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 Aurora Trip Questions
 
 3/21/2008 7:01:51 PM
User is offlinencjack99
11 posts


Aurora Trip Questions

Good luck to everyone going into the mine this weekend.  I'll be out there on March 30th.  Since this is my first trip into the mine, I've got a few questions:

1.  Is it better to stay in Washington or New Bern and what would be the best lodging for either town?

2.  What is the process to get dirt out of the mine to bring back home?  I want to fill up some buckets and leave them near the ramp.  If I do this, what is the best way to mark the buckets so no one will mess with them?

3. Do they have port-a-john in the mine or is it dig a hole behind the Yorktown hill? 

4.  Most importantly, I need directions.  I have a feeling if I get on 306 I should run into it.  But since I would lose my head if it weren't attached to my shoulders, can someone send me directions with landmarks to look for?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Jack

 

 3/21/2008 7:19:17 PM
User is offlinescubapaul
70 posts




Re: Aurora Trip Questions
 ncjack99 wrote

Good luck to everyone going into the mine this weekend.  I'll be out there on March 30th.  Since this is my first trip into the mine, I've got a few questions:

1.  Is it better to stay in Washington or New Bern and what would be the best lodging for either town?

Depends on you - if you come from the south I would stay in new bern, if you come from the north or west, I would stay in washington. I only stay in washington, but know a bunch that stay in new bern. They are roughly the same distance from aurora. I have *heard* the comfort inn in new bern is nice, in washington you can go nicer - holiday inn express, middle - days inn, low low end - econolodge, ultra-low end (lemon tree).

2.  What is the process to get dirt out of the mine to bring back home?  I want to fill up some buckets and leave them near the ramp.  If I do this, what is the best way to mark the buckets so no one will mess with them?

A number of people bring buckets in and take dirt out. I have never heard of anyone having their buckets 'messed with', but if you are worried about it, put your name on them, put a jacket on them, drop a backpack near them - whatever. Ideally you get back to the pickup in time to put them in there, if not you will have to bring them on the bus, but that is NOT recommended as it takes up too much room on an already cramped ride.

3. Do they have port-a-john in the mine or is it dig a hole behind the Yorktown hill? 

The official policy is that there is a port-o-john at the bus ramp. I have heard rumors of people sneaking a pee in the mine though. Beyond that, I have no comments (or experience).

4.  Most importantly, I need directions.  I have a feeling if I get on 306 I should run into it.  But since I would lose my head if it weren't attached to my shoulders, can someone send me directions with landmarks to look for?

The contractors parking lot is on 306. You can either get it in New Bern and take it into town, or take 33 east from chocowinity (off 17 in washington), and jump on 306 right as you get into aurora. Look for the 'PCS main gate' sign as you enter town. The turn will be a left but the sign will be smaller and on the right. If you hit the piggly wiggly, you already missed it. Take 306 5-6 miles to the parking log on the right (PCS will be on your left).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Other advice - If you find teeth, pick them up. If you are not finding any teeth move somewhere else and see previous sentence.

Jack

 

 3/21/2008 9:53:11 PM
User is offlinencjack99
11 posts


Re: Aurora Trip Questions

Hi Paul

Thanks for the advice.  I'm a little confused about what you meant concerning the buckets:

"Ideally you get back to the pickup in time to put them in there, if not you will have to bring them on the bus, but that is NOT recommended as it takes up too much room on an already cramped ride."

Do you there is a storage area on the bus to transport our buckets in and we need to allocate time to load the buckets up? 

 3/21/2008 11:51:53 PM
User is offlinescubapaul
70 posts




Re: Aurora Trip Questions
Actually, if Blackwaterdiver is there, the BEST option to just let him through the buckets over his manly shoulders and let him carry them out for you. He may even offer to carry you as well :-) But...what I meant was there will be 2 vehicles that go in: (1) a bus with the hunters and (2) a PCS pick up truck. You throw your tools, backpacks, etc in the pickup to save room on the bus. In order to get your buckets in the pickup on the way back, make sure you are back to the bus (and pickup) early enough to get them in before everybody fills it up with rakes, backpacks, etc. So, one option would be to head in, fill the buckets, carry them back up and put them in the truck, then go about the rest of your collecting - the other upside of that is that you would be more fresh for carrying them up the ramp.
 3/22/2008 1:07:56 AM
User is offlinepat y
24 posts


Re: Aurora Trip Questions

Jack,

The most important thing to remember is--DO NOT forget your steel toed shoes!! I dont think anyone in his/her right mind will take your buckets full of dirt. Dont leave a large whale vertebra on top of it though.  Your name will never protect a large fossil item. Last year we actually had a backpack with two whale verts taken (read-stolen) by someone who didnt collect them.You should put your name on your rake, shovel, backpack, etc. People often forget and leave them on the truck--we have no way of knowing who they belong to.

Since this is your first time collecting Aurora, you might want to focus more on filling your buckets with fossils instead of dirt. Those micro-fossils in dirt are a fairly specialized study (hard to find ID for) until you learn a bit about the various layers in the mine.The fossil dirt at the museum or other piles around Aurora will be much more productive for shark/ray teeth anyway.

Pat Y

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