Cambrian
October 21, 2007 - Cambrian Fossils, Cherokee Co, AL
The current drought brought us to a favourite site in the Conasauga formation in Cherokee County, hoping that low water levels would have exposed more finds. Unfortunately, it proved to be a double-edge sword in that, while more shoreline was exposed, with the lack of water washing the rocks, the trilobite pickin's were slim, indeed. However, our first stop was at a Dresdachian stage site which produced a bumper crop of brooksella, so, win some, lose some. Stop 2 was an Albertan stage site where a few really nice trilobite finds kind of made up for the scarcity. All enjoyed the nice weather and the halloween cupcakes. We had fun welcoming young Liz to the club. She found some fossils, dug up some clay and practiced her rock-skipping skills and had a ball. We finished up at a favourite restaurant where some of the best fried green tomatoes in Alabama can be found. Yum.
After the main trip, three members scouted a couple of potential new sites. The first site was totally non-productive, while the second site had a large outcropping of shale, where a few tiny trilobites were found.
--Photos courtesy Vicki Lais
January 13-14, 2007 - Cambrian Fossils, Cherokee Co, AL
This month BPS members made an overnight trip to Cherokee County, Alabama to collect from the Conasauga formation. With a good turn out (approx 20 members), ample fossils, and temperatures hovering in the low 70's, the universe cooperated in creating a great outdoor experience for us.
Stop 1 was a late Cambrian site, Dresdachian stage, (515 MYA) which yielded a number of Brooksella.
Stop 2 was in the Albertan stage approx 530MYA. Thanks to Capt. Steve, a short boat trip to the collecting site yielded some good specimens of trilobites which appear to be Kingstonia, Densonella, Norwoodella, and Cossella.
The evening of the first day was spent at a local Seafood house followed by a delightful evening spent at a cabin rented by BPS. We celebrated Jan and Lea Novaks birthdays; Lea baked her own cake, a Czech trilobite cake, which was great. This was followed by much good drink, a spirited backgammon game, Pro football on the big screen TV (yes we were roughing it), more good drink, talk and blues on the radio.
Day 2 was another warm day for January starting with a good and inexpensive breakfast at the local fish camp. There was more fossil hunting on the local beach followed by several hours of splitting shale on another beach which was also fruitful. Later in the afternoon, a number of members decided to scout some new sites which we were told about by a local fossil hunter we met at our first stop.
--Edited by Vicki Lais
(Photos courtesy Bill Fowler, Steve Corvin, and Vicki Lais)
Everyone is anticipating a great day of collecting!
Samples of the nice brooksellas that were found.
Lea and Claire surveying the area.
Steve found a nice point in the area.
Nice stromatolite found by Vicki.
Bill and some of his small trilobite finds under the microscope. Click photo (then click photo) for larger image.
The next site required a short boat trip. The shoreline in this area is composed of deteriorated Conasauga shale.
Nancy found some nice (but decidedly muddy!) brooksella.
Steven with his trilobite find.
Searching for trilobites in the broken shale.
Bob found a double brooksella.
We learned the meaning of "don't leave any rock unturned" today . . .
Samples of what was found on day 1.
More trilobite specimens from day 1.
People were scattered all up and down the shoreline.
Another find by Bill, shown under the microscope.
A pebble filled with small trilobites, found by Bill.
Claire and her best finds of the day - very nice brooksella and trilobites.
Very nice trilobite found by Bobby.
On day 2 we collected at a different site. Large outcrops of Conasauga shale turned on edge held numerous trilobites.
Becky is extracting small hunks of the shale to carefully split apart.
Nice trilobite specimen found at this site, found by Pam and Bob.
Leisa was having very good luck splitting the shale.
January 14, 2006 - Cambrian Fossils, Cherokee Co, AL
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!
February 5, 2005 - Cambrian Fossils, Cherokee Co, AL
Our January trip was delayed a week, due to the ice storm that hit the eastern part of Alabama on our scheduled day. Just a week later, it was a very nice, sunny day, with a slight breeze coming off Weiss Lake. Isn't this Alabama weather wonderful! If you don't like the current weather, just wait a few days!
This year we decided on a boat trip to a new, uncollected area of the lake, where everyone found a plentiful supply of trilobites. The water level was up higher than expected, due to the recent rain, but the area where we collected had a very wide beach, so the water level was not an issue. Shown in the pictures are the best samples, though there were numerous specimens of tiny trilobites, no more than 1/4 inch long, and some rocks were covered with these small ones (ask Clare how much a 5 gallon bucket of rocks weighs!). Though there was shale covering the ground in many locations, we focused on collecting nodules. This site is from the middle Cambrian Conasauga Fm. Albertan stage, approximately 530 million years old. Cephalon (heads), pygidium (tails), and several whole specimens of the following were found: Coosella, Coosia superba, Kingstonia, Densonella, Holcacephalus, and Norwoodella. Also found were a number of "Brooksella" which 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.
Late in the day, some of the diehards in the group proceeded to another site we checked out last year, to see if more of the larger triloibites (possibly Tricrepicephalus) had weathered out. Alas, the water level was too high, and all we collected were shots of the rock formations, and a great sunset. What a pleasant way to end the day!
(pictures courtesy Lea Martin and Vicki Lais)
Most of the group, waiting on the rest of the crew in the parking lot.
Paige's mom (Lea) made pouches with the BPS logo to collect the finds of the day.
Hanging out at the boat ramp, and of course everyone has to search, just in case. Paige did find a nice trilobite, almost whole, see the "hands" picture below, the 3rd hand down on the left.
On the way again with Captain Steve . . .
Claire and Nancy hoping to spot the "big one"!
Nancy found a nice brooksella!
Everyone scattered along the shoreline after we landed.
So many rocks to turn over, so little time!
Greg and Paige.
Paige and Nancy show off their brooksella specimens.
Wide but muddy shoreline provided lots of collecting space.
Leisa found several brooksella.
Various members found some nice specimens throughout the day.
With so many rocks, the trilobites are difficult to spot.. Look closely in the center.
Wished I had lined everyone up, Claire's boots are relatively clean at the end of the day! Note the small pieces of shale covering the ground, there was so much, it was almost like a carpet in places. We collected very few fossils in this thin shale, it is very fragile and difficult to transport without crumbling, and there were plenty of nodules to examine.
Vicki with her bag of rocks (and many more pounds in the backpack!)
Leisa, Steve, and Greg get ready to head back, after a very nice day of collecting.
The prize of the day goes to Greg, who found this wonderful specimen on the scouting trip.
Same specimen from a different angle.
Specimens after cleaning. The shine is from a protective coating of Elmer's Glue and water solution.
More samples shiny with protective glue.
Thanks, guys, it was a fun trip!
We must fill our bellies before that long trip home! The food and company were excellent!
A few members went to another site to check for larger trilobites, but the water level covered the collecting area. Instead, we studied the geology.
This interesting bluff shows where the river has deposited layers in smooth bands over thousands of years.
We have been told these are snail attachment points. The odd marks cover many of the rocks in the area.
A beautiful sunset to end the day!
January 24, 2004 - Cambrian Fossils, Cherokee Co, AL
For the first time in many years it was warm and the sun was shining at Weiss Lake in NE Alabama instead of snowing or sleeting, resulting in a turn-out of 17+ members.
Our first stop was at a new site exposing nodules from the shale of the Conasauga Fm, Dresbachian stage, late Cambrian approx. 515 million years old. Here we found over 20 "Brooksella" which are believed to be the internal mold of a "primitive jellyfish". The most that anyone can remember finding on any trip were 3, so everyone got at least one specimen.
The second stop was an old BPS stand-by trilobite site from the middle Cambrian Conasauga Fm. Albertan stage 530 million years old. Here everyone found a number and variety of trilobites both on nodules and by splitting the shale exposed on the beach. Cephalon (heads), pygidium (tails), and in a few cases whole specimens of the following were found: Coosella, Coosia superba, Kingstonia, Densonella, Holcacephalus, and Norwoodella.
We made an interesting trip to a third stop which turned out to be unproductive. But it did include being lead into the site by some locals on horseback, and one of our younger members got a ride on one of the horses.
Then we moved on to our fourth and final site that Steve C. found on a scouting trip near Cedar Bluff. This site was still in the shales of the Cambrian (but not sure what stage) and deserves a closer look when time allows because even though not many trilobites were found, the pieces that were found seemed to be large ones, possibly of Tricrepicephalus.
--Edited by Vicki Lais
Below are some great photos Greg took with his new digital microscope. Other photos courtesy Vicki Lais.
BPS members searching for Brooksella at a site that hasn't been visited in many years.
Showing off their finds.
A nice collection!
A new site. Found a large trilobite here, but was getting late, and only did a short site survey.
One never knows what opportunities might arise. Young Steve got the ride
of his life from one of the locals who guided us to a site.
Nice find! 
January 12, 2002 - Cambrian Fossils, Cherokee Co, AL
We collected in Cherokee County, Alabama, in the pebbles and shaley outcrops around a lake, which was low for the winter, exposing a wide shoreline. An outcrop of the Middle Cambrian Conasauga Shale of the Coosa Valley is at this site, and numerous trilobites were found. A number of members went scouting for new sites in the area. The best find of the trip was a complete trilobite impression on a hard nodule.
(Photo courtesy Vicki Lais)
Trilobite found by Vicki.