18 Mile Creek, NY
Canadian Quarry and 18-mile Creek Hunt.
May 2004
The International fossil hunter!
On April 30 – May 1st, I took a trip to Canada and New York with the Times Scientific group. The reason for this trip, for me, was to find a Eurypterid. These guys are difficult to find and there are not many places one can look for them. Roy from times loves those trilos from west NY, and was set on finding some.
On Friday, I was armed with directions, collecting tips, and reservations for the quarry. All psyched up, we crossed the border into Eurypterid heaven. Once there, a seasoned Eurypterid collector showed us the ropes, and lent us a shovel (which no one thought to bring) to clear the overburden.
A few hours into the dig, we all realized, perhaps no one will find a complete Eurypterid this trip. Sadly, when we left, our suspicions were confirmed; only pieces were found. Everyone found lots of heads, and body segments, but no whole ones… Maybe next time!
On Saturday, we got up early to hit 18-mile creek. On the walk to the collecting area, we all stepped on or over a mass trilobite mortality plate. Luckily, after everyone else walked on or over it, Wrong Way Rob looked down and spied a trilo, then two, then three, then four, then five, then… He spent most the day attempting to take the plate out of the surrounding matrix. By days end, the plate was broke in a few major pieces, but had a total of over 10 complete decent sized bugs on it. I believe he may get it professionally prepped. Everyone else did fairly well. We all found whole enrolled ones, and some of us found some nice prone ones. Toward the end of the day, some of us scouted out other sections along 18-mile creek with little success.
Click here to go to the Times Scientific trip report of this trip
(Roy has posted a bunch of their prepped trilo photos)
Pics of the Trip
Pics of the Fossils Found
Only Eurypterid pieces were found |
The Deathplate as Wrong Way Rob found it |
A rather large phacops that Roy found |
Trilobites: Before and after preparation with the air abrasive unit.
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