Fossils

Return to Maury Mtn. Day 3!

Day 3 arrived with the promise of rain showers.? We had planned to spend the day at Dendrite Butte, but changed our plans because of the rain.? I guess Dendrite Butte will have to wait for the next trip.

Since we were unable to make it to Dendrite Butte we ended up hiking the hills once again.

It isnt as far down as it looks.

It isn't as far down as it looks.

Hiking the hills can be hard on some of us older folks, but it can also produce some nice agates.? We probably hiked more than 3 miles, and as our packs got heavier and heavier, we became more selective of what we kept.

Here is a couple of nice agates that I kept.

Moss or Plume? You can decide.

Moss or Plume? You can decide.

This one was mostly buried.

This one was mostly buried.

We were again greeted with some of natures most beautiful flowers.

Mountain Lupine.

Mountain Lupine.

We could see some serious rain storms heading our way, so we reluctantly headed back to the truck.? Our packs were full, but when you trip over a big agate, you can always find room to haul it out.

This one has some serious potential.

This one has some serious potential.

Before heading back to camp we decided to collect a few more fossils.? Here is one of the better leaves I found.

A full leaf fossil is always worth keeping.

A full leaf fossil is always worth keeping.

We were reluctant to break camp, but the coming rain storms gave us just the push we needed.? Our trip was ending so we decided to spend the night in Prineville.? After a nice hot shower, and a good nights sleep on a soft bed we headed over the mountain to home.

We were surprised at the snow storm we entered on Highway 26 near Mount Hood, but didn’t experience any trouble driving trough it.? Do you think the extra weight from our three days of collecting helped us keep traction on the slippery roads?

I guess snow in May is not that unusual, but it did surprise us.

I guess snow in May is not that unusual, but it did surprise us.

Thanks for joining us.

chasfire

Return to Maury Mtn. Day 2!

Day two arrived bright and early, daylight arrived at about 5:00am.? I am an early riser and it didn’t take long to scrounge up a breadfast, roust out Jerry and head down the road.? We spent the day hiking the hills and dodging rain showers.

Jerry found an interesting petrified log to work on, and returned later in the day to add it to his collection.

Starting to dig up a nice log.

Starting to dig up a nice log.

We also found a spot with some nice fossil reeds and leaves.

A nice combination of reed and leaf.

A nice combination of reed and leaf.

We hiked the hills and were lucky to find some nice agate float, as well as another half buried log.? I decided to work on it for a little while, but only got a few small pieces worth keeping.

This one is not too deep.

This one is not too deep.

We also had a small visitor.? The Western Skink.? This little predator has one of the most brilliant neon blue tails I have ever seen.? Apparently only the young have? a tail this bright.

If this guys tail gets any brighter it would be blinding.

If this guys tail gets any brighter it would be blinding.

I guess it isn’t only the young of the human race that like to shock their parents.? Seriously ,the tail is a defense mechanism, it breaks off and wiggles, attracting an enemy while the lizard makes it to safety.

Here is a picture of the log that Jerry worked on most of the afternoon.

This will make a nice center piece on one of Jerrys many projects.

This will make a nice center piece on one of Jerry's many projects.

We ended up the day once again back in camp.? Jerry heated up some excellent sphagetti, and we sat around camp discussing our day and plans for tomorrow, before heading to bed.

Thanks for joining us.

chasfire