October 2, 2004 - Lawrence and Colbert Co, AL

This field trip to roadcuts in Lawrence and Colbert County, AL included five stops during the day. There were a number of students on the trip, who had been teased that "you're not going to find any fossils!". They were pleasantly surprised! After a long day of collecting, our youngest participant, Bailey, decided she wanted to come on all our trips!

Stop #1 was a roadcut in Lawrence County, Alabama, where large pieces of rugosa coral in Bangor Limestone had been excavated by road construction. The site has almost been totally reclaimed, but some very nice specimens were found.
(Photos courtesy Vicki Lais)
fossil coral
A large coral head.

hunting fossil coral
Hunting for treasures. The site has become overgrown, making it more difficult to spot the coral pieces.

hunting fossil coral
Carolyn with a couple of coral clusters.

hunting fossil coral
Bobby in foreground, with James in back.

hunting fossil coral

sitting on large fossil coral heads
Katie and Nina, very happy with their finds! Note the large coral head underneath Nina!

fossil coral head


fossil coral head


Stop #2 was a short stop, yeilding several samples of archimedes and crinoid stems, also from the Bangor Limestone.

archimedes fossil in rock

hunting fossils in quarry

hunting fossils in quarry
Jan and Claire inspecting this outcrop

.

hunting fossils in quarry
Bailey has found a nice archimedes.

hunting fossils in quarry
Vicki in her favorite environment, surrounded by rocks!

Stop #3 was a roadcut in Colbert County. Horned corals, blastoids, and crinoid stems were plentiful.

hunting fossils in quarry
The fossils weather out, and can be found laying on top of the ground.

hunting fossils in quarry

hunting fossils in quarry
Greg is identifying specimens for some of the students.

hunting fossils in quarry
Jan climbing the hill, with Leisa in background.

Stop #4 was a different roadcut, and yeilded similar material as stop #3, such as archimedes, blastoids, brachiopods, and bryazoan fragments.
hunting fossils on roadcut


hunting fossils on roadcut


hunting fossils on roadcut
Bobby found a nice trilobite at this site.
hunting fossils on roadcut

cleaning limestone with acid wash
Greg is giving a short tailgate workshop on how to clean the limestone slabs found at this site with a light acid wash (that is not Diet Rite in that bottle!). Acid makes the fossils stand out nicely, but be sure to wear protective gloves and work clothes, and get proper training before trying this at home.

Stop #5 was also in Bangor Limestone, and provided a number of slabs containing broken bits of archimedes, blastoids, brachiopods, and bryazoan fragments. This site also contained numerous square brownish-red metallic crystals, which we believe to be pyrite. They are approximately 1/8 inch squares, some slightly larger.

hunting fossils in gully

hunting fossils in gully


On the way home, several of us decided to visit one of the local attractions.
Coon Dog Cemetery

Yep, believe it. Only coon dogs buried here. Decoration day must have occurred recently. In addition to reading the tombstones, one can picnic under the covered pavilion or hike through the woods to the spring.
hound dog graves