As I work less and have more free time, I have added a new hobby, and I’m going to post some new things from it here. It’s fossil hunting. I have always been fascinated by rocks and fossils, but my first real fossil was found on a fishing trip at Benbrook in 2013. In the roots of a toppled and half submerged tree, I found this. Click the photos to be able to zoom in and get a closer look.

I had no idea what it was, but I was sure it was some kind of fossil. So I joined The Fossil Forum and made a post asking what it was. It is, of course, a piece of an ammonite. It was all enough to really get me interested in fossil hunting, but between work, family, and all my cycling, I really didn’t have time for a new hobby. I vowed that when I retired, fossil hunting was something I was going to consider adding as a hobby. That time has now arrived.

The trip I made to the North Sulfur River today was my third fossil hunting trip, and the first one I had finds I deemed worthy of posting here. Here is what I posted in The Fossil Forum:

I made my second trip to the North Sulfur River today. I had planned on going yesterday, but it was pretty chilly early, and today was forecast to be much warmer, plus the water was still coming down, so I settled for a 50 mile bike ride yesterday, and headed for the NSR this morning. I seem to be making the most of this time of social distancing / off work. A bike ride yesterday, NSR today, and I’ll be crappie fishing tomorrow. If this is a preview of retirement, sign me up. Once again, I just went to the Ladonia Fossil Park. I hiked downstream, the opposite of the direction I headed last time.

I’m still finding out what my physical capabilities are for this kind of trip. With all my bike riding, my legs are strong, and I’m in great aerobic shape, but at 69 years old, and after almost 50 years of heavy machine shop work, my back and shoulders are pretty cratered. I’m not sure how I’ll hold up for long hikes down treacherous river bottoms, or climbing in and out.

I probably pack my backpack lighter than most here. But after hiking a couple of miles down the river and back today, I feel fine. So, maybe I can hold up to these trips better than I thought. I’m ready to try getting in and out of the river at some other spots. I drove over to the FM2990 bridge and looked at that access. I’ll tackle it, but I’m definitely going to do it on a dry day. That rope climb back up looks tough.

I’d also like to try out the river downstream at 24. A question for those who know the area: Google satellite photos show a lot more water in that area, with hardly any sand bars showing. Is the water that much higher there, or is it just when Google took the photos? Do I need to wait for lower water to try that out? Water level today was 2.08.

I thought this ammonite segment was cool.

And here is a bacculite piece.

But the find of the day was this fish vertebrae.