Dinosaurs: the Glamour Fossil, Part 1

It was time to dig for dinosaurs.

I didn't just wake up one morning thinking this, though.

I had begun a correspondence with a woman, Shelly, who purchased some of my fossil coral on eBay and she invited me to meet up with her in eastern Wyoming to dig for dinosaur bones.

It was not cheap.

By the time I factored in air fare, rental car, dig fees, and a room in a run down motel,

I was in deep.

So I viewed it as a once in a lifetime opportunity; a chance to explore

another venue of my fossil fascination.

I had a brief layover in Denver

on my way to Rapid City, South Dakota 

(the closest airport to my destination of Newcastle, WY)

and was surprised to see well-worn brass dinosaurs worked into the terrazzo floors of the restroom.

I believe this is a mosasaur. 

There's a first time for everything:

I was stopped by security after passing through the X-ray vision booth

because they needed to confer as to whether or not my megalodon necklace could be considered a weapon.  I'm sure it was a weapon when it was still in the mouth of the megalodon, but nowadays, megalodon related violence is at an all-time low.

Welcome to South Dakota!

Liquor and a casino.  Just add guns and we've got a party!

But I jest.

I stopped in for a bottle of gin and a lottery ticket.  

Only a couple more hours in a rental car

and I'd be smack dab in the middle of nowhere.

Exactly where I wanted to be.

After lots of emails, I finally got to meet

Shelly, and our fearless leader, Gary:

Love this guy's t-shirt collection!

Now that all the pieces to the expensive puzzle were in place,

all I had to do was dig.

That's when I learned a thing or two about digging for glamour fossils.

To be continued...

NOW it rains?!

It's been a very dry summer.

Oh yes, it's been hot, too, 
and just as I started to dream of lower temps in the not-too-distant future and a chance to get back into the Peace River,
it started to rain!
A good time to get out of town. 

Tom and I flew up to Kansas City, Missouri to visit family and friends and hard as it sounds to believe, we DIDN'T have time to look for fossils.

Whaaat?!

Well, there was a lot of BBQ to eat.  

Tom found some bones,

but they weren't fossilized...YET.

We had one opportunity

to pull to the side of a busy interstate and check out a creek bed.

Interesting chunks of shale but we had no tools to split them.

We found a varied mix of naturally occurring gravels and broken down building materials (bricks, tiles, granite, etc.) as well as a lot of multi-colored glass abraded almost to the point of looking like beach glass.

A few fossils could be found in small pieces of limestone.

Beat up crinoids and shells.

The large rocks used for retaining the banks of the creek

contained beautiful bands of crystalized brachiopods.

Tom thinks this rock is Alabama limerock rip rap, commonly used by the DOT and municipalities.

In case you're wondering about the term "rip rap", here's a handy definition:

Rip rap is rock or other material used to armor shorelines, streambeds, bridge abutments, pilings and other shoreline structures against scour, water or ice erosion. It is made from a variety of rock types, commonly granite, limestone or occasionally concrete rubble from building and paving demolition.

I only found one treasure in that creek bed.

A brick with worn white glaze on one side and the enigmatic lettering,

"AMERICAN EN.B.&T.CO.N.Y."

A Google search revealed this to be a brick from the American Enameled Brick and Tile Company of New York, operating from 1893-1934.

This is what's called a trace fossil,

and like dinosaur footprints,

 it contains no remnants of the animals that made it, 

only a lasting reminder of their past presence.