Saying Goodbye to an Old Kayak Friend

The Barge, as I lovingly called my first kayak,

is truly a beast at 14'.

A few years ago I switched to a 10' kayak for my fossiling hobby because hoisting the 14' onto my truck rack after digging all day was testing the limits of my strength.

But man, could you load that 14-footer full of crap!

This is a photo from our last outing together, a 3 day, 2 night digging extravaganza.

As soon as I got back home, I sold it to someone younger and stronger and I know it will have many more good years on the Florida waterways.

It was another interesting weekend,

with the usual odd assortment of finds.

This bottle of beer was unopened but I believe the yeast and hops has been replaced by 

non-alcoholic algae.

Pam found an old medicine bottle.  Not quite as cool as my embalming fluid bottle 

but a close second.

Check it out!

I was a little jealous when a friend found an Arcadia, FL Coke bottle in this area but I turned up a Wauchula, FL Coke bottle and I'm very happy now.

So here's something weird:

It's a little glass bulb filled with water and what looks like glitter, probably the reflective coating that used to be on the inside but now it resembles a Florida Peace River version of a snow globe.  I've had it sitting on the counter for over a week and it hasn't lost any water but it's not really something I want in my curio cabinet.  I'll continue to ponder its fate.

But did I find any fossils?!

Yes, and while it wasn't a huge haul 

(with the exception of about a ton of turtle material)

there were some good items.

The glyptodont scutes continue to trickle in:

including this biggun'...

 I found a very pretty little tapir cap that I'm holding next to a big boss tapir cap from the week before, for comparison, of course:

Probably the biggest piece of antler I will ever find:

A bass:

(modern)

Large herbivore teeth:

Gator teeth:

My first mako from the area!

Little piece of raccoon jaw:

SNAKE!!!

But I'm not freaking out.  Anymore.

I spoke extensively with a friend who used to work as a zoo herpetologist and this is not a water moccasin and even if it was, it would not attack.  If anyone doesn't believe this and would like to discuss it further with me, please contact me coz I'm kinda feeling like an expert at the moment...until I see another one.

Beautiful crystalized auger shell:

And suddenly I've found myself in garfish territory.   

So, a worthy final journey with an old kayak friend. 

And now for something completely different...

...although it's not really off topic at all, I suppose.

It's an homage to 2001 A Space Odyssey that I put together with a friend one evening and it only involved gin and NOTHING ELSE.

This diorama utilizes 5 fossils.  The monolith and the mountain in the background are both Blue Forest wood from Wyoming and the 3 little bones are from the Peace River.

I'm pretty proud of it.  :-)