May 17, 2025 - a great day!  I spent the entire day "digging in the dirt" for 73 million year old, invertebrate marine fossils, and I loved it.  It was a beautiful, sunny day.  I was shaded at the dig site (a long winding 4-5 foot deep creek bed) by overhanging trees on each side of the creek.

Upon our arrival ( I invited granddaddy to go with me 😇 ), we were met by Mr. Josh who is the resident paleontologist.  Mr. Josh made us feel very welcome and gave us lodging in the Intern's cabin.  We had the cabin to ourselves because no interns were working during this time.

My first dig of the day was from about 9 AM to Noon when we took a break for lunch.  During lunch Mr. Josh talked about the journey to become a paleontologist and shared some stories of his past experience in South Dakota.  Sophia and I discussed possible sites we would dig after lunch. 

The Coon Creek dig site is a long, winding,  four to five feet deep creek.  Most all of the fossils are embedded in the dirt bank on each side of the creek. 

I dug at several placed along the creek bank and found a number of fossils intact and a few very interesting partial fossils.  Most of the fossils are very fragile and great care (and lots of patience) is required to remove them intact.  

It was both a fun day and an educational day.  I learned so much from the stories told throughout the day by all involved and I am looking forward to my next trip - where I won't forget my pillow 💤 next time.

Digging at Coon Creek

 January 17, 2025 - a great day.  I spent the day “digging in the past” at Coon Creek Science Center in Adamsville, Tennessee.

This was my second visit to the dig site and Mr. Josh, the all around good guy and resident paleontologist, really made my granddaddy and I feel welcome.  He let us stay in the Intern Cabin which was air conditioned and we each had our own private area.

The Intern's Cabin

                                                                                                                                            My Bed Area

After the first dig in the morning Sophia and I discussed, over lunch, where we would dig later that afternoon and what we hoped we would find. After returning to the same spot along the creek bed, we ended up not finding anything interesting in that spot (insert dig pic 1 off to side) ; however, further down the creek bed we ended up finding several intact clams. After the excavation of said clams we sifted through the gravel and found 5-8 shrimp fossils, as well as another intact clam laying on the bank.

After we had dug enough for the day, we walked about the creek talking about nothing in particular, and Sophia showed me a small section of the creek where water had eroded the creek bed and formed a small cove-like formation where small fragments of shells littered the ground.

I look forward to my next visit - where again I will - “dig in the past!”