GMS Field Trip May 2023

GMS Field Trip
Geodes and Upper Ordovician Fossils in Kentucky
Saturday, May 27, 2023

An excited group of GMS members joined Knoxville Gem and Mineral Society members to collect geodes and Ordovician fossils at a private location in Kentucky. In exchange for access to the site, we agree to remove trash from the property. So, the first mission of the day was to fill large garbage bags with trash from the creek. It didn’t take long before we had at least 6 huge bags full! Members also hauled away the garbage in their vehicles. Community service accomplished, everyone set their sights on geodes and fossils. For all of their hard work, they were rewarded with several stunning geodes and some incredible fossils.

Earlier that day, Charles explained why the geodes from this area should be broken and not sawed open. They are not like geodes from western states that often have banded rinds with visual interest. These geodes don’t have any banding, plus, instead of just being lined with crystals, they may have clusters of crystals inside that protrude into the middle of the geode. Cutting these geodes leaves a bland border and may ruin protruding clusters. Charles recommended breaking them open with a hammer and chisel or by using a “geode cracker”. Daniel Miller and Terrilyn Price each brought geode crackers. They were made of soil pipe cutters, a tool normally used to cut buried pipes. We tested some new configurations that turned out to be immensely successful, so it was easy to crack open lots of geodes for grateful trip attendees. Geodes had several different interiors including botryoidal chalcedony with different colors, clusters of quartz crystal “snowballs”, sparkly clear quartz crystals, and quartz crystals with different colors. One geode had yellow quartz crystals with one double terminated crystal with a dark, as yet unidentified inclusion.

Amongst the fossils I saw were lithostrotionella coral colonies, individual horn corals, crinoid stems, brachiopods, and shell impressions. Al Klatt found a horn coral in matrix that has the slightly creepy appearance of an alien gorilla skull. One specimen that looks like an olive might be a sponge. My favorite thing to find is “beekite”, a curiously patterned external feature that is not well understood. Trip attendees who were unfamiliar with beekite before have now seen some specimens and possibly have some in their collections now too. As the day was winding down and I was doing a final sweep for trash and forgotten tools, I continued my quest for beekite. The last-minute specimen I picked up was not beekite though, it was a crinoid calyx! It is the first calyx we know of from that location, so at first, I was incredulous, then I was thrilled, then I was excited to show it to everyone! And even though I was looking for beekite and found a calyx instead, it turns out that there is beekite on the calyx!

Many, many thanks to the property owners who are so nice to us and allow us to collect on their properties! Thank you to everyone who attended and removed so much garbage, then had a great time and found lots of goodies. And, of course, thank you to Charles for working diligently to arrange this memorable trip!

Lori Carter
On behalf of Charles Carter, Field Trip Chair
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