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 Purse State Park MD
 
 12/19/2007 12:04:33 AM
User is offlinemason
22 posts


Purse State Park MD
I plan on visiting the state park over the holidays (probably day after christmas) to look for older fossils than i typically collect.  I live in Richmond VA and have been wanting to collect on the north bank of the potomac for awhile now.  Do any of you maryland guys have any tips on collecting there?  I know how us fossil hunters tend to keep lots of our spots on the qt, but this is a public park where hunting is encouraged.  I've got directions on how to get there and will hunt at low tide.  But do not even know yet where the cliffs are.  Do i go left or right when i hit the beach?  Anyone know of nearby areas where i might get access to the river? Possible kayak launch sites?  Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated.  Better yet maybe someone will have the time and we could hunt some beaches together! 
 12/19/2007 1:15:43 AM
User is offlineTom
39 posts


Re: Purse State Park MD
Mason, I tend to do better there when I head to the right (up river). I think that the main reason is that the beach to the left is much easier to walk, so more people hunt that area. I really haven't gone very far from the entry point, but from what I've seen, the layers are more exposed to the right. I'm going to try to hunt there over the holidays too, so maybe I'll see you there!

Tom
 12/19/2007 1:59:11 AM
User is offlineDaryl
183 posts
5th


Re: Purse State Park MD

Guys, if you want to find large(r) teeth, like large Otodus, go left when you hit the main beach.  Here's the key though.  When you walk down through the woods and hit the beach, picture yourself in the middle of a horseshoe "U", since your actually in the middle of a cove.  The fossil bearing layer is to the left, but doesn't start or begin to be exposed until you walk all the way to the left end of the cove.  Once you hit that point, continue on and right around the corner you'll immediately see the fossil layer/bank exposed.  Be careful at low tide because those rocks get slippery and there's a lot of them.  You can walk this stretch for a very long distance.

Have fun
Daryl.

 12/20/2007 1:06:56 AM
User is offlinemason
22 posts


Re: Purse State Park MD
Thank you guys for the scoop on that site.  I'm looking forward to checking it out.  I did look at the area on "topozone",  which is a great tool by the way , and saw that not too far going right (north/east) there is an area of cliffs called the "blue banks".  That sounds promising! I have only found a few croc teeth and am hoping to find more of those.  Really hoping to find a paleocarcharodon.  Maybe i'll see some around some time.  Mason
 12/22/2007 5:10:22 PM
User is offlineobsessed1
50 posts


Re: Purse State Park MD

Mason,  I went to Purse yesterday after finding conditions to collect on the cliffs at the bay unfavorable. When fist getting to the beach I was disapointed to see over a foot of dead grass/weeds piles up on the shore along the waters edge. I went to the right and after several hundered yards the water begain to be clear and clean enough to collect in. So if you hunt to the right and it's too grassy you might want to try to the left. I did pretty good, finds included a possible Indian artifact and 3 Otodus teeth the biggest measured 2.25 inches but had one cusp and root corner broken off.  I'll try to get a post up today.Good luck when you hunt this weekend.     

 12/23/2007 3:18:24 PM
User is offlineDaryl
183 posts
5th


Re: Purse State Park MD

Say "Obsessed1", it was good seeing you down there yesterday.  I don't know how far right/north you went, but I went as far as you can go, and the whole shoreline was covered with the grass/seaweed (I think it's actually called Hydrilla).  As a result I barely found much of anything.  I tried to use my hands to "rake" away some of it to uncover somea reas of gravel, but you have to be careful because all kinds of junk can be mixed up in that stuff (glass, trash, needles, etc.).  Use a stick or something like I did eventually.  The reason why there's even more grass than usual at this time of year is because we had those 40+ mph winds a week ago from the West.  The Potomac runs North-to-South in this area, so winds from the west really push the water hard up against the banks, and everything in the cove (grass, trash, etc.) comes along with it.  It'll take some time for that grass to dissipate or be carried away.  The whole cove area is full of the stuff.  It was still good to get out and get some fresh air, see some Bald Eagles, ducks, lots of deer tracks, turkey's in the woods, and chewed up tree linbs from the local beaver.  I usually run into him along the shore, but this time he must of been napping still.  One time I ran into him he was on shore and then plopped into the river and swam out about 30ft or so.  I was wading through the water and he got a bit upset and surfaced.  He started smacking his tail in the water to scare me away.  He didn't scare me, but be careful if you walk to the right and go near or apst the duck blind.  Hunters use this to duck hunt, and it can be a bit unerving to suddenly come upon someone with a 12 gauge shotgun.  One time I was crossing over the dock that has the duck blind on it, and although the blind was empty, there was a fella on the bak with his shotgun.  I said hello, but he never even some much as blinked or said enything back.  It was a bit creepy in a "Deliverance" sort of way.

Have fun!
Daryl.

 

 12/23/2007 11:14:13 PM
User is offlineobsessed1
50 posts


Re: Purse State Park MD

Daryl,    I'm sorry if I sent you in the wrong direction, but I went to the left not the right as stated in my post. About half way to the point on the left is where the water cleared up. As to how far I went ...well I went almost down to the dock just past the shoal marker next to the shoreline maybe a little over a mile.

Good Luck,     obsessed1

 12/24/2007 4:38:07 PM
User is offlineDaryl
183 posts
5th


Re: Purse State Park MD

The area to left holds great potential for finding the large Otodus teeth.  I've also seen some semi-serrated teeth come from that area.  What I like about the left/south area is that the fossil layer is right at eye level, so it's fun to scan it and look for teeth sticking out.  I saw a realy nice 2.5" Otodus that was found sticking out of the cliff face.  They are pristine if you can get them this way, otherwise, the rocks in the sruf can beat them up pretty good and make them look like Rocky Balboa after several rounds with Ivan Drago.

Daryl.

 2/19/2008 8:00:34 PM
User is offlinegeorge
1 posts


Hopewell
I think I have seen you on the beach at Hopewell. I was with two other people and you was with your son. It was 2/9/08. I had seen you before with your kayak. If that was you then let's talk about the state park in Maryland. thanks george
 2/20/2008 6:18:47 PM
User is offlinehemipristis
19 posts


Re: Purse State Park MD
My second favorite huntin spot is Purse (PCS is the first, of course). I haven't been to Purse since I relocated to NC, and I miss collecting there. Seems you can do well whether you go L or R. L is better for Otodus & Croc, and R for big Striatolamias & Paleocarcharodons (in my experience). Great place with wonderful scenery. Make sure, if you go L, to take a few mins to admire the Osprey couple in their next atop the dead tree at the point.
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