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Trip to the Rochester Shale


Darktooth

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I am getting ready to leave for a fossilhunt this morning. I am heading to the Rochester Shale, to dig up some Silurian treasures. Currently waiting on a friend to get here and then we will  make our journey. I am very excited to get out today. I will post a report when I get back! :fingerscrossed:

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Best of luck, Dave.  :fingerscrossed:

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    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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_________________________________________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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Glad it warmed up a bit so you can get out, Dave. Last weekend we barely hit freezing here during the day, low teens overnight. Yesterday 80 degrees. Gotta love N.C. weather!

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Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

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Good luck, Dave, and I look forward to the complete Arctinurus you will be giving my cat. :P 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Are you hoping to find trilobites?

Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunter

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Lucky. Will be a few months before we are warm enough here to do fieldwork... Good luck!!

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5 hours ago, LiamL said:

Are you hoping to find trilobites?

Yes, I am actually on my way home now. There were about 10 people but nobody found any complete ones. Alot of Cephalons and Pygidiums of Trimerus and Dalmanites. I am hoping to do a report later tonight or tomorrow. I am throughly exhausted. I moved a ton of rock with little reward, but I was with good people so I still had fun.

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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1 hour ago, Nanosaurus said:

Lucky. Will be a few months before we are warm enough here to do fieldwork... Good luck!!

It is unusual for the weather to cooperate for fossilhunting this time of year in New York. The weather warmed up a few days ago and rained which melted what snow we had. Today was about 45°. But the rain made the area extremely muddy, which made digging that much harder.

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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I finally have some time to give a report on yesterday's hunt.

 

Anytime I go on a fossilhunt I always go feeling optimistic. This was my third time to the area. My first two trips were pretty good and I figured this time would be just as good if not better.

 

I left with a friend of mine named Tim. I met him back in 2003 when I joined my local club. We arrived to the site around 9 am. About an hour later my friend Stephen showed up with about 8 members of the Wayne County Gem & Mineral Club.

 

Because of recent snowmelt and rain the area was coated in mud, with several inches of debris covering the solid rock. Tim and I settled in to a spot near the base of the cliff, which had a small ledge started. We spent the entire day in this one spot. Both of us found trilobite partials of Trimerus and Dalmanites as well as tiny horn corals, brachiopods, bivalves and graptolites.

 

Everyone else found bits and pieces but nothing special. We all know that when I comes to fossilhunting, finding fossils is just part of the fun. The rest is spending time in good company.

 

I really enjoyed working together with my friend Tim. Over the years we have gone hunting for Herkimer Diamonds, trilobites, sharkteeth, and have also fished together.

 

For a few years we both had things going on in our lives and fell out of touch. This past year we have gotten together a few times and I realized again just how great of a guy he is. One of the nicest guys that I have ever met. As I told him yesterday, he is a good hang.

 

Then there is my friend Stephen who I met last year. Another great guy. We like to joke around at the others expense which makes our time together fun.

 

And everyone else that I met yesterday seemed nice as well. Sometimes it is the connections we make with others that can make our hunts special.

 

I am a bit sad that I misplaced some of the items that I intended to bring home. I set everything I wanted to keep, next to my 5 gallon buckets that had my tools in them. But as I stated  earlier everything was muddy. When the mud started drying it made things impossible to see the fossils. At least I didn't leave behind anything fantastic.

 

Here is what I brought back.

 

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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17 minutes ago, Yoda said:

@Darktooth

Nice finds :trilobite:

Thank-you!

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Glad that you enjoyed the trip, Dave. :)

Nice to see some brachiopods, as always. :BigSmile:

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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12 minutes ago, Tidgy&#x27;s Dad said:

Glad that you enjoyed the trip, Dave. :)

Nice to see some brachiopods, as always. :BigSmile:

Thank-you Adam, unfortunately some brachiopods that I meant to keep got left behind! I am trying to expand my shell collection.

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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2 minutes ago, Darktooth said:

 unfortunately some brachiopods that I meant to keep got left behind!

Crying.gif.5781a669c7985ae13455d08440b7b300.gif

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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22 minutes ago, Tidgy&#x27;s Dad said:

Crying.gif.5781a669c7985ae13455d08440b7b300.gif

I know! Better luck next time. Unlike some of the other sites I go to, my truck wasn't close enough to bring specimens to, as I found them.

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Rochester shales were one of those places we used to dream about. I ended up just buying a couple of trilobites from the place in Medina? Paleoworld or something like that? Looks like you found some quality material! 

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Well done, Dave. Yes, the holy grail is to find complete trilobites, but even partials are noteworthy when site access is so limited with respect to the Rochester shale. So glad you got out there and rubbed shoulders with fossil pals. That truly is the best part. We may collect fossils, but collecting field comrades and sharing some good times together is the real joy. :) 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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1 hour ago, Paul1719 said:

Rochester shales were one of those places we used to dream about. I ended up just buying a couple of trilobites from the place in Medina? ********** or something like that? Looks like you found some quality material! 

 

I believe that was the Caleb Quarry, in Middleport, NY.

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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_________________________________________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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@Darktooth

 

Great finds, Dave.
That bivalve looks to be Cornellites emacerata.

Not sure on the brachiopod.

Cool finds, all around, though.

Thanks for the report - glad you could get out there.

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    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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_________________________________________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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18 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

I believe that was the Caleb Quarry, in Middleport, NY.

Yes! and the company was Primitive worlds . Apparently no longer in the quarry but they do still maintain this website with info on the Rochester shales.

http://www.primitiveworlds.com/

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