We all "Indiana Jones" today!

Even Indiana Jones had to start somewhere,

so ignore the neatly clipped lawn and tire swing and

give yourself over to adventure!

I finally got to visit the fabled creek that my fossil club co-members had been digging and flooding FaceBook with photos of their fabulous finds.  I wish I could have gone in the early salad days but my schedule did not permit it.  The creek is small and the discoveries were rapidly dwindling so by the time I drove the 3 hours to get there this weekend, some exploration was needed to find new and fertile fossil grounds.

My team of 3 had planned to walk the creek, probing for gravel the whole way, but recent heavy rains  meant that some areas had us wading through chest-deep black water and fighting strong currents.

I don't like being startled!

Whether it be an alligator bumping into me under water (which has never happened) or a stick floating downstream and hitting me in the back (which has happened a lot),

the resulting screech will be the same.

We went through some desensitization today as the water was full of all kinds of invisible obstacles.

My first find of the day was this old bottle

but after about a mile of slow progress, we hadn't found much in the way of fossils so we decided to climb out of the creek and walk back through the orange groves.  

The only problem was we were on an island of cypress knees with a deep channel of rushing water separating us from the bank.  Joe slogged/swam across with difficulty which made Staci and me a bit nervous so we had him pull us across, one at a time, as we clung to a fossil screen.

Where's the GoPro when you need it?!!!

Here's Staci in a stand of cypress knees in calmer water.

Now, imagine us looking worried, clinging to that screen with the pool noodles attached, while the ferryman pulls us across the channel.  

Yes, we agreed afterward that it was kinda fun. 

We retreated back to the original honey hole

by the tire swings and manicured lawn and managed to wrest a few last treasures from the depleted gravel including this big cow tooth that Staci found.

My weekend wasn't a total bust.

My very first whale tooth!

It has been beaten to hell and back but unless I find a better one, it will stay in my collection.

Puffer fish palate paradise.

Some very pretty shark teeth,

including a tiny tooth in matrix.

Three horse teeth.

Ray mouth plates galore.

I enjoyed the spiral shell casts.

Odds and ends.

(Chewed up deer tine, turtle scutes, tortoise spurs, sea robin nose plate, deer tooth, "Indian beads")

My favorite find was this little tooth.

Just the right amount of adventure for me.