Alabama

A small group of dedicated fossil hounds arrived in Dallas County to assist James Lamb in searching for ancient bones and teeth of extinct animals in the Late Cretaceous chalk gullies.  Suffering miserably in the heat of the day where temperatures were recorded at 109 degrees, our spirits were frequently lifted by the amazing fossils that were being found.  We had the opportunity to search in gullies where no one had searched recently.  The years of rain and weathering provided a treasure trove of a large variety of fossils, and no one had such a good day as did Claire.  After arriving a little late, the first thing after arriving in the gully, she practically tripped over pieces of a fossil fish, including jaw and teeth, that others of us in a bigger hurry had stepped right over.   She had her eyes set to find bone, and continued to find very nice specimens throughout the day.  Most of the specimens found now reside at the McWane Science Center, where they will be available to researchers around the world.

 [This is considered our "July field trip", since it took place between the July and August business meetings.]

Photos courtesy Jan Novak, Claire Smith, Don Hill, and Vicki Lais.