The current drought brought us to a favourite site in the Conasauga formation in Cherokee County, hoping that low water levels would have exposed more finds. Unfortunately, it proved to be a double-edge sword in that, while more shoreline was exposed, with the lack of water washing the rocks, the trilobite pickin's were slim, indeed. However, our first stop was at a Dresdachian stage site which produced a bumper crop of brooksella, so, win some, lose some. Stop 2 was an Albertan stage site where a few really nice trilobite finds kind of made up for the scarcity. All enjoyed the nice weather and the halloween cupcakes. We had fun welcoming young Liz to the club. She found some fossils, dug up some clay and practiced her rock-skipping skills and had a ball. We finished up at a favourite restaurant where some of the best fried green tomatoes in Alabama can be found. Yum.
After the main trip, three members scouted a couple of potential new sites. The first site was totally non-productive, while the second site had a large outcropping of shale, where a few tiny trilobites were found.
--Photos courtesy Vicki Lais
Closest to a group photo we have for this trip.
Collecting along the shoreline.
Searching for fossils along the shore.
Numerous brooksellas were found.
Greg and Lea take a rest.
A variety of trilobites were found.
Trilobite
Trilobites.
Trilobite pygidium
Nice trilobite pygidium !
Trilobite
Nice trilobite found by Don.
Trilobites found by Don.
Various types of trilobites found on trip.
Shoreline at stop number two where a few of us scouted for fossils, water is well below winter levels.
Last stop of the day to see if there were any fossils at this new site.
Geologic layers
Shale layers show how the earth was once tilted differently
Interesting marks like these sometimes cover entire boulders in the area, probably attachment marks made by a snail-like creature. Probably recent, but in several million years they will be considered fossils.
Becky splitting shale, hunting trilobites.
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