Trip To Mont Clare Pa Sat April 26,2008

[NJ Mary Ann]

This trip report is from my son James...enjoy seeing a fossil hunt from the perspective of an 8 year old boy!!!

Fossil hunting in Mont Clare, PA

by James O.

On Saturday, April 26, 2008 we went digging for fossils at a Triassic site in Mont Clare,

PA. The site dates back to 235,000,000 years ago. Our guide was Joseph Varaday. It

took us about 2 hours from our home to get there. so we had to leave early in the

morning. When we got there, we met with our leader and looked at his fossil samples.

He had a rutidon footprint that was very interesting. We waited for a long time until all

the people who were late got there. Then we hiked to the first spot. We looked for plant

fragments, fern fossils, worm tracks and mud ripples. The best thing I found there was

fossilized plant roots. The bad part was I wasn't strong enough to break the rocks myself

and all the grownups took the best spots so there was no easy place for me to hunt. Next

time I would like to go there with fewer people. After a lunch break, we went to the

second area. We could find fish fossils, fish scales and maybe dinosaur tracks here. My

mom and I were only able to find ganoid fish scales. Someone gave us a fossil of a

carbonized tree twig. Overall, it was an interesting site, but I wish I was stronger so I

could split rocks by myself, and I wish there were fewer people so I wouldn't have to

take the leftover spots that didn't really have good fossils.

[Guest solius symbiosus]

Great report! Sounds like you had a blast, even though others took the best spots. The root you found is probably a stigmaria. Can you post a pic?

[Gatorman]

I love his writing style

[Uncle Siphuncle]

James

I can sympathize with your situation. You touched on some of the reasons I hunt alone fairly often or with just 1-2 other people at a time. After a long drive the last thing you need is a crowd standing between you and the best fossils. Working with groups is the best way for most people to get started though and with experience you'll be finding your own honey holes. However the overlooked, leftover spots you mentioned quite often produce good finds, and sometimes the younger and more limber folks out their with better eyes can spot things that the older folks can't see. My boy has pulled that trick on me more than once. Keep up the good work and don't be discouraged.

[NJ Mary Ann]

Here are 2 photos of our finds...one is what we think is a plant root (2 different samples) and 1 looks like a worm trail or something...we're not really sure. We apologize for the photo quality - still experimenting with how to take good clear pics of these gray colored thingies.