Neither rain, nor sleet nor snow nor lake wind advisories will deter the BPS from hitting a favorite NE Alabama site. No kidding about the snow! As we assembled in the morning at the rest area little flakes were seen drifting down. We all bundled up and headed out anyway. In spite of the weather, we had a great turnout of 24 1/2, with members coming from as far away as Atlanta and Selma to hunt trilobites on a lake in Cherokee county.

First stop was a primo site for finding brooksella and several nice pieces were found. Vicki found an unusual one shaped very much like a small starfish. "Brooksella" are believed to be the internal mold of a "primitive jellyfish", possibly from the Conasauga Fm, Dresbachian stage, late Cambrian approximately 515 million years ago. Nancy worked hard at trying to persuade Daisy the Dawg to sniff out fossils, but Daisy would rather play with Paige and search around for a squirrel or two! After experiencing the freezing wind which would almost blow one over, it was time to warm up - on to the next site.

After a timeout to repair a flat tire for Michael we took off for our 2nd site. Temps in the 40's (felt like the 30's!) and the whitecaps on the lake were a hint that maybe we should NOT go out in the boat, so we contented ourselves with the shoreline. Nevertheless, everybody found good amounts of trilobites. Steve found an exceptional trilobite specimen on a hard pebble, and Hitoshi found a beautiful stromatolite specimen. Since frostbite seemed imminent it was decided to retreat to the restaurant and get hot food and tell tales of the day and of other trips and fun. Michael and Sylvie had an exciting announcement: the arrival of baby "Elias" due in May! While we warmed our bods, Leisa was out "visiting". She met a local person who invited us to his house where he said there were trilobites behind the house, and sure enough, there were plentiful outcrops of the Conasauga Shale. (He also gave her a very nice 4 inch trilobite he had found in California - lucky lady! Just shows what happens to nice people!) Trilobites found today ranged from 1/8 inch to about 1 1/2 inches. These fossils are from the middle Cambrian Conasauga Fm. Albertan stage, and are approximately 530 million years old. Cephalon (heads), pygidium (tails), and several whole specimens of Coosella, Coosia superba, Kingstonia, Densonella, Holcacephalus, and Norwoodella were found.

Edited by Vicki Lais

(pictures courtesy Lea Martin and Vicki Lais)


At the meeting location, Greg is informing the group of the day's upcoming activities.


Greg discussing what will be found at the first site, and showing his collecting tool.




Part of the group searching for brooksella specimens. This lakeshore is composed of mostly pebbles.


Yeah... let's see.... thats Greg, and Michael, and, um, Jan, and Lea, and uh, who's that in the blue jacket?


A nice brooksella found by Vicki.


Other side of the same brooksella.


Vicki found a nice point on the beach, too.




Nancy, Daisy, and Steve surveying the lake shore.


Another unusual find, there's obviously a fossilized man under here!







Carl has decided to examine every rock in this spot.


Oops.... I'm stuck and I can't move! Dad Steve went to rescue Steven, and got stuck himself! The mud is so bad in places it will pull your shoes off.






Claire has found a nice pygidium.


A closer look at Claire's trilobite find.






Some trilobites found today.


Very nice trilobite found by Steve.


A closer look.



Hitoshi has found a very nice stromatolite specimen.


A closer look at Hitoshi's stromatolite find.


An even closer look.


Hitoshi had a good day today! Nice brooksella!


Here's most of the group getting warm and cozy. Several members decided to stay out collecting, and Leisa was out negotiating for another collecting site. Sylvie (2nd from left) announced she and Michael are expecting a new member of the family in May! Congratulations!



The lakeshore at the 3rd site of the day was mostly Conasauga shale, much of it already weathered out and broken into tiny pieces.




Nice outcrop of shale, and a trilobite found on a pebble.


When the shale is split, numerous trilobites are exposed.


Each dark spot is a small trilobite.




A nice outcrop of Conasauga shale.


Leisa found a rock that appears to be worked, probably a scraper.


A pretty ending to a fine day of collecting!