Ckinney516 Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Hello! First post, so yay! Also, I'm pretty darn new to rockhounding, and these will really be my first honest hunts. I'm planning on making a trip across the country, and I figured I'd make a massive adventure out of it by rockhounding and fossil hunting along the way. I've attached images of my proposed route, and below are some spots I've found through online research that seem decent enough. I tried to formulate my trips to one per state, so it breaks up my driving decently and I'm not bushwhacking for a whole day... Essentially, I've tried to pick spots that are easily accessible and somewhat productive because I'm really only planning on being there for a few hours. I'm also going to be alone, and I'd really rather not get stuck, stranded, or otherwise screwed Utah: Wheeler Formation (Wheeler Ampitheater, House Range; trilobites) Colorado: Douglas Pass Pikes Peak (Amazonite, Quartz) Oklahoma: Broken Bow Lake (possible fossils in southeastern corner of lake) Arkansas: Crater of Diamonds SP (I really just want to go there... We were stationed at LRAFB but we never got the chance) Mississippi: W.M. Browning Cretaceous Park (sharks teeth in creek) South Carolina: Edisto River near coast (megladon/sharks teeth, will be with a friend) These are all just the spots out... I'm planning on going down to the Florida Keys and spending a couple days there, then on the way back up stopping in Arcadia, FL and adventuring around the Peace River, as apparently there are megladon teeth somewhere in there. I'm taking the southern route through AL, MS, LA, TX (hitting Houston and San Antonio), NM, and AZ on the way back... Any help on different/better places on my trip out, and any recommended places on the way back would be awesome!! Like I said, im super new to this and it's taken me a week and a half to find and plan the logistics of what stops I have... And given that I'm planning on leaving CA the 9th, I could use some help Thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrodB Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 You should check out the North Sulphur RIver in Texas on your way back. Look at my gallery for examples of what you may find. http://www.nautiloid.net/fossils/sites/north_sulphur_river/north_sulphur_river.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Looks like a great trip. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBOB Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 With stopping in Colorado the first place that comes to mind is Florrisant, CO. First stop off and check out the Florrisant Fossil Beds National Park: no collecting permitted but a great place to visit. Just a mile or so up the road from there is a private owned pay-to-dig quarry, Florrisant Fossil Quarry. Pay by the hour to split shale looking for plants, leaves, and insects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raggedy Man Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 (edited) Keep in mind your trip is at the end of winter. Many pay quarries do not open to the public well into April or may. Rivers may be to high and dangerous to venture in. Pikes Peek will be iffy. I do know the pay quarry by the fossil beds will be closed. Please be careful and use common sense when prospecting in unfamiliar areas. Stay away from cliff faces(25ft) as a falling rock can make you a permanent feature of the formation. Be aware of areas with venomous snakes, though it might be too early for them to emerge from hibernation. Good luck! Best regards, Paul Edited February 29, 2016 by Raggedy Man ...I'm back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 you say you are leaving the 9th... is that the 9th of March... ten days or so away? If so, Douglas Pass will likely still be covered with snow. It is at 9000 feet or so. I got snowed on up there in May one year and that is not unusual. Florissant is a better bet. And much less off the beaten path and there is someone there to help you. Yes, you do pay a little (not too much) for these luxuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Is it the 9th of March that you embark? Your planned stops in the mountain West will probably be unavailable then. "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...
jpc Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 looks like auspex and I were writing the same thing at the same time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ckinney516 Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 Thanks guys, these are great things to know! Originally I'm from the northeast, and the whole... Winter and mountain thing is still a bit of a learning curve for me. I know it sounds stupid, but I didn't realize mountain pass roads closed... In NH it's just like "oh hey, snow... Well gotta get to work." And you just drive through it I'm hoping to avoid pay to dig sites, not only because they're all closed, but because I'm on a massively restricting budget... So the fewer pay to dig sites the better I guess with that in mind the fact that most of them will be closed is a good thing Raggedy Man (do I sense a doctor who reference?!)- thank you for all that info! Definitely good tips. My husband and I are actually adventuring around the Bay Area right now checking for fossils... We just finished with Capitola (only picked up some fossil hash off the beach, I was adamant about not digging anything out of the cliffs!! And we're on our way to Scott's Valley for *hooefully* some sand dollars. Does anyone have any suggestions for Southern New Mexico or Arizona? Fossil or rockhounding, that is Thanks again for all your ideas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 (edited) You May want to take the southern route out and the northern (mountainous) route on the way back. This will give You a better chance at the high elevation areas. In southern NM You can do the rockhound state park in Deming. Thundereggs and geodes found there, a small fee and camping on site. There are many places in the Antelope springs (Wheeler amphitheater) area that are free to dig, just watch out for the active claims. Also check out Topaz Mountain in Utah. If You have not been to the petrified forest in eastern Arizona it is a "must see" kind of place for all rockhounds!! And there is a place near Joseph city Arizona that You can collect petrified wood for free. Good luck on the trip!! Tony Edited March 1, 2016 by ynot Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Rock Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 In ARKANSAS, I would also like to suggest Coleman's Quartz Crystal Mine….not all that expensive and a LOT of fun! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori LuvsFossils Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 That sounds great! I've traveled to the diamond mine 3x. My little bag always has goodies in it, but not the right kind. I'm ready for someone to show me how it's done. I've spent a lot of hours in the Peace. If you don't have much time, you might find it difficult to score a Meg in Arcadia. There are lots of people looking for them. Don't be discouraged though, there are other treasures & you never know. You've got S Carolina on your list. The Megs are larger there. Happy Hunting, safe travels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Looks like someone will be having fun, no matter what the outcome. Good hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ckinney516 Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 GUYS! I spent the first few hours of today roaming around the Wherler Ampitheater and OH MAN!! It was so exciting!!! I can't wait to head back to my rock shop in CA and get help finishing/cleaning up my finds. What a fun day!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefootgirl Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 If your coming so close to the Sulphur river you might as well hit that while you're in the area. Just head south at Broken Bow and take 70 to Hugo then head south into Texas down 271 and go straight through Paris TX and the sulphur is about 12 minutes straight south on 24. You could hit the bridge just south of Paris tx on 24. Just watch the water levels. It's up and going good right now and when it drops the hunting should be good there. In formal logic, a contradiction is the signal of defeat: but in the evolution of real knowledge, it marks the first step in progress toward victory. Alfred North Whithead 'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ckinney516 Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 If your coming so close to the Sulphur river you might as well hit that while you're in the area. Just head south at Broken Bow and take 70 to Hugo then head south into Texas down 271 and go straight through Paris TX and the sulphur is about 12 minutes straight south on 24. You could hit the bridge just south of Paris tx on 24. Just watch the water levels. It's up and going good right now and when it drops the hunting should be good there. i think hitting some DFW spots is definitely in order! Especially with all the rain the area is getting right now. Today will be driving through CO and maybe hitting the Florissant NP, depending on how I feel, but primarily I'm going to try and make the push to Dalhart, TX, make camp there somewhere and then on Saturday trek down to Ladonia, TX (read somewhere that there's a spot thereabouts I think) and then pop over to this spot you've suggested! From there it's like a 3hr drive to Crater of Diamonds, then I get to finally go up to NLR and sleep in an ACTUAL bed while visiting a couple friends. Thank you for the suggestion, pictures to follow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 If your plans include Florida, drop me a PM and we'll see if we can't get you loaded up with shark teeth and lots of other fossils from the Peace River. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ckinney516 Posted March 21, 2016 Author Share Posted March 21, 2016 Whew. Ladonia, TX was pretty sweet! The water levels were a bit too high to get into the proper river bed, so I had to primarily hunt on the banks, but man! It was awesome to see stuff just laying there. After Utah, I was surprised that the clay matrix the fossils were in was so wet and frangible, but I still managed to pull a decent ammonite out (though he came out in two pieces, an unavoidable realization I came to as soon as I cleared the silt surrounding him). The WM Cretaceous park in MS was a complete bust; the water was way too high and fast to get in and screen, but maybe I'll be able to swing back by on my way back. The Edisto area in SC was more of a fun trip; I've had a running joke with my friend Pat for years about finding sharks teeth on the beach. He kept saying that it was super easy once you know what to look for, but with how much I move we haven't had the opportunity to hunt together so he could teach me. Well, we drove the 3 hours down and after a few "it's in here somewhere" circles were drawn in the sand, I was off! I also came across some fossilized sea turtle shell, which was a great additional find! He taught me to look for teeth on the beach, and I taught him what general fossilized material looked like. He came across the thing in the attached pictures, and we have no idea what it is. It's about 1/4 inch, and we noticed the possible root channel and were thinking some type of mammal tooth? Anyone happen to know what it is? Next up is going to be northern Georgia for some dedicated hunting, I passed through to visit a friend in Woodstock, but we didn't go out hunting (ended up at Kennesaw NP, which turned into a 10 mile hike where I got ridiculously sunburnt and sore), so I'm going to try and find a place to drag him to go to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Hard to make out from your photos but the mystery object seems to me to possibly be a tilly bone (an enlarged calcified fish bone). Search TFF if you have the time and you will see other examples of tilly bones. Sounds like a fun cross-country trip so far. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Sounds like quite a trip, with some nice finds and friends! Do You know what the fossil in the top left of the picture in post 14 is? It looks very odd to Me and does not appear to be a trilobite, which could mean it is something rare! Continued luck on Your trip! Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddesilets Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 What a great trip!!! Edisto is a good place to hit and you can snorkel gravel beds (versus SCUBA) to help ease the budget but there are other sites too. Post in the South Carolina forum as you get close, like a few weeks in advance... maybe some of us can meet up with y'all and take you to a couple spots. Great finds above! <3 "Direct observation of the testimony of the earth ... is a matter of the laboratory, of the field naturalist, of indefatigable digging among the ancient archives of the earth's history." — Henry Fairfield Osborn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now