Blount
September 22, 2007 - Mississipian Fossils, Blount Co, AL
A trip to a quarry in the Mississippian age, Fort Payne chert was on the schedule for BPS' field trip in September. It was a beautiful day with a good turnout. THe quarry had been dug out since out last visit so we were able to look around the freshly-exposed areas. Sylvie and Michael made a heroic effort to find a trilobite in some of the material that resembled Frog Mtn. formation, but to no avail. We wandered freely over the huge quarry area, finding crinoid stems, brachiopods, corals and a number of nice geodes. The chert is lightweight and filled with cavities, leaving behind molds of long-ago crinoids.
Lunch break at the Top Hat Barbecue gave us a chance to cool off a little, since the heat was pretty intense. However, the troops headed back to the quarry after lunch for a full afternoon of collecting.
--Photos courtesy Vicki Lais
October 28, 2006 - Mississippian Fossils, Blount Co, AL
A trip to Blount County gave BPS a chance to visit "crinoid stem central!" While out on a service call, Greg had the good fortune to meet a lady who had just seen him on TV the night before, talking about the Homewood Library fossil exhibit. She and her next door neighbor turned out to be real fossil enthusiasts. BPS members were invited to meet at her home to see samples of crinoids and trilobites we would be collecting, and go to the first site, which was nearby. Another attraction was the butterfly population. Her garden is full of Monarch-friendly plants. Monarch chrysalis were everywhere, and we watched two recently emerged butterflies drying and stretching their new wings before taking flight. Breathtaking! What a wonderful opportunity to see these gorgeous creatures and to find so many excellent fossils.
After the butterfly viewing, we then convoyed to a quarry of Mississippian age Fort Payne chert where we had permission to hunt the whole day! Doesn't get much better than this, and the weather was absolutely perfect! Along with more large crinoid stems, several kinds of coral, brachiopods and a few trilobite pieces were found. Quite a few of us found beautiful geodes and concluded that this is just about as exciting as the fossils. They certainly are gorgeous souvenirs.
Later in the afternoon, a few of us sneaked off to one of Greg's barbecue spots and chowed down on some excellent vittles while our more dedicated crew-members devoted themselves to the task at hand. Well, you can't have everything. Sometimes a blackberry cobbler just has your name on it.
--Edited by Vicki Lais
(pictures courtesy Bill Fowler and Vicki Lais)
Our first stop of the day, where we found Monarch chrysalis on numerous surfaces, including plants and house siding. This chrysalis has turned clear, and you can see the butterfly inside. There were several newly emerged Monarch butterflies slowly pumping their wings, waiting for them to harden (that's what everyone's staring at on the porch.)
We had a great turnout and beautiful weather; here we pose for a group picture before setting off on our day's adventure.
The first fossil stop, a gravel road paved with chert from the Mississippian age. Almost all the rocks have crinoid stems or impressions in them.
Examining recent finds.
Samples of fossils found today.
On to the next stop at a nearby quarry which was large, hilly and had multiple collecting areas. Everyone scattered in different directions to collect, so it was difficult to get closeups of people and their finds during the day.
Crinoid stems in matrix.
Crinoid stems.
Crinoid stems. Click picture for closer view.
Horned coral found by Bill.
Clockwise, from upper left - unknown (possible stromatolite), possible burrow, part of a trilobite and shell, bryozoan.
Small trilobite found by Bill, magnified.
Large trilobite found by Bill. This is what we came for, he must have found their secret hiding place!
Coral.
Part of a trilobite.
Crinoid encrusted rock.
