It's been a long time

Oh, boy. I just remembered that I haven't posted anything in three years! Part of the reason for that is because of a mastodon stampede. In 2010 the Denver Museum of Nature & Science started excavating a remarkable fossil site in Snowmass, Colorado. It was muddy, rainy, sunny, hot, cold and exciting! Research in other areas, including Corral Bluffs, came to a screeching halt! I had the opportunity to participate in this dig. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. Also, Ultra Petroleum purchased Banning-Lewis Ranch and we lost our permission to access that property.

The mastodons have all been bathed and put to bed up at DMNS and now life goes on. We will schedule some field time in July with the DMNS paleontologists. And if Ultra sells the property since no profitable oil could be found, we may have access again to BLR. I'm excited to continue our work!

A Day in the field with the DMNS curators

Today was the first day Kirk Johnson and Ian Miller of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science got the chance to walk the Case Property at Corral Bluffs. It seems that everywhere they looked they found new leaf localities. Kirk said that at one site every leaf they picked up was a new species. They marked 3 or 4 new localities. Two sites are near the bottom of the section and one is at the very top and may eventually correlate with the Castle Rock rainforest site. That site is one of the sites I had found and named "Dead Batteries" due to the fact that when I found the leaves I also found out that the batteries on my gps and my camera were dead.

Ken Weissenburger also found what appears to be a small crocodile skull, with various other bones. The DMNS crew may come back to take it out.

When I got home I found that I had a 6 inch hole in the seat of my old favorite field pants! I hope I was walking in back of the group most of the day...