|
Post by 1dave on Nov 26, 2020 8:37:30 GMT -5
|
|
chandler
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2020
Posts: 105
|
Post by chandler on Nov 26, 2020 16:15:54 GMT -5
Is this coprolite ?
|
|
|
Post by RickB on Nov 26, 2020 17:04:45 GMT -5
A couple hours ago I was showing my coprolite collection to a friend and he surprised me with the question "why do you collect coprolites?" I was speechless, and couldn't verbalize the answer, after all why WOULDN'T I collect them? It was so obvious, like a self evident truth! Yet I couldn't say why in spite of a driving irresistible craving to seek the ultimate undiscovered specimen that promises wonders not yet seen. The quest beckons and I'm restless to explore regions I've yet to visit. The rest of the week will be spent in the exquisite emptyness of the great American desert, out of cell service and away from civilization. I caught a glimpse of a new area on a previous trip and snapped a photo. I've got to see what lies beyond that next ridge. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Nov 26, 2020 21:32:02 GMT -5
Is this coprolite ? Hard to say, are coprolites known in the area they came from? The context of where they came from is significant to consider, for example did they come out of a layer known to have dino bones? I almost always find some bone associated with my coprolite finds. This is mostly applicable to the coprolites I hunt which are almost exclusively from hadrosaurs. Yours could easily come from fish or reptiles very different from what my experience covers.
|
|
chandler
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2020
Posts: 105
|
Post by chandler on Nov 26, 2020 21:48:35 GMT -5
Thank you for the reply. The closest area for Dino bones is 20 miles from here. is there a way to confirm anything? I also have several gastrolith possibilities..
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Nov 26, 2020 22:06:44 GMT -5
Happy Thanksgiving everybody. We had our Thanksgiving dinner on the tailgate of the truck while in the coprolite hunting grounds. Went to a different and very remote area where we made some minor finds. Very enjoyable time spent and at least I didn't have to carry much back to the truck! I didn't anticipate getting back to cell range for days.
At sundown we hopped in the truck to return to camp and went about 200 yards and a tire went flat. No problem, btdt many times and I thought I'd have it changed and on our way before it got dark. Wrong. Turns out my tire service didn't apply anti seize grease between the rim and hub on the last rotation. That sucker had welded itself on and I had my work cut out to get it off.
I had a five foot steel prybar and no luck with that so I used the spare tire as a battering ram to knock the flat tire off the hub. After 20 minutes and a bit of cussing I finally knocked it off. Was actually worried about knocking the truck off the jack.
We decided to return to civilization 60 miles away to get the tire into a tire shop in the morning. I'm a bit worried the puncture is bad enough the tire can't be saved. By tomorrow we'll be back out into the middle of nowhere. I can't wait.
Lessons learned: Make sure your mechanic applies the anti seize compound. Second, I'm going to start carrying two spares when I go into really remote areas.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Nov 26, 2020 22:11:26 GMT -5
Today's coprolite quest.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Nov 26, 2020 22:16:29 GMT -5
Thank you for the reply. The closest area for Dino bones is 20 miles from here. is there a way to confirm anything? I also have several gastrolith possibilities.. Chemical analysis for phosphates can help. Cutting into a cross section to check for semi digested material or bones can also give clues.
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Nov 26, 2020 22:24:28 GMT -5
Today's coprolite quest. Talk about a dream come true hounding area! That is stunningly beautiful!!! I'm glad you were able to get that tire switched! I've been in a very similar situation and it sucked beyond belief! So, I was feeling your pain when reading your post! I hope you find a hillside cascading with coprolite tomorrow...or a plateau of poop...or a field of feces (not the fresh kind)...and look forward to more pics!
|
|
|
Post by 1dave on Nov 27, 2020 9:28:31 GMT -5
Happy Thanksgiving everybody. We had our Thanksgiving dinner on the tailgate of the truck while in the coprolite hunting grounds. Went to a different and very remote area where we made some minor finds. Very enjoyable time spent and at least I didn't have to carry much back to the truck! I didn't anticipate getting back to cell range for days. At sundown we hopped in the truck to return to camp and went about 200 yards and a tire went flat. No problem, btdt many times and I thought I'd have it changed and on our way before it got dark. Wrong. Turns out my tire service didn't apply anti seize grease between the rim and hub on the last rotation. That sucker had welded itself on and I had my work cut out to get it off. I had a five foot steel prybar and no luck with that so I used the spare tire as a battering ram to knock the flat tire off the hub. After 20 minutes and a bit of cussing I finally knocked it off. Was actually worried about knocking the truck off the jack. We decided to return to civilization 60 miles away to get the tire into a tire shop in the morning. I'm a bit worried the puncture is bad enough the tire can't be saved. By tomorrow we'll be back out into the middle of nowhere. I can't wait. Lessons learned: Make sure your mechanic applies the anti seize compound. Second, I'm going to start carrying two spares when I go into really remote areas. You reminded me of a January morning in 1954. I was driving my brothers and sister to school on US-54 from Goddard to Wichita when the left rear tire went flat. There was about a foot of slushy snow and the highway hadn't been plowed yet. The road was going slightly up-hill and traffic was whizzing by. I got off the road as far as I could and used a bumper jack to get the tire lifted. The jack kept kicking out on the ice. Just as I got the wheel off the bolts the jack kicked out again. I jammed the tire into the wheel well to keep the hub from hitting the ground. All this kneeling in slush and getting sprayed by cars whizzing by. No one stopped. I finally got the spare bolted on and let down the jack. The spare tire was FLAT! I had to roll the original flat about a mile back to the Travel Center where we lived to be fixed.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Nov 29, 2020 20:55:44 GMT -5
We made it back to civilization intact. It was a shame the tire was damaged beyond repair because I only had about 3000 miles on it.
Will definitely take two spares from now on because we often go to areas without cell reception and in this case it would have taken at least a day to walk to where another traveler might be. It got down to 16 degrees that night too.
Other than tire woes we had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and a bit of luck finding some rocks.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Nov 29, 2020 20:57:01 GMT -5
Some Thanksgiving coprolite.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Nov 29, 2020 21:00:10 GMT -5
Also found a large deposit of lightning stone. I'm not sure it's as solid as I'd like so I'll have to cut some to see what's up.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Nov 29, 2020 21:02:07 GMT -5
I can never resist picking up some gem wood while collecting coprolites.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Nov 29, 2020 21:04:25 GMT -5
Lorri thinks petrified logs should be riden.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Nov 29, 2020 21:06:32 GMT -5
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Nov 29, 2020 21:08:59 GMT -5
In spite of cold nights it warmed enough at noon to be comfortable.
|
|
|
Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 29, 2020 21:22:52 GMT -5
We've been through the tire woes before, too. We used to hit the desert hunting for rocks in Bob's old 1968 Plymouth Fury III 9 passenger station wagon. This was loooong before we would ever be able to buy a truck. We to the Hauser Geode Beds, AKA Wiley Wells Area, and got a flat. The road path went up a little hill, and the road turned to the right just before you got to the top. Got off the road just a little bit, and picked up a cactus thorn. Fortunately, we only had to use one spare that trip.
On another trip to the geode beds, I was driving the wagon, and Bob was riding his motorcycle (which we brought along on a rack on the back). We were heading out to come back home. The road was a long straight away, deeply entrenched, like many desert roads get. After a few miles it made a turn to the left. Just as I got to the turn, the exhaust pipe dropped loose from the exhaust manifold, and jammed into the steering linkage. I could not turn the wheel, so went straight and pretty much jumped right out of that entrenched road and went airborne for a little bit. (maybe I was going too fast? LOL)
We drove west on I-10 (making a horrible racket), and stopped in Palm Springs at a campground or something, where we were able to get underneath it, and get the exhaust pipe back up into place and bolted back together. Fun times, yeah!
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,577
|
Post by RWA3006 on Dec 1, 2020 7:57:30 GMT -5
TURD TUESDAY
|
|
Win
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2017
Posts: 337
|
Post by Win on Dec 1, 2020 9:32:47 GMT -5
That sounds like quite an adventure you had. Sorry to hear about the tire and the woes of getting it off. I'm just stunned by the material you find and love these trip reports.
|
|