weather was unbearably hot for this June BPS trip to a river in
Covington County. Maybe
it was the heat, but we had a smaller than normal turnout.
The
water at this Eocene age site was extremely low, and our usual
collecting-holes were sometimes totally flushed clean, and sometimes
filled with silt. Very odd. However, we still
found some
nice specimens and quite a bit of petrified wood, including what
appears to be a seed pod. The group scattered along the
riverbank
and
settled down in their chosen collecting spots, making
life a little hard on the photographer, but we still got some nice
pictures.
Unlike previous years, we were
the only
collectors that day. It appeared that some "cleanup" work had
been done along the riverbank, because it was smooth and un-marred by
the holes and trenches dug by commercial collectors in
previous
years. The landowner asked that we DO NOT DIG at this site,
and
hopefully, the word has gotten around (BPS never dug here, anyhow).
Screening is ok, but NOT digging holes in the banks.
Since
a number of our members have been appalled in the past at what appeared
to be irresponsible digging by people who didn't even know they needed
permission to collect here, this was welcome news.
We
found
ray teeth, shark teeth, sting-ray
spines, brachiopods, drumfish mouth plates, and some mystery
pieces. Stay
tuned! The river was a wonderful place to cool off on such a
hot
day, so BPSer's took full advantage. Several
members camped
out overnight (thanks for the A/C, Leisa!), and broke out the canoes
the next day in hopes of
spotting some more collecting areas. We found
some shark and ray teeth, a live turtle badly wanting out of
the
hole it had fallen into, and had a very pleasant trip UP the river, but
did
not find the treasure hole we were seeking. So, obviously, we have to
go hunting again, right guys?
(Photos courtesy Claire Smith
and Vicki Lais)
The
group picture, hey, what can I say? We were late, hot, and
hungry!
Very
low water level today.
Members
hunting for the best collecting spots - the river is quite shallow here.
Jan
found several pieces of petrified/ permineralized wood, and what
appears to be a nice seed pod.
Jan
heading downstream, surveying areas that are normally covered with
water.
Sample
of the fossils found at this site.
Drumfish
mouth plate.
The
river is low enough to expose this small waterfall, where, rumor has
it, Claire and Becky engaged in a water battle.
Good
view of the seed found by Jan.
Wood
found by Jan.
That
evening at camp, we spread out our finds for the day.
