After rounding up the gang (which is a minor miracle in itself!), we hiked back to our vehicles for lunches, then headed for the creek. Finally, time to get wet and cool off! Out with the sieves, from collander baskets to "real" geology sorters, to home made wood-sided screens. At least a dozen ptychodus teeth turned up - Claire may be the "winner" on these, she had found 6 at last count. Every screen we searched had several shark teeth, and other fossils were also found, including a large fish vertebra, gastropod steinkerns (internal molds), worm tubes, and one very nice arrowhead. We left relatively early (hey, some of us would have stayed til dark if we could have!), and many of us stopped by a famous BBQ joint to continue the fun and fossil discussion.
--Edited by Vicki Lais
(photos courtesy Bob Stewart, Steve Corvin and Vicki Lais)
James Lamb gives a refresher talk on rules about collecting at museum sites, BPS ethics, and landowner restrictions.
Typical Greene County, Alabama chalk gully.
James Lamb explaining gully collection techniques.
Even the younger members had fun.
Flipper bone of a Tylosaurus found by James Lamb.
Many "pieces" are scattered throughtout the gully, and according to James Lamb, they are all fossils.
Small piece of turtle shell found by Bob.
Some typical fossils found in chalk gullies - one finds hundreds of worm tubes, and only a few shark teeth.
Shark teeth are "normal" to find in gullies, but Sylvie found one whose size is truly spectacular for these gullies!
Large ammonite section found by Vicki.
Mosasaur vertebra found by James Lamb (right beside Vicki's foot, darn it!)
Fish vertebra.
Nice mosasaur tooth.
Another piece of ammonite.
Small mosasaur vertebra found by Leisa as we were leaving the gullies "Everybody just stepped right over it or passed it by without noticing".
After lunch we headed to the creek to screen for teeth and whatever else we might find.
One of the many ptychodus teeth found in the creek.
Typical finds after washing the sand/mud from the gravel - notice the shark teeth and the piece of bone.
Another load of "pay dirt" - fish vertebra, shark teeth, ptychodus tooth.
Closer shot of the fish vertebra.
Nice internal mold of a gastropod.
A laid back group, keeping cool, having fun. There were various groupings of people all along the creek - some went upstream, some went downstream. James Lamb is collecting material to be used in an upcoming exhibit at McWane Science Center.
How many shark teeth can you see in this picture?
Sample of teeth found by Bob.
Wesley found a very nice point.
Headed home after a wonderfully pleasant day of collecting!
Once again, the group ended the day with a fine opportunity to hang out together at The Swamp, a kinda - sorta local eatery (only 20 minutes away, huh, Greg?) where we stayed way too long, but enjoyed the time spent with fellow fossil hounds.
(Pictures courtesy Jan Novak and Vicki Lais.)
Searching for shells, teeth and horned coral in the clay banks. Note how high the water is behind us.
Shells in matrix. They are very fragile and crumble easily, so are difficult to collect whole.
Ok, this isn't very productive, on to the next site!
At our second site, the water was high so a safety rope was necessary.
The site is cretaceous. Each layer has a unique set of fossils.
Searching for echinoids and shark teeth.
Greg explaining proper excavation techniques.
Ron found an unusual heart-shaped item which turned out to be a disk from a dear vertebra. It is very light-weight and recent, not a fossil.
Fragments found here are still being identified. Look just above the yellow handle to see the first "rocks", then straight to the left. There are some more fragments in the upper right quadrant. Some are probably turtle.
Greg has exposed more fragments, probably turtle.
James had an opportunity to practice making a protective plaster jacket.
Tracks of a recent visitor, a large alligator . . .
Paige, get out of the water, you look just like gator bait!
Ron's other interest is gold panning, and he gave some of us a demo, using gold bearing material he found in Georgia.
Greg, turn around! They told me to quit taking pictures of people's rear ends!
What a group of tired, sweaty people. So where do we go to cool off and relax a while?
The Swamp, of course! Our favorite restaurant on the Alabama River.