The Beautiful Scenes Around Fossil Hunting Bends.
August 30th is my “birth day” into TFF (thefossilforum.com) and, within a month, fossil hunting, and what a journey it has been! Auspex, one of the administrators on TFF says, “The early slope of the learning curve [discovering the world of fossils] can be a time filled with wonder and discovery…” and it IS!
It has been an incredible learning experience! I had zero knowledge of or experience with fossils or rock hunting before I started this adventure, except for hunting for “sparkly creek rock” with my Mother as a girl. Zero knowledge of geology, the various prehistoric time periods, or biology beyond the basics of Darwin’s theory of evolution. And the more I learn, I realize the less I know…
Road Cuts of Hope & Challenge.
August 30th, 2012 I found thefossilforum.com, created an account, and started asking, “What’s this?” I had an inadequate camera and no idea of how to take closeup photos. I bought a better camera just so I could find out what fossils I had in my retaining wall – a Nikon Coolpix, certainly not top of the line but simple enough where I could figure it out with some tutelage. And the guys and gals on TFF have been so incredibly patient with me! How much dumber about a subject can a person be! I had no idea what “Ordovician” meant, much less “Galena Formation” or even what a cephalopod was!
After the fossils in my retaining wall had been identified, I started going out and trying to find more. Unbeknownst to me, Fillmore County, and the area within 15 miles east of Spring Valley, where I live, is some of the most fossiliferous rock in all of Minnesota! All I knew is that I was finding fossils, and I was thrilled!
The Quiet Solitude of the Hunt.
Baby red fox.
It was a beautiful fall last year and I fell in love with wandering the back roads, sitting on a rock, listening to the birdsong, watching deer, fox, hawks and eagles as I walked the dry creek beds and road cuts. For me, fossil hunting was a little slice of heaven. A way to escape my troubles, just for a while. And as I learned more about what the earth was like 450 million years ago, I would imagine that I was time traveling and sitting on the bottom of a shallow sea watching the creatures that I was finding fossils of alive, scuttling, crawling, and swimming around me. A beautiful dream that I could lose myself in for hours at a time.
Mystery Cave geologic exhibit.
And as a cold Minnesota winter closed in, I started doing volunteer work for Mystery Cave with their fossil collection – cleaning and identifying their fossils. Warren Netherton, the cave manager, mentioned the need for a fossil identification website and I agreed to create one.
I had never created a website before and it took me all winter and massive amounts of help from my friend, Val Gaddis of SonSations Webdesigns, but bluffcountryfossils.net was born! It is the fossil site I wish I would have had when I first started fossil hunting.
And shortly thereafter the Fossil Adventure Blog! Which was really just meant to record my own hunts and finds, but has evolved as I have.
I even went fossil hunting in January, in a thaw, in ice cleats, and found my first two trilobites! Anataphrus borraeus’, enrolled in a rock and they are still in that rock.
And in early spring when I learned that the largest fossil-only show in the world is held in southeastern Iowa by the Mid-America Paleontological Society (MAPS), I queried our local cities about a possible FossilFest here in Bluff Country. Harmony, with the enthusiasm of Mark Bishop owner of Niagara Cave, came on board and in August of 2014 a Rock ‘n’ Fossil Fest is being envisioned for that city.
Full Display
By April I was so enthused about fossils that I was working with SE MN Historic Bluff Country to create a fossil trail in Fillmore County that other people could share in. And all of my best fossils are in a display I created that resides at the SE MN HBC Regional Tourism Center in Rushford.
Andreya with her rare Halysites–chain coral.
Sharing my fossil hunting enthusiasm with Bob’s daughter and granddaughter, I took them out on their first hunt and the very FIRST fossil that Andreya picked up was a rare for this area, Halysites Coral – and a beautiful example to boot!
Halysites AKA Chain Coral-Ordovician
Carl & Fiona Mehling
And then I got an email from a REAL Paleontologist, Carl Mehling, from the Museum of Natural History in NYC!!! And we went fossil hunting together on Memorial Day!
He gave me some tips on finding trilobites and…
Celtencrinurus Trilobite- very rare!
I found a truly RARE trilobite – perhaps the only whole one to be found so far! Not that I knew it, as I am STILL trying to identify trilobite parts! But how cool! A Celtencrinurus trilobite that I donated to the Midwestpaleo.com trilobite collection that will eventually go into the University of Iowa’s fossil collections, with my name on it as “Collected by Beverly Sandlin” – as close to immortality as I will ever get!
Waldo!
AND on July 4th, I found “Waldo”. A large enrolled Anataphrus borraeus trilobite at the same location!
AND, last winter I started making some of my fossils into jewelry as a display option (I’ve never made jewelry in my life.) and in mid-summer I created three pendants, one from one of Carl Mehling’s Goblin Shark’s tooth, and sent them to the First Lady. I call it the “Michelle O.” Collection and it is in the Jewelry header at the top right corner of the Fossil Adventure Blog. With her interest in education, I thought fossil jewelry and jewelry making might just interest her and the girls. Pretty Cool!
Michelle O. Collection
And two newspaper articles and one television interview! WOW!
http://www.kttc.com/story/23114188/2013/08/12/explorers-hunt-for-minns-pre-historic-roots
video gone
Houston Nature Center Fossil display.
And this summer I have been volunteering with the Houston Nature Center! I’ve created a local fossil display for them to show off their fossils and donated a bucket of fossils for their sand play area for children to find and take home and several very nice fossils which have been placed in the caves and underground tunnel in their new Natural Playground to open on Sept. 7th!
Winona County Geologic Map
And I have even discovered Geologic Formation Maps!
The Beauty of Bluff Country!
Masonic Park
Now, put this into perspective, with the knowledge that in 2009 I suffered two devastating strokes and a car accident that crippled me mentally and physically. A surgery to re-plumb a critical artery, a divorce, my home burned, a crooked contractor, I’m displaced 60 miles away from my family, and totally disabled – I’m 58. I have been honestly trying to recover and do volunteer work to give back. But I am not what I used to be, and that feeling of uselessness and worthlessness was oppressing me.
A Budding Paleontologist!
What has fossil hunting done for me? Given me confidence – a life again! I am getting stronger – I seldom walk with a cane anymore. I am thinking and remembering more. I am opening up, instead of closing down. And I’m sharing with you, seeing the smiling faces and hearing the stories of successful fossil hunts means so much to me! I just hope it does to you as well.
What a year!
Bev
And the Fun of Fossil Hunting!
😀
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