The first fossil screens I made from directions on the internet were sturdy enough but waaay to small as evidenced by the front screen in the photo.
Only an infant could successfully fossil with such a tiny screen. The other 2 screens in the photo are later versions that have worked very well for me but immediately after the "tiny screen incident," I made a monster screen that I couldn't even lift once it was full of gravel. My dad always told us to "stop trying to reinvent the wheel" when we refused to take is advice and go about a project our own way. Moral of the story? Just follow the proportions on the internet. For our probes (used for poking into the sand in the hopes of finding gravel and fossils) I bought a couple of golf clubs at a thrift store and cut the heads off.
In addition to the screens, we loaded our kayaks, garden shovels, and wet suits (I found a good one at a thrift store for $12). Even though I live in Florida, it can get cold in the winter and spending several hours half submerged in cold river water can mess with your core temperature. I didn't yet own dive boots so I used old sneakers. I was soon to learn: NOT effective.
We drove 3 hours to Arcadia, set up our camp in the primitive "wilderness area," then set off on our fossiling adventure. It's a good idea to paddle upstream in the morning so that when your exhausted from digging all day, the paddle home is easier. We paddled and paddled and paddled and stopped every so often to probe for gravel or dig a little. Not a single fossil. Ugh! The hours were passing and I felt frustrated.
Two different canoes powered by trolling motors cruised past us and I boldly studied the occupants.
The first canoe had a man and a woman, both wearing wet suits and hardware pouches tied around their waists. They waved and we exchanged morning greetings. The second canoe held 2 women. They, also, were clad in wet suits, tool pouches, hair pulled back in scarves, and they looked so intent. I wanted to be them, knowing exactly where I was going and what I was doing.
After paddling for what felt like miles, we came upon the man and woman we had seen earlier. I felt like I had nothing to lose so I pulled alongside where they were digging and asked, "What is the etiquette on the river for fossiling right next to other fossilers?" They ended up being so nice and welcoming and helpful, I am sending another thank you out to the universe at this moment. Tanya and I dug in and got to work.
Granted, I only have 1 season on the Peace River under my belt, but I still have to laugh when I think about that day. The man and woman found so many cool things: camel teeth, horse teeth, shark teeth, deer antler, mammoth tooth chunks, etc, and we found...nothing. I had to get out a couple of times to warm my numb feet but I kept at it.
Finally, I looked in my screen and saw a very big shark tooth. It was so beautiful and I started shouting with excitement. The man asked what I found and I told him I thought it was a megalodon tooth but very worn as there were no serrations on it at all. I waded over to show him and he corrected me, "That is a beautiful mako! Nice find!"
Mako?! I didn't even know that was a possibility! I stayed right where I was and as the sun started to sink in the sky I managed to add another mako, a tiger shark tooth, and a beautiful upper tooth from a snaggletooth shark. If you're only gonna find a few fossils, might as well be good ones!
We made our way back to our campsite and agreed we were camping in one of the strangest campgrounds we'd ever been in. The wilderness area was crisscrossed by tracks and crowded with children, teens, and adults zooming around in golf carts, 3 and 4 wheelers, and dirt bikes. The noise level was disturbing as was the site of toddlers steering golf carts, by themselves, unable to sit lest their feet not reach the peddles. The only saving grace was that the whole camp pretty much went comatose shortly after sundown and then the silence was profound.
Driving home the next afternoon, gazing at my fossils at every stop light, I was already planning my next visit to the Peace River.
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