GMS Field Trip May 2023

GMS Field Trip
Various Age Fossils and Tours in Ohio
Sunday, May 28, 2023
Monday, May 29, 2023

Big Bone Lick State Park 5/28
Sunday morning everyone met up at Big Bone Lick State Park in Boone County Kentucky to tour the museum and hike out to the salt and mineral lick. Big Bone Lick is the “Birthplace of American Vertebrate Paleontology”. I talked to the members about the History and what all has been found at the site. Aaron Leatherwood gave a small geology talk about how the salt and minerals formed. Members ask lots of questions and everyone had a good time.

Trammel Fossil Park 5/28
Sunday afternoon we met up at Trammel Fossil Park in Sharonville, Ohio. I gave a quick safety talk and went over the things that could be found. Everyone went off to collect and it wasn’t long before Ordovician (approx. 450 million years ago) fossils such as bryozoans, brachiopods, gastropods and more started coming out. Members who weren't sure brought their finds to me and Aaron to identify. A few small trilobites were found. We ended the dig around 6pm. Everyone seemed to enjoy their time and were super excited about their finds.

Caesar Creek Lake State Park 5/29
Monday morning, we all met at the visitor center at Caesar Creek Lake State Park to get our collecting permits. We all then went to the spill way to start collecting. It started off pretty cool in the morning, but as the day continued, it started to get extremely hot as there is very little shade. Lots of Ordovician fossils are present but only palm sized specimens are allowed to be collected. Aaron and I were kept busy helping members with their finds. Lots of nice samples were found including trilobites, horn corals, bryozoans and more were found. We ended the official dig around 1 p.m. so that people could get back to Georgia that evening.

Everyone ended up with some really nice finds and had a great time. Many members asked when we were going back.

Jason Leatherwood
Field Trip Lead