A relatively small group of BPS members went to a creek in Montgomery County for today's trip - could it be some people were scared off by the thoughts of 95 degree weather in the sweltering sun? To get an idea of our weather, go to your bathroom, turn the shower on the hottest it will go, close the door so steam can build up, turn off the A/C, then take your laptop in there and view our trip photos - you will have a good idea of our day! Leisa brought her canoe, and she and Claire floated/pushed/dragged it upstream and then back down. This late Cretaceous site once again yielded numerous echinoids and ammonites, though most of the ammonites could only be "collected" via photos, due to their fragile composition. We also found huge quantities of shells, a few shark teeth, a couple of mosasaur vertebra, two large vertebra, possibly shark, and pyritized coprolites.
Several people decided to call it a day after getting too hot for comfort. After a refreshing afternoon lunch in an air conditioned restaurant, the die-hards brains began coming up with another potential collecting site in Elmore county. Since we have a canoe, lets go look for petrified wood. Now understand, we had one canoe, one paddle, 3 life jackets and 4 people to go on this escapade. After a quick stop at the local discount store for an additional paddle and PDF, we scouted access points. The put-in we decided on was steep. Really steep. Really really steep. But we finally got it down the several hundred feet to the water, only to find a boat wasn't necessary, the water was low, the shore was easily walkable, and petrified wood was everywhere. So we collected it (ask Jan how much his pack weighed!), took some pictures of a tree that was about 4 feet in diameter, and noticed it was getting darker. And windy. And there was thunder. And lightning. And lots of cold rain (boy, did it feel good!) And we had the canoe at the bottom of a huge hill. But Leisa, resourceful as ever, had a plan; just hook the boat to her van, and pull it out.
(photos courtesy Vicki Lais)
Shells and echinoids in matrix. These rocks are pretty hard, so these were left in place.
Melanie found a nice gastropod in the same area where the tiny shark teeth were found.
Tree trunk breaking into pieces on the bank. Numerous pieces like this were scattered everywhere.
An ammonite impression in the matrix.
Forget that, look at the size of that permineralized tree trunk!
Worm burrows and shell impression.
First we need the canoe way down the bluff to the river bank so we can paddle downstream. Well, now wait a minute. This river has always been much higher, all the way into the weeds, and you couldn't walk here, summer nor winter. What's going on here? We don't need the canoe after all!
Echinoids in matrix.
Several tiny shark teeth were found.
Melanie is examining her latest find. She found quite a few tiny shark teeth in this area.
Leisa very quickly found a nice vertebra. After collecting the vertebra, Leisa and Claire headed up the creek, and we didn't see them again for several hours.
Claire has found a couple of shark teeth, one still embedded in the rock matrix.
Ammonite in matrix.
Anthony found a vertebra in very good condition.
Not sure what this is, shaped like an ear bone, but looks like pottery, very smooth and obviously supposed to be shaped this way, not very worn looking.
Claire also found a pile of sh#!, um, well, or rather, a bag of pyritized coprolites!
More shells in matrix.
Sutures of an ammonite peeking out from the matrix.
Ammonite in matrix.
In a different part of the creek from the echinoids, numerous shells are embedded in the matrix.
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