Nevada - Utah Mega Trip 2016 Day Two: Garnet Hill and Geology Train

July 9, 2016

We left West Wendover and drove across a couple of different valleys to get to Ely (pronounced "ee-lee"), Nevada.  The original plan was to visit Fossil Mountain for Pennsylvanian corals but the owner of the copper mine acquired claims on that land and closed access to the public.  So, we went to Garnet Hill, instead.

Garnet Hill is in the Ely BLM (Bureau of Land Management) district.  Rhyolite containing garnets of the variety Spessartine is present.  Many of us thought we received presents:



This piece, found by Patrick Rowe, has 10 beautiful
garnets on a stone covered with minute quartz crystals.

Perhaps the largest of the day, Nancy Kimber
found.  What a beautiful piece this is!



 

 The next activity was to ride the Geology Train.  Engine 93, the steam engine of the Geology Train, was built in 1909 to move ore from the copper mine west of Ely to the mill.  We rode it as passengers through geology that include Pennsylvanian and Permian limestone to the ore-bearing strata.  The copper mining operation created huge, multicolored dump piles that surround the producing pits.  This mine is visible using Google Earth.

Engine 93 with a bunch of paleo people in front of it.

Tomorrow, we visit some Mississippian and Ordovician sites.

Nevada - Utah Mega Trip 2016 Day One: Crittenden Springs and Immigrant Canyon

July 7, 2016 - First things first, we all got ourselves to West Wendover, NV.  If you travel via I80, you pass through Salt Lake City then through territory that vies with Kansas for flatness.


Bonneville Salt Flats - home of the world land-speed records race track

July 8, 2016

This day we visited two sites, Crittenden Springs and Immigrant Canyon.

This is normally a dark blue car...

This morning, we met at the Nevada Welcome Center in West Wendover to form a caravan for our first fossil site of this mega-trip, Crittenden Springs.  This meant "drive to Montello, then be prepared for a dusty car as we will drive for another 23 miles, including 8 miles on a road that tracks a part of the old California Trail.  (On this trail, we startled a large, beautiful family of partridges.)









We were to search for Triassic ammonoids - mostly ceratite cephalopods.  Here is a beautiful find by Michael Graham (remember, you can click on the images in this blog to see a larger version):

Our second site of the day was Immigrant Canyon, where we were looking for Permian brachiopods.  It took two tries to find the right spot.  Deep into a canyon west of Montello, NV, we looked for limestone outcrops.  The first stop had limited exposure so Joe's nephew, Taylor, scoped the exact spot.  Thank you Taylor!  We found lots of brachiopods, and they had SPINES!

Slab of small brachiopods with many spines

We also found something we still need to identify - it could by bryozoan, it could be sponge:

What are these? Bryozoan or sponge?

Check in tomorrow for Garnets!

Bear Lake Field Trip 2015 - Day Four: Cambrian Spence Gulch

Once again we met in Paris.  A short drive and a short, steep hike down into a gulch and we were happy!  For this was an exposure of Cambrian Spence Shale.  We hoped for trilobites and hyoliths.  Hyoliths were new to many of us, I think!

Here is an iphone panorama shot of the exposure:

Spence Shale

The picture is a little odd since I was standing so close to the subject.  You can see that there was plenty of room for fossil hunters...

We did find the expected fossils.  There were some exceptional finds, of whole trilobites and of what is likely Eocrinoidea!

I just have to share with you a picture of someone I admire, look up to, want to be like.  Not only did she find some of the best whole trilobites, but she is an octogenarian!!!

Ann, my hero

Ann didn't want to stop digging here but we had another site to go to.  So, she packed up her backpack and bucket of fossils and climbed out of the gulch just like the rest of us.

The final site of the day was a return to the east shore of Bear Lake.  We'd been shut out before by the rain and hail storm.  This afternoon was beautiful; perfect for hunting Pleistocene bivalves and gastropods.

East shore, Bear Lake

The following morning, many of the trip participants had plans - DMNS Field School in Escalante, Yellowstone, head back to work...  A few of us were able to make one more stop, not far from Kemmerer, WY.  This stop was Eocene, and yielded agatized Elimia tenera.

It was a great trip and I am grateful to WIPS and the field trip leaders Joe Dabelko and Dennis Gertenbach for putting this together.

Bear Lake Field Trip 2015 - Day Three: Minnetonka Cave

We watched the sun rise in Paris!

Idaho, that is, in the parking lot of the tabernacle.








From there, we took our caravan to the Minnetonka Cave.  I understand there aren't many known caves in Idaho; this one is a good one!  We don't know how many steps there are in it since we heard 444, 548, and 600+.  It has the columns and features of any normal, healthy cave (stalagmites, stalagtites, columns, bacon, etc.).  Our guide was young and fun.

Just down the road from the cave was a site yielding burrows.  We found some trilobite bits, brachiopods, lots of traces, and a few mysteries that we'll have to get back to for identifying.

Sadly, we couldn't quite collect this slab.

Following this, we went out to find food.  Some of us stopped at campgrounds, which were quite nice along the road to the cave.  We picnicked, then met up to caravan to Paris Canyon.  I was so busy looking for ammonites in the Triassic Thaynes Formation, I forgot to take pictures!

Now, this day was Saturday.  It is culturally sound to have a party.  And Joe and his family know how to do that!  They were at a resort and invited us to burgers and games.  There was good food, company, and prizes.  We all got into playing Fossil Jeopardy, created by Joe.

Team One struggled to regain control

Team Two had the lead

TEAM ONE Won!!!

Bear Lake Field Trip 2015 - Day two: Mississippian

Soda Springs hourly geyser

We had a bonus stop today - we saw the Soda Springs geyser!  This was our morning meeting place.  From there we drove north about 25 miles to Pelican Point Quarry (I haven't heard why it is called this...).  This is an easily-accessed quarry of Mississippian Lodgepole limestone.

The stone is quite hard so you hope to find a piece containing that fossil you want and it is small enough to carry.  Actually, we all had some great finds.  The horn coral can be large and is the main attraction.  Also found were brachiopods, tiny crinoid parts, tabulate corals, and even a blastoid!

Brenda's syringopora tabulate coral

Bob's blastoid

The fossil hunting was so good, many of us underestimated the boxing needed for the day.  Back in Soda Springs Geyser park for lunch, we discussed how to fill that need.  It so happened, there was a nearby container with our answer.

"Dumpster Diving" for boxes

Having filled that need, we moved on to Fossil Canyon, a private drive with more of the Missippian cobbles.  Not so prolific, some did find some nice horn corals.  A couple of folks also found some beautiful stromatolites.

To cap the day, many of us dined at the Ranch Hand.  We ate like ranch hands, for sure!

Bear Lake Field Trip 2015 - Day one: Kemmerer, WY

There is so much to look forward to on this field trip.  Name an invertebrate marine fossil and we're going for it.  But first, we're going to go fossil fishing in Kemmerer, WY.  Many of us are driving to Kemmerer the day before Day One of the field trip.  What was fun is, without any preplanning, many of us met up in Rawlins, WY for food and good company.  It pays to pay attention to that car with the Colorado license plate in the middle of Wyoming...

Quarry Caravan

As folks began to collect at the Best Western Fossil Country Inn, we asked at the front desk where we should eat.  Highly recommended was El Jaliciense.  We took that recommendation and had a hearty meal served with a smile.

The following morning all met at the BW to caravan to the Warfield Quarry.  All signed in, chose hammers and chisels, then selected the rock pile to begin splitting.  There were a mix of repeat visitors and first timers.  I think everyone did pretty well on this fishing trip!

First Timers Barbara and Bob

First Timer Kathy

After four hours of hammering and moving rock (AKA catching fish), we packed up and had lunch at a park in Kemmerer.  Several of us even took the opportunity to visit the original J.C. Penney store!

The next stop was the Fossil Butte National Monument.  Ever been there?  Put it on your list!  What fantastic displays they have.  We had the wonderful fortune of hearing Ranger Arvid Aase's story about fossil plants in the Fossil Lakes and their contribution to climate studies.

From there, it was time to head further west into Utah.  We wanted to visit the east shore of Bear Lake to look for Pleistocene bivalves and gastropods.  Alas, it was not meant to be for a severe thunderstorm was roaring down the valley, bringing strong winds, rain, and hail.  So some of us simply went to have a raspberry shake!

Fossil Hunting in England - Hwyl Fawr

On our last full day in Wales, we took in the medieval Pembroke Castle, birthplace of Henry VII and home of the Tudor lineage and some 1,000 years of history on that site.



"Bread was included in every meal, but white was considered superior to brown
and was solely for the wealthy.  However, the very best, the uppercrust, was
reserved for the lord and nobles, hence the term, 'the uppercrust'."

We climbed the towers, peered into the dungeon, and tried to follow the family tree.  Then we bid Wales and the UK farewell and hwyl fawr.

Hwyl Fawr

How we managed to avoid penalties for overweight luggage remains a mystery.  Might have something to do with two cavemen at check-in sharing camaraderie about the upcoming Manchester City and Liverpool semi-final soccer match.  Whatever blessing it was, it worked.

We had, ahem, rather a lot of luggage.  I had to leave one heavy chunk of rock filled with calcite ammonites in the UK - broke my heart.  I'll live.

Without meaning to, I've given a lot of thought to evolution while here.  Probably due to the constant reminder of our recent human history that's around every corner. 
I've contemplated man's transition from communal living (stone age) to a concept of privacy and the individual; Western culture slowly casting aside man and earth as the center of the universe to the realization that we are but a part of deep history; the giant leap from water to land (and sometimes back again), from gills to lungs, fins to feet.

I leave you to contemplate the meaning of this Welsh road sign:

Cheers, lloniannau, and happy trails.  Thanks for joining us on our paleo journey.