Off to the phosphate mine

     I got to go on the fossil club field trip to the Mosaic phosphate mine!!!

     Only 30 spots were available for club members to visit the mine this year and I tried to accept that I probably wouldn't get to go but I got to go!

     I'd been rambling on and on about it in the days leading up to the trip but my friends and clients seemed to have a little trouble understanding my excitement:  I get the opportunity to scour a desolate wasteland for 4 hours in the hopes of finding something fossilized.

     My first trip to the phosphate mine was last year and I was overwhelmed and confused as to how to go about it.  This year I knew what to do:  eyes fixed on the ground, scanning non-stop until the whistle blew.

     My method was to cling, mountain goat style, to the steep hillsides, in the hopes that the danger and difficulty of negotiating the gravel-strewn incline had prevented previous fossilers from working those areas.  It seemed to be a good idea.  I immediately found this 3.5" fatty meg and even though it has root damage, I am in love with its perfect serrations and ultra-cool green color.

     I tried to stick to a pattern of working my way up the slippery incline (remind me to wear crampons next time!) until I encountered footprints of other searchers, then I would scooch to the right and carefully move back down the slope until I reached the mucky ooze at the bottom.

     Last year I only found 1 megalodon tooth.  I did a LOT better this year and I had a blast!  Every so often someone would peer over the top of the hill, catch sight of me and say something like, "Oh!  Is that safe?" to which I always replied, "Nope."  And it's not "safe" but I fully believe that if I had lost my footing, though it would hurt like a mo-fo, I would definitely survive with only minor injuries. 

     The last 2 pictures make it seem like the megs are all laying right on the surface but sometimes all you can see is a suspicious ridge in the gravel that you check out in the hopes it's a tooth.

     Around the 3.5 hour mark, I was starting to lose my mountain goat prowess and feeling more like an out-of-shape middle-aged woman (which is what I am).  Time to retrace my steps!

     I worried that since I had already worked the slopes I was about to retrace, I wouldn't stand a chance of finding anything else.  Wrong!  Found the best meg of the day (my life?) on the way back to my truck.

Absolutely perfect!

     Jack sent me a quick comparison from the internet:

     No plans to sell my meg and I realize that the "asking" price is different from what someone might actually get for an item, but it's fun to think about.

Here's my meg take for the day (including a perfect hemi in the lower left and a mako in the lower right):

Lots of beautiful small shark teeth:

Tooth from a 3-toed horse:

And fragments of stingray barbs:

Fingers crossed I get to go next year!!!

Why is it still raining?!

     I know I should be grateful for a less-than-arid winter in Central Florida but...

      Enough already!

     We've been having quite a bit of rain in the Orlando area and every time it rains here, I can see it reflected in the rising river level on the waterdata.usgs.gov gage.

     Even though this measurement is taken at a location almost 3 hours away, you can see the correlation.  It makes it hard to revisit some of the places I went to last season as they are still in deep water.

     High water levels don't stop me from going, of course.  I spent my Christmas money (thanks, Daddy!) on new tires for the old Ranger.

     They're not the best on the market but they are new and have TREAD and I get excited every time I see them.  I might even try to avoid hitting curbs for awhile so they can stay new-looking a little longer.

     I had my bicycle loaded, as well, for a few days and it got so much good-natured attention, I considered making it a permanent fixture in the bed of my truck.  Apparently, having a kayak AND a bicycle on my truck gives me an air of being "ready for anything."

     Friday we went to a location that was new to me.  It was very close to where we parked, which was nice, but it was hard digging.  I tweaked my back right off the bat and am still nursing it back to health but it didn't stop me from digging on Friday (even though it probably should have).  I kept poking around until I found a shallow trough of gravel and rock laying on top of thick white clay.  I scraped up  a small selection of fossils but the coolest things I found were 4 crystalized shells.

     These are the first whole ones I found and they are so pretty!

     I've included my first river marble in the above photo for scale.  Being a lifetime gardener, I've found many marbles buried in the dirt over the years but this is the first one that's turned up in my fossil screen.

I thought this tiger shark tooth had a nice color; a little different from most of the teeth I find in the Peace River.

     Mastodon and mammoth enamel, turtle scute, bird bone, deer tooth, ray mouth plate tortoise foot pad, etc., but excited to find 2 snake vertebra (middle of photo) in fairly decent condition.

     This weekend is shaping up to be cold and rainy so I'll have to play it by ear.  I can layer more wool and fleece under the waders but at some point, my hands and arms are going to get wet.  Can't dig with numb hands!

3-day fossil blowout!

     Last weekend I experienced my first ever 3-day fossil dig and I had the same thought that I had after a 3 hour massage on a trip to Thailand:  

That was a bit much.

     Both experiences sounded good in my head; something I really enjoy x3!  But the reality was exhausting; too much of a good thing.

     I prepped for my weekend by constructing the poor man's long-handled shovel.  

     Why spend $25 on a Kobalt handle when I can buy a rake handle for $12?  Probably because the rake handle made me feel like I was digging with one of those long, flexible poles a tightrope walker holds for balance.  Couple that with mental images of the thing splintering in my hands and I'm back to square one. That's $12 down the drain and $25 more to go when buy the Kobalt handle.  Sigh...

     The method of attachment seems secure but I got that idea from another fossiler.

     My plan to camp coincided with the onset of actual winter temps here in Florida but an electric space heater made my tent feel like a spa.  

     Lots of fleece and free firewood at the Pioneer campground kept me in a cozy frame of mind.

     I had ample opportunity to study this poster in the camp restroom:

     Definitely on the graphic side but that avoids any confusion about the meaning.  If you've traveled, you know that in a lot of countries the old plumbing can't handle toilet paper so you have to dispose of it in a (hopefully) nearby trash can.  In the best of situations, that still  makes for some unpleasant trips to the toilet and has always reminded me to be grateful for the modern plumbing I usually take for granted.

      

     Friday's digging took place at the hole I pulled the tire out of.  After 4 visits I truly feel like I'm done with that spot.

     Still found some nice odds and ends including a couple more tiny megs, horse tooth, glyptodon scute, etc. but I'm ready to move on.

     I chatted with Steve Friday afternoon and he drew this map for me to guide me to a digging location for Saturday.

     Before Pam and I set off in our kayaks the next morning, I studied the photo I had taken of the map and believe it or not, I actually found the place!  Steve's got an amazing memory for detail.

     I found some interesting things and might go back when the water is a little lower...or I get a better long shovel handle.  The above photo shows mostly turtle material including a record 8 "puzzle piece" turtle scutes (bottom of photo) and 3 turtle spurs (lower right).  

     I also found, in the same area, some shark teeth, mammal teeth, and a curious fossil in the upper right of the photo. It is either the root of a large tooth in a bit of jaw bone, or an unerupted gator tooth.  I'm taking it to the February club meeting to get some ID opinions.

     Day 3, unfortunately, was the SNAFU day.  I was already exhausted but had the invitation to go to a good area for megs and I couldn't say no to the opportunity.  The problems started when our host had to cancel but in a phone conversation, described the location and gave the distance as 3 miles.  For me, that's a commitment.  The 3 mile return trip would be upstream with a depleted trolling motor battery but we set off on our journey with visions of megs dancing in our heads.

     At 1.5 miles I noticed that the surroundings exactly matched the description we had been given but we second guessed ourselves because the distance was wrong.  We kept going...and going...and going.

     At 3 miles, we realized we were almost to the bridge where we park on Fridays.  Another call to our host and he pointed out that we had passed our destination and were 2 miles from the bridge.  We were actually ONE mile from the bridge and that is when I came to the realization that, for some reason, this person doubles all his distances.  Who does that?!  Is he giving the round trip total?  Being secretive about his digging locations?  I don't know but I had to do some mental wrangling to try and manage my attitude.  Sorry, Pam, for getting pissy!  lol

   

     The fossils in the above photo are all I found when we finally started digging on Sunday and within an hour or so, threatening clouds convinced us to call it a day.

     The day after my 3-day marathon was discouraging.  I don't feel like I'm 24 because I'm twice that.

I'm in fairly good shape but I'm not a member of the generation that National Geographic says is going to live to 120.  BUT, the day AFTER the day after my 3-day marathon wasn't too bad.  I've got a lot more fossiling left in me.