LabRatKing Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 So, I had planned a long trip for this year and built a vehicle for it. However due to some health issues I had to cancel. However I still had the time off from work and the weather here in Omaha was not good for recovery. so I got some help packing up the new to me fossil hunting Jeep and headed west to San Diego. Plenty of time to burn and a vehicle with AC helped, so I took a long and inefficient route to SD where the VA has a better cardiovascular clinic. As I could only drive for a few hours a day and due to heat and wildfire smoke, I took stopped frequently and mostly stayed in hotel. However, it was cooler in the higher altitudes with much lower humidity so… Stopped at Fossil Mountain to camp. Couldn’t do much on the mountain itself where the good stuff is at, but enjoyed a cooler evening and morning. Didn’t get any fossils worth reporting, but was nice spot to relax. From there I stopped at Crystal Peak and scored a few pygs in a wash near the road. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 The problem I was having is I couldn’t walk very far without being winded, and I definitely couldn’t carry much weight, however I need to go back there and get hardcore in the future. Next I drove the back roads to keep the stress level low and went to Ely, Nevada. I did some very slow walking around the Garnet Hill rock hounding site and filled my pockets. Not fossils, but great fun and good exercise. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 The wild fire smoke got bad, so I drove through the desert the rest of the way to San Diego where cool ocean breezes and some good doctors patched me up with different meds. After a week it was time to head back. Long story short, I couldn’t skip Cowboy Pass site 5. It’s easy if you have a 4x4 to get to it. Due to monsoon storms and me being at best 30%, I stayed three nights and two days. It was the quietest I have ever experienced due to the drought, but I found the right layer. It took me hours to get about a dozen specimens, and hours more to get them close to the Jeep trail so I could load them up. I could actually feel myself getting stronger, and each day I could walk a little farther without having to sit and rest for an hour.(more on these as I clean them up in the future) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 While there are tons of other sites in the area, I had to fight the urge to visit them. Also apparently Armageddon started in Colorado, so I had to head north to get to I80. Stopped at Dugway to camp and find some geodes. Got a few and actually found some very interesting fossils( more in those later). Problem is the weather changed, so a flash flood, followed by a front that bright in the smoke created a difficult situation. The daytime temps were in the high 30s and the smoke was the worst I’ve seen in decades…and the “roads” were a bit too muddy for my liking and skill level. All I could do was wait. Slept in the Jeep with the AC on and had to wear my respirator with filters I normally reserve for only the nastiest hazmat at the labs. the red dot is actually the sun… 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 Finally the roads dried up a bit, so I drove up to Kemmerer WY. I’m in no shape to dig at the quarries there, but it was cool and the air was clean, so I wandered around town and explored the rock shops. I really love that town! As fossil trips go, it was far from the best, but a bit of desert time and some careful exercise in the dry air at temperatures still lower than at home made for an OK trip. Ill share more on the specimens collected as I clean them up. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Thanks for sharing your experiences! Great trip and great report. Seems you have downplayed your health issues a little bit in previous posts ?! Anyways, great to read, that you are getting better day by day . Franz Bernhard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Looks like a successful trip, though it sounds like you went through a lot to get what you got. I like the garnets and such as much as the fossils. This wildfire and heatwave stuff is getting rather concerning.... it's all over the place, we're getting it here too. I would wait a month or two before going on any trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 (edited) So sorry to hear your planned fossiling trip had to be so drastically altered as to fail it's original goal. But very glad to hear how you still managed to make the best of it and it actually turned out for the best. The situations and environmental damage you're describing sound quite apocalyptic, though. Scary stuff! Glad you made it through okay, and had a good time Great report and wonderful photographs, by the way! Edited August 13, 2021 by pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon 'There's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fibre and, in some cases, backbone' -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Maybe not many fossils but still a great trip report. Glad to hear that your health is improving. RB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Enjoyed your trip report. This year’s weather patterns have been odd. While the west and western Canada have been hot and dry, seems as if Texas has gotten off slightly easier than normal this summer. Rain and clouds from May through July have made it a little easier to be outside 12+ hours per collecting day. The first mild norther of mid Sept is right around the corner. 1 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 Truth be told, even though I didn’t get to go to all the sites I’d planned, or even use the permits I spent years trying to get, there is something very therapeutic about the Great Basin desert for me. and full disclaimer, I shouldn’t have made any of these stops, let alone the ones I didn’t report here in my weakened condition. Pretty sure the VA would have me shot for ignoring doctors orders, but my thinking was if my main pump was gonna blow, it’s way better to do it in a place I love, covered with dirt and dust and surrounded by Piles of rocks. In short you should never ever ever got out solo in such a remote place even when at 100% 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 9 minutes ago, LabRatKing said: and full disclaimer, I shouldn’t have made any of these stops, let alone the ones I didn’t report here in my weakened condition. Pretty sure the VA would have me shot for ignoring doctors orders, but my thinking was if my main pump was gonna blow, it’s way better to do it in a place I love, covered with dirt and dust and surrounded by Piles of rocks. In short you should never ever ever got out solo in such a remote place even when at 100% Well, well... . You really know your best "medicine"! Franz Bernhard 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 I actually collected lots of specimens, but didn’t take pictures in situ…and I did a lot of “old fart” tourist type camping due to the lack of hotels in the middle of nowhere and the pandemic. I did gain back almost 30lbs and can walk 100 yards without getting dizzy now. Before the trip had to use a walker! here’s some more non fossil photos, including an embarrassing selfie that proves I’m some sort of diety… to give you an idea of how I roll- this is an 07 Jeep Liberty (Cherokee for non US folks) with a “2 inch” ( actually 50mm) ARB Old Man Emu lift kit. With all my gear and equipment, it sits lower than stock, but is still a tank off road.!I got it for 500$ and put 2k into it all myself specifically to hunt fossils and do field work. ( all before my ticker went bad) it is outfitted with a Slumberjack Roadhouse tarp, an ARB Touring double swag Skydome tent, under hood air compressor, about 500 lbs of science equipment, hot and cold running water and a 12 volt fridge freezer combo, plus a multi fuel dual burner stove. I replaced the lightweight Dana 35 differential with a Dirty 30 and upgraded the rest of the suspension with Jeepin’ by Al and Ironrock auto components. It is capable of being completely self sufficient for 14 days, and has both solar and propane back ups to support 4 batteries. I also moved the 3500 watt sound system out of my VW and installed a CB, grms, and satellite coms system. This junker is now known as Bert the ScienceMobile and can basically go anywhere and do anything. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Glad you’re feeling better. Really interesting photo, the Sun photo is very otherworldly . Nice finds and spider too. cheers Bobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 Proof I’m some sort of heathen desert godling. This is near Sunset at Sinbad Overlook in the famous Wheeler Amphitheater. I intended to try trilobites in the original quarry, but was too weak to get in and out of it safely, so camped out and took extensive notes of locations to dig in the future. Here’s some more random shots: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 5 minutes ago, LabRatKing said: it is outfitted with a Slumberjack Roadhouse tarp, an ARB Touring double swag Skydome tent, under hood air compressor, about 500 lbs of science equipment, hot and cold running water and a 12 volt fridge freezer combo, plus a multi fuel dual burner stove. I replaced the lightweight Dana 35 differential with a Dirty 30 and upgraded the rest of the suspension with Jeepin’ by Al and Ironrock auto components. It is capable of being completely self sufficient for 14 days, and has both solar and propane back ups to support 4 batteries. I also moved the 3500 watt sound system out of my VW and installed a CB, grms, and satellite coms system. This junker is now known as Bert the ScienceMobile and can basically go anywhere and do anything. I don´t understand much of this, but isn´t such a character already somewhere out there? Oh yes it is: Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang Seems to be the grandpa of yours . Franz Bernhard 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 On 8/13/2021 at 9:06 AM, Uncle Siphuncle said: Enjoyed your trip report. This year’s weather patterns have been odd. While the west and western Canada have been hot and dry, seems as if Texas has gotten off slightly easier than normal this summer. Rain and clouds from May through July have made it a little easier to be outside 12+ hours per collecting day. The first mild norther of mid Sept is right around the corner. It’s been downright tropical in Nebraska. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 1 hour ago, LabRatKing said: It’s been downright tropical in Nebraska. I’m used to back to back 102-105F days here in Aug, but we’ve had more 95F days lately. That extra 10F can dictate whether the month is dedicated more to collecting vs. prep. No black shales for me in Aug; I tend to be amphibious during the dog days. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 53 minutes ago, Uncle Siphuncle said: I’m used to back to back 102-105F days here in Aug, but we’ve had more 95F days lately. That extra 10F can dictate whether the month is dedicated more to collecting vs. prep. No black shales for me in Aug; I tend to be amphibious during the dog days. Yeah it was 98-105 here at 80%+ RH for pretty much the entire summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared C Posted August 18, 2021 Share Posted August 18, 2021 Great report - in addition to the adventures, fossils, and garnets it looks like you found a a gorgeous prairie rattler, (Crotalus viridis). For me, few outdoor excursions are complete without seeing at least a few living reptiles “Not only is the universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think” -Werner Heisenberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted August 28, 2021 Author Share Posted August 28, 2021 Update: we ran a few samples on the sequencer from the salt flat pool pictured and have what looks to be three previously undescribed Halobacterium! Apparently I have a knack for finding new species when I’m not looking for them. Still mor excited about the halite I got from the same site. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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