Where Best To Look Near Mazon Creek

[nnovo]

While we were at the Field Museum my son saw a picture which showed Mazon Creek for fossil collecting. He begged me and begged me to take him there, which I did today with his 2 brothers. We walked for quite a while, searched along some of the water's edge, but didn't find anything but ticks. Everything is really over-grown. Does anyone have any tips of some good areas to go near(ish) to Chicago? We did research online and went to the wilderness area at the Mazonia Fish and Wildlife area, but it's such a big area, I never really felt like we were in the correct spot. My kids are still pretty young so we can't cover a lot of area, but I don't want to deter their interest. Any advice is appreciated.

[Stocksdale]

It is sometimes a bit of a challenge particularly this time of year when things are overgrown.

Several of the Forum Members met down there to do a Mazon Creek fossil hunt in an area where you are allowed to dig. The tale of their gathering and results is found here.

Your post got me thinking about the idea of a similar gathering but making it a kid-friendly gathering. I have two kids (9 and 12 years old). I know another guy on here that had talked to me about meeting up with him and his son at Mazon Creek but we never got around to it. Something to think about anyway.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Stocksdale

[nnovo]

A kid-friendly trip would be exactly what we need. My kids are 5, 9, and 12. Let me know if anything comes up. We had some idea what we were looking for but only what we had read. Someone to show us the ropes would be great.

[digit]

Welcome to the Forum nnovo,

I grew up in Chicago and was also blissfully unaware of the magic of Mazon Creek while I lived there till I saw the exhibit at the Field Museum with two of my nieces some years ago. On a return trip to Chicago after some research I did exactly what you did (stumble around Mazonia Fish & Wildlife Area till I had more ticks than nodules). I retried hunting there a few times over the years but never really got plugged into to the mother-lode and I really wanted to have the experience of hunting and finding nodules. I had "mastered" the hunting part but failed miserably on the "finding" component.

Discovering The Fossil Forum (TFF) was a real boon to the fossil portion of my more general treasure hunting addiction. I soon discovered that there were a lot of great members here with an immeasurable wealth of knowledge. Type in a search term (like "Mazon Creek") in the search box at the top of this page and you will have lots of great information at your fingertips. I reached out to forum member Rob Russell who regularly hunts for (and more importantly--finds!) Mazon Creek nodules. He was kind enough to organize a gathering of fossil hunters (many if not all TFF members) for an outing to celebrate my birthday earlier this month. My wife and I truly enjoyed the day, met a great bunch of like minded folk, and finally cracked the nut by actually scoring some nice nodules.

If you read about our exploits in the link above that Stocksdale pointed out in his post above you will see that we had a great time. I think the trip could be made relatively kid friendly though hard work is involved as it is digging and not surface collecting. Surface collecting is apparently best done in the spring after the ground has barely thawed and before the undergrowth has had a chance to grow in, obscuring nodules that have weathered out on the surface. It seems that digging produces a better grade of nodule (less weathered) but it comes at the cost of some digging through the clay/shale that is currently holding (protecting) the nodules. You would have to judge if the kids could handle and would enjoy such a hunt. Surface hunting (like shelling at a beach) is mostly visual--spotting your prize as you walk along. Digging for your treasures is a bit more physical and would likely require the adults to bear the brunt of the digging responsibilities. I think the kids would enjoy the post processing of the nodules using the freeze-thaw method though it is mostly unexciting till you have a fossil nodule pop open.

I'd suggest sending a PM to "Rob Russell" and/or "fossilized6s" who is new to Mazon Creek hunting but shows both great enthusiasm and a knack for finding fossil bearing nodules. Include "Stocksdale" in the conversation and maybe you all can organize a kid-friendly outing for the lot of you. I believe kids should find time to put the iPad down for at least a few of their waking moments and get out and experience some real life on occasion. What better way than dragging them out on a treasure hunt that demonstrates that a little hard work can pay off as well as providing a great education on what the world was like 300 million years ago.

If you do manage to get the logistics sorted out and have a kid-friendly fossil hunting trip, I'm sure the other TFF members would enjoy both hearing about it and experiencing it vicariously through copious photos taken during the hunt. It is all to easy to get caught-up in the process of hunting and forget to take out the camera and document the event. Your future self and your kids will thank you for snapping some photos throughout the day and the photos will help illustrate your story when you create a topic about it here on the forum.

Again, welcome to the forum--now make use of its power to make that fossil hunting trip a reality.

Cheers.

-Ken