Going far, far away...

India.

That's right.

I'm going there.

But not to hunt fossils as most people assume.

I'm going purely as a tourist and I'm going to pose with Tom in front of the Taj Mahal, clutching a selfie stick, and I'm proud to do it!  I've always taken issue with tourists who scoff at other tourists in foreign countries, believing in some mysterious algorithm

 that somehow sets them above everyone else.  

I'm a tourist, plain and obvious.

But don't think I won't be looking at the building blocks of ancient temples and monuments,

looking for a fossil photo opp.

Hopefully I'll have some interesting fossil news from India and if not, 

you'll just have to look at more of my GD coral.

I pulled this photo from a recent issue of 

National Geographic.

A millennial with a very cool tattoo showcasing some extinct mammals.

I posted a query on my fossil club's FB page asking if anyone else had a fossil oriented tattoo and got a big goose egg in response, so if you have or know anyone who has said type of tattoo, please share it with me in the comment section.  I'd love to see it!

Even though Tom and I are set to fly 

to the far side of the planet,

we are already planning our June trip out west with the usual suspects 

and I cannot wait!!!

With great patience, I chipped away at the cast enclosing my Blue Forest "log" 

from our last trip and found a perfectly preserved branch inside.

The picture doesn't do it justice. 

I came to a stopping point on the cleanup of my Blue Forest tree stump.

Here's a recap of the photo right after I found it:

and here are some photos after chiseling and Dremel-ing it, slabbing the ends, and having Tom put a mirror polish on the cut ends:

He has been encouraging me to slice it in half lengthwise and after practicing on several smaller pieces, I'm finally convinced.  A lengthwise cut will expose a broad swath of the wood grain,  blue-hued chalcedony, and golden calcite, and with his amazing polishing skills, Tom will make it shine.

Photos to come!

In the meantime, he has been turning out 

some beautifully polished smaller pieces of the wood that we found:

Yes, that's really a piece of fossilized wood!

I tumbled some of the smaller fragments and they have an appealing look as well:

Is it any wonder we're so anxious to return and throw our backs out again?!