ever have too many echinoids. NEVER!!!!! Am I right, Mike and Owen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 29, 2009 Author Share Posted November 29, 2009 Bob - "I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations" Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 Very nice, Dan! Finally someone around here understands the Truth--you can never, ever have too many echinoids. NEVER!!!!! Am I right, Mike and Owen? maybe not, but i'm not sure i should have tried to put them all in the same bowl... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobC Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Dan--don't be coy. You know you love those little guys! I just found a Gonyopigous (no idea how to spell that)in a rudist reef chunk on Friday. I just about peed my pants when I saw it-- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn835 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Maybe you should get yourself a bucket truck. You can store up to an additional 100 lbs of fossils in the bucket. With rocks in my head, and fossils in my heart.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 I spent about 10 hours this weekend prepping 300-400 echies taken within the last week - and I'm only half done! They steer clear of me at work these days - I'm that lunatic that scrubs echinoids on his tail gate on lunch hour, then has "fossil photo shoots" in the parking lot other days. Gotta keep things moving, you know. The next echinoid onslaught is right around the corner... And Bob, Goniopygus is always cause for an impromptu jig. I found 2 G. stocktonensis the other day, neither one high grade, but still well worth having. If you plan on finding more I might advise adult diapers for you! No telling what would happen to your faculties when you find a cidarid!!! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evans Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 What a hunt! Did anyone ask what you guys were doing? I was waiting for the Highway Patrol or a county Sheriff to stop by, but we didn't have a single visitor all day. The only Highway Patrol we talked with was on the the way home.....but I really don't care to discuss that now. Brian Brian Evans For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Very nice, Dan! Finally someone around here understands the Truth--you can never, ever have too many echinoids. NEVER!!!!! Am I right, Mike and Owen? Too many? HA! I won't stop until Dan has cleaned the state of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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