Blue Skies But Cold Winds In Central Texas--Lake Jacksboro, Jack County

[mikecable]

Gary and I had 16 days off for the holidays. We've been trying to plan a trip to Jax from the start. Family obligations and weather kept getting in our way. We changed plans at least four times. But we finally made it out today.

We left later than usual--in order to try to catch the sun's warmth upon our arrival. So I didn't wake up until 5 am. Showered and the other ablutions, put on way too many clothes, and choked down a cold Taco Bueno bean burrito, chased with a glass of tomato juice with Tabasco and lime. Made it to Gary's house by 5:50 am and we were on our way.

Fast and furious from Abilene to Jax is two hours and 10 minutes. Slow and easy is three hours. We drove hard, with one brief coffee/smoke break and made it in about two and a half hours. Clear blue skies and a driving wind from the SW at about 20 mph.

I'm glad I wore too many clothes--my Dad's old M65 field coat, four shirts, long-johns, jeans and two pairs of socks. If you aren't familiar with Jax, hiking across the dam means hiking into a SW wind. At about 37 degrees F. Which means a face-chilling wind-chill factor. I won't go so far as to say brutally cold, but danged chilly.

But once we got to the Finis Shale exposure it shielded us from that very same wind.

The Finis Shale exposure is a very big "borrow pit". A "borrow pit" is a place from which you borrowed some dirt. In this case they borrowed a bunch of dirt to build the dam for Lake Jacksboro. And exposed a bunch of Finis Shale.

Further to the east of where I am they borrow dirt to fill in roads, and the ponds created become "borrows". Here where I am they "borrow" dirt from the side of the road to build up the camber of the road. These became "bar" ditches.

Got to love Texas. They can turn a one syllable for word for human scat into three or more syllables, and turn the two syllable word "borrow" into the word "bar".

Here's what a big "bar" pit looks like.

[rejd]

Nice report, thanks for sharing. At least you can get out. I am under a couple of feet of snow and it's about -21C, that's about -17F for you. Brrrrrr.... See you in the spring. LOL

[RyanNREMTP]

That cold front is hitting Texas right now so hibernation sounds like a great idea right now.

Did y'all find anything?

[mikecable]

That cold front is hitting Texas right now so hibernation sounds like a great idea right now.

Did y'all find anything?

Did we find anything?

You surely jest.

We found camaraderie. We found a sublime sunrise. We found cold winds that bit hard, but not as hard as a knife.

I found my father again--wearing his old M65 field jacket. Even at the age of 50 I feel that connection to my father.

We found some great Tex-Mex food at the joint in Jacksboro.

We found some dirt, some air, some weather, some life.

Yeah, we found a few fossiliferous bits. I'm getting around to that.

I'm from Texas. I'll get around to that. Probably a bit faster than an old southerner like Faulkner. Probably a bit slower than some Californians like Raymond Chandler or James M. Cain. Stories just come out at their own pace--especially if they come from Texas.

It took at least five hours of driving to find four hours of fossils. It took a half hour to eat lunch. It took less than a minute for our celebratory shot of tequila. I'll take my time writing about our finds.

[RyanNREMTP]

By all means take your time. Sometimes it just spending the time doing something that is more important than the results that we go out for in the first place.

[Auspex]

"Danged Chilly" would be a good name for a Texas rapper...

[mikecable]

My last two visits to Jax were with fairly large groups of teachers and kids. So I spent most of my time guiding and making identifications--not much time with my nose to the ground actually fossil hunting. But I was left with the impression that the site was not as productive as it had been a year earlier, at least in terms of larger macro specimens.

Mind you, I'm not saying that Lake Jacksboro is played out. I believe that this exposure of the Finis Shale will be productive for years, even decades, into the future. But it was apparent from the large cracks in the mud flats, and the low lake level, that Jax has not had the sort of hard-pounding gully washing rain that other parts of Texas have been fortunate enough to receive after the devastating drought two years ago. Nowhere did I see that fossil hunter's dream of perfect specimens standing out on small pedestals of dirt.

But I had observed that there was still a plethora of tiny specimens to be found. So I decided to focus this trip on some very judicious sampling of micro matrix.

I decided on very judicious sampling for two reasons. One was selfish. While I've largely recovered from the spinal fusion I underwent a little over a year ago, I still have a bit of hitch in my getalong. The hike from the parking area to the exposure is a bit more than a 1/4 mile. While it is over relatively level terrain (most of it along a gravel road), the thought of lugging out a five gallon bucket of dirt was not appealing.

My second reason was more altruistic. I, like many Texas fossil hounds, consider the Finis Shale at Lake Jacksboro to be a public treasure. I wouldn't want to see a guy on the slope with a trenching tool and a row of five gallon buckets. So I didn't want to be that guy.

So my collecting method left something to be desired as far as a purely scientific objectivity and lack of bias was concerned. I got down on elbows and knees with my nose almost in the dirt. This hunting method allows me to actually smell the fossils. I sought out areas where natural sedimentary weathering and erosion had sorted the matrix to a size of 5 mm or smaller, and that was rich in micro specimens. Then I used a small soil scoop to take small surface scrapings of the matrix, trying to make sure every sample contained multiple fossils. By small sample I mean that I was only scraping up about a teaspoonful at a time.

I collected about a gallon of material using this somewhat painstaking, but surprisingly relaxing, methodology. And even a gallon of matrix (ten to twelve pounds) was a noticeable burden on the hike out.

So yesterday evening I started to investigate my wee beasties. I sampled about four ounces of my matrix, using a stack of three inch standard sieves.

I used numbers 6, 10, 18, 25 and 30 sieves. Basically I was sorting down to 600 microns, but I fully expected most of the fossils to be trapped by the first two sieves--2 mm or larger.

These are the specimens captured by the #6 sieve. The triangular sorting tray measures 7 cm on the sides. Not bad for four ounces of dirt. Now on to digging through the #10 sieve.

Edited January 5, 2014 by mikecable

[mikecable]

I was a tad disappointed with the quantity of intact fossils captured by the #10 sieve. These range in size from 2.0 mm up to about 3.5 mm. But there was enough there to be interesting. Lots of shell fragments and modern vegetable bits that made sorting a bit more challenging. Small enough to require some optical aid.

A model 7 Optivisor--2.75X magnification and the additional 2.5X mag loupe mounted to swing down over the right eye. I wear these over my progressive bifocals which are 2X for close work.

Not a bad assortment. This pic and the photos above were taken with my Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro phone using the stock Android Jellybean photo app set to macro focus and held by hand. Minor editing was done using Google + in the cloud.

A sweet little Schizostoma?--just above 2 mm. This photo and the several to follow were taken with the same phone mounted with a Seben afocal camera mount and a cell phone tripod adapter to my Bausch and Lomb Stereozoom 4 focused at about 15X magnification. I did a bit more editing in Google +--more cropping and increasing the sharpness and structure.

A bryozoan fragment, a fairly nice fusulinid, and a bivalve with a cool worm tube encrustation.

The next sieve will take me down to fossils between 1.0 ad 2.0 mm. I don't expect to find a lot. But considering the fact that I've found 50+ relatively intact fossils in my first four ounce sample I'm highly pleased. And these have just been dry sieved, and not cleaned up in anyway. Sometimes it pays to look for the small change in the couch cushions.

[BobWill]

Great report about my favorite collecting site. I had to leave early when I joined you on one of your teacher trips because my allergies were so bad, the watery eyes distorted my focus, not good when looking for the small fossils. To make up for that I've been back twice since then, once in early Dec with Gary T. and again on the 28th with Gary and Nathan V. and his Mom, Linda.

I've walked across that dam in a west wind when I thought I'd be blown into Lost Creek! I think it's closer to a half mile or more if you count the trek across the flats to the bank. We also collected near the shoreline since the low water level had exposed some unexplored rocks.

Did you bring back anything besides the micros? Take your time responding

[mikecable]

Bob

It was good to see you if even for a brief time. But your eyes were tearing up so badly I didn't know if you'd just come from a funeral or just finished signing an alimony check. The teachers and kids had a great time--we enjoyed lunch at the Tex-Mex joint in Jacksboro and then spent about 90 minutes at the Mineral Wells Fossil Park. One of the young ladies found a lovely, albeit small, enrolled trilobite.

Mostly I concentrated on the micros, but I hope I can find in my baggies the best conularid I've found so far--small but nicely preserved. And I have one or two other interesting bits. Hopefully pics to come soon.

We would have invited you on this foray but the vagaries of Texas weather had us changing plans so many times I'm surprised we got ourselves there. Next time my friend.

[RyanNREMTP]

I am seriously considering a trip to Mineral Wells fossil park this March.

[mikecable]

I am seriously considering a trip to Mineral Wells fossil park this March.

Ryan

I'm not discouraging you from Mineral Wells. But if you are going to make the drive do both Mineral Wells and Jax. They are less than an hour apart. While they have similar faunal assemblages they are also very different. As far as Texas is concerned they are only among the few sites that you can hunt two-fer in a day. If our spring breaks or weekends might line up you can PM me. I'm a Texan. I'll point to the west or east and tell you lies.

[mikecable]

A fairly nice small conulariid.

The genus name should come trippingly off my tongue. But at my age the only things that trip off my tongue are snores and snorts and stutters. But she is a pretty wee beastie.

badly shattered and eroded shark tooth blade with no root?

Edited January 5, 2014 by mikecable

[RyanNREMTP]

I'll look into my schedule. I have the week of the 10th in March but one of those I have training so I'll let you know as soon as I know.

[BobWill]

Your snail looks like Euphemites sp. She a real beauty. On our trip last weekend we ate at the Green Frog and other times we tried Dairyland for some bar-b-que, but I don't know the Tex-Mex place you mentioned. That tooth looks like it's been digested and fell out of a coprolite

[mikecable]

Bob

Casa Grande Mexican Grill right on the square east of the courthouse. It's next to the True Value. Extensive menu, but all typical variations on Tex-Mex platters. More food than you can eat for no more than 8-10 bucks with tea, but without tip. Never failed us. Always has a small crowd, but I've never seen it packed--but I bet if you went at lunch hour during the week the courthouse folks would have it packed. Quick friendly service. They are also used to grizzled old timers like you and me--mostly with spurs--but they overlook muddy boots and dirty clothes. If you want a load of refried frijoles, some Mexican rice, and your choice of tacos, enchiladas, tamales, or rellenos with a variety of sauces you can't beat the joint. I just wished they served ice cold cerveza. But to paraphrase a couple of fairly smart Brits--while I can't always get what I want, I get what I need. I can live with tea.

I think you called it on the Euphemites sp.

[mikecable]

I think you called it as well on the shark tooth. I found the worst ever example of a Petalodus sp? broken tooth blade that might even still be identifiable. One truly piece of carp tooth. But my first from Jax, so fun nonetheless.

[mikecable]

I know that Bob and I and others can wander off track on these threads. I can take it to the extreme of an art form--though many would call it the art of a two-year-old smearing excrement on the wall and than outlining his work in permanent marker.

But remember Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Life is a journey--not a destination".

And then think about Martha Stewart

"It's a good thing".

Knowing where the good Tex-Mex joint is a good thing, and part of any journey. Almost as important as good restrooms. And not nearly as important as the next place that has potable water.

[Shamalama]

Nice report Mike, even if you are taking your time to tell it! I guess with the cold weather you Texans slow down like reptiles. Nice finds and an even nicer narrative.

[mikecable]

We Texans know when to hunker down in the wind. And when to take time to savor supper. Or for that matter delight in dinner. Eat when you can. Sleep every chance you can. Drink plenty of fluids. Drink more water (since I've learned that tequila is not considered a hydrating fluid). Don't walk if you can ride. Dress in layers. Buy good boots. Good boots that walk well are better than the best show boots when the horse has died. If you ever get into the position where you are worried about your boots and the horse--eat the horse.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

don't walk if you can ride...i often used to take a bike to jax for that very reason