In order to post on these forums, you must be a registered member of this site. Membership is free and open to all. Use the register link to apply.
Here are two links to posts dealing with how to post pictures on Black River Fossils forums.
1. How to Post Pictures on Black River Fossils Forums by ditchweezil
2. How to Post Pictures on Black River Fossils Forums by Daryl
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
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?
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
Jack, if you still decide to haul some of the dirt out of the mine, my recommendation would be to make sure you take dirt that will hold potential to contain fossils. Put simply, some dirt is better than other dirt. Last year I filled 6 5-gallon buckets with dirt from either side of the ramp. It looked like good dirt to me since I found a small tooth on the surface. I struggled like heck to carry the buckets up the steep ramp, which got steeper on each and every bucket. I hauled them home and sifted with screen(s) and hose in the back yard, let it dry, and then sorted little by little over weeks and months. In the end I was quite dissapointed because I hardly found anything in those buckets! I had done this a couple years earlier with only two buckets of dirt and found a ton of small micro shark and ray teeth. So what was the difference? I guess the dirt from one spot was better than it was from another spot. The only way to really know is to ask one of the experienced guides. I don't know if the dirt nearest the ramp this year is "good" or not, but I know you don't want to have to haul buckets from an area too far from the ramp. As a fund raiser idea, maybe someone could arrange for the mine to place a big pile of awesome Pungo dirt at the top of the hill, then allow the collectors to buy it by the bucket full for like $10 a bucket or something? Man that would sure save my back!
Anyhow, I agree with Pat that you'll probably do better if you fill a few buckets with the material in the pile across the street from the Aurora Fossil Museum. If you still can't resist at least a little bit of dirt from the mine, pack a couple of 1-gallon zip-lock baggies in your back pack. Assuming you haven't already filled your back pack with whale verts or something similar, stop and fill your baggies up with some dirt on your walk back to the bus. It won't be as heavy and will be more manageable in your back pack.
Daryl.
Thanks to everyone for the great advice. I'll be sure and stop by the Museum and grab me some dirt there. That'll leave me more time to find that super meg in the mine.
Hope to see some of you out there next weekend.
Ncjack,
I'll be more than happy to push/pull/tote/lift/carry any large, and or heavy items for you this Sunday.
I know you've seen me at the Schiele, but my name is Dave. Just look for the white hat with the meg shaped dive sticker.
Of course I won't really be there on Sunday so my offer won't do you much good (and that's not my real name either...)!
I've heard that gravy mode often promotes good will toting... like when you find a nice paratodus and meg on your trip.
BWD
Thanks for nothing!
Just kidding. I hate you're not gonna be there Sunday. Now who's gonna show me where all the megs are at?