tracer Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 just read a post in which dan woehr mentioned he'd gone on one of his fossil "ordeals" and cleaned up. reminded me that i have him and johnj to thank for a lot of the success and adventures tj and i have had. why? well, they taught me to think outside my comfort zone, and to try to go where others can't or won't. now, don't get me wrong - i can't and won't do what they do. but i can perk along at maybe 30% of what they do. yes, i mean 30% as often and 30% as ordealishciousificent. so what i do now is ask myself, what can me and tj stand and pull off without being former adventurers? long intro, huh? yeah, well. so anyway, we decided to go somewhere that we probably couldn't walk to, and we probably couldn't yak to, but we might be able to pull off working it like a giant, pain-in-the-bohindituckustudinous maze. i was worried about it, because it was a long drive and a possibly impossible deal, but what the heck - we went. (i'm already thinking this should have been a blog entry). Got up freaking early, got to the place, loaded all our gear, and created our own put-in for the yaks. tj, look out for that freaking poison ivy!! left the heavy artillery behind for this venture. needed to be light and maneuverable. so anyway, here's a view of the location. folks that wasn't an isolated glimpse of jungle. we dealt with that stuff a lot. to find this... now, you see something like that, you go "whoa!" for a split second. then you go "dang!" once you realize it's gotta be new and therefore pointless. so you move on. here's a picture of tj moving on, through some, uh, vegetation. the problem of course, is that you can't see over that kind of stuff, and sometimes you can't go around it, so you just try to barge through it. what's hard is barging backwards out of it against current, but this is a fossil story, not a hydraulicsology lesson. so eventually you find a proximal lingual perissodactyloid phalange and get happy when you realize it don't look new. plus those bones just look cool anyway, so whatever. and then maybe you find a giant chunk of bone in the water that can't be from holocene fauna because ees too big. and then you move on, and get all happy over a camel toebone - oh, scuze me, a proximal phalange from a paleokarma llameleona. and alone comes a megachunk of a megatortoise megashell - gee o chelone was humonkous! (p.s. - i din't want to crop these pics this time so you could be more on the trip with us with the insitunoidalisms.) well, yer probably figuring ole tracer (don't you hate when people refer to themselves in the third person? what a pompous putznose!) is savin' the best for last, and you're almost right. it woulda been the best if i'd found it, but that never happens. yep, tj did it again. more proboscidean oak! i don't know how he does it. he just does it. he even found a small piece of proboscidean oak hiding in the middle of the vegetationish stuff. so anyway, that's pretty much all of the story i can tell. tj has sworn me to secrecy on the rest. oh, i forgot to mention the quicksand. there was quite a bit of quicksand. fortunately, it wasn't spring-fed quicksand so we tended to survive getting in it, but quicksand is disconcerting, if you've never experienced it. you're just moseying along and then paahhhhLOOP!! you sink! and then you struggle back out of it and do what you always do when you have something bad happen when you're walking along minding your own business. you look back in righteous indignation to see what caused your problem. but with quicksand, when you look back, nothing's there. nothing. your footprints are gone. it's weird. and to all, a good night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 The size of one's envelope is unimportant; pushing it is what counts. Using quicksand to cover your tracks was pretty clever too. Oh, nice bones! "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...
Roz Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 One of the best things about fossil hunting besides the fossils is the adventure.. And you and tj had one. Nice find too. Have only had two experiences with quicksand... that is really a frightening feeling. Hate the stuff... Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 Nice little tale, I like your in situ photos. I should really take some some day.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worthy 55 Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 (edited) Now that is the way to fossil hunt. I would have pitched a tent and spend the weekend there very cool. Edited November 29, 2009 by worthy 55 It's my bone!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 I love quicksand! If I'm hunting where there is a little quicksand, then I'm hunting "fresh ground"...with that the percentages of coolishness always go up. Great finds, photos, and adventures. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 ..ordealishciousificent.. This is disconcerting and painful to pronounce...I may get it tattooed on my body somewhere that only my lovely wife sees...so she can get upset with me!!!!Looks like fun, and mosquitoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh-Man Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 One of the best things about fossil hunting besides the fossils is the adventure.. And you and tj had one. Nice find too. Have only had two experiences with quicksand... that is really a frightening feeling. Hate the stuff... No quicksand this week, but SilverPhoenix and I had to swing on some vines and roots to keep from getting hip deep in a couple of pools while hunting wood this week! Considering I'm more than twice his age I was pretty happy I didn't just herniate a disc or something!!! Great stuff guys! But I hate to tell you that based on the flora, water color & angle of the sun I was able to determine exactly where you all were... TEXAS! Hook'em Horns Baby!!! What is geology? "Rocks for Jocks!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 I've been to that spot! The GPS coordinates are N 97 deg 61.812 min W 103 deg 83.864 min 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 No quicksand this week, but SilverPhoenix and I had to swing on some vines and roots to keep from getting hip deep in a couple of pools while hunting wood this week! Considering I'm more than twice his age I was pretty happy I didn't just herniate a disc or something!!! TEXAS! Hook'em Horns Baby!!! LOL, I can picture that very easily.... Wish you guys would have snapped some pics of that... Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 ...SilverPhoenix and I had to swing on some vines and roots to keep from getting hip deep in a couple of pools while hunting wood this week! Who was Tarzan, and who was Cheeta? "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...
MikeD Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 Nice pics. I feel like I was almost there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenixflood Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Great report tracer and nice finds to the both of you! The soul of a Fossil Hunter is one that is seeking, always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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