| REGISTRATION INFORMATION: To register, please email Cathy at cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com or call 610-209-0758 or 610-647-7926 Checks should be made payable to Cathy Young and mailed to: 239 Valley View Road Berwyn, PA 19312 Sorry, we are currently unable to accept credit cards. Thank You!! |
| Philadelphia Minerals Trip Saturday, April 3rd, 2010 Join us for a day of rock hunting. Yes – even Philadelphia has wonderful rocks! We will meet at Valley Green in Fairmount Park, and see and learn about metamorphic rocks. Karenne Snow, past President of the Philadelphia Mineralogical Society and co-author of Gem Trails of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, will lead this extraordinary trip. We’ll collect garnets, and possibly staurolite and kyanite, while taking a beautiful hike in the woods. Karenne will also teach us about the geology of the area. We’ll have a picnic lunch by the stream, then go to the Bells Mills area to look for more staurolite, tourmaline, and perhaps magnetite. Last year, everyone found lots of garnets, and some of us found staurolite, tourmaline and kyanite. This trip is great for ages 5 and up. Cost: $35 per adult and $25 per child under 18. FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS WONDERFUL TRIP, E-MAIL CATHY YOUNG AT cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com or call 610-209-0758. Alabama Fossil Collecting Trip Friday, April 9th, Saturday, April 10th and Sunday, April 11th, 2010 Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Virginia Museum of Natural History will lead a trip to Alabama to premiere fossil sites along the Alabama and the Tombigbee Rivers. We’ll ride by boat to the sites. These sites yield exotic snails with spectacular preservation. We will collect in Paleocene and Eocene strata, 60 to 45 million years old. Over 450 species of invertebrates, shark, whale and manatee have been found in this area! One of the sites that we will be collecting fossils is where Timothy Abbott Conrad collected fossils in the early 1800’s. Isaac Lea also obtained fossil snails from this area. Fossil sand dollars are extremely abundant when rain levels are low. We’ll collect fossils for 3 full days. Shells are extremely abundant. Whale, shark and manatee remains are also found. Please register early as space is extremely limited. This trip is for adults and children ages 12 and up. Cost: $350 per person. Cost does not include transportation, lodging or food. It does include the boat rides to and from the sites. FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS SPECTACULAR TRIP, E-MAIL CATHY YOUNG AT CATHY@FOSSILANDNATURETRIPS.COM OR CALL 610-209-0758. Kentucky Fossil Collecting Trip And The Natural Bridge of Virginia (Optional) Saturday, April 17th and Sunday, April 18th, 2010 Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Virginia Museum of Natural History, will lead a trip to Kentucky to collect invertebrate fossils all day Saturday, April 17th, and Sunday morning, April 18th. For those of you who would like to visit The Natural Bridge of Virginia, we’ll meet Thursday evening, April 15th for dinner. We will also have breakfast Friday morning, and visit The Natural Bridge with Dr. Ward. It is an absolutely amazing site. Pictures can not depict how huge this natural wonder actually is. Then we’ll caravan all day Friday through West Virginia and Kentucky, making several stops while Dr. Ward talks about the geological formations of the areas. We will also collect fossils briefly en route at most of these stops. We should reach our hotel in Maysville, Kentucky by late afternoon. Hopefully we can collect fossils for an hour or so before checking into our hotel. We’ll collect fossils all day Saturday, and Sunday morning. The fossils are Ordovician. The area that we will be collecting in was the floor of a shallow sea about 450 million years ago. The amount of fossils there is incredible! Everywhere you look are brachiopods, bivalves and crinoids! And, there are numerous species of both brachiopods and bivalves. You will also find gastropods, coral, straight cephalopods and trilobites! The trilobites found here are mainly Isotelus, and some Triarthrus and Cryptolithus. Some of the brachiopods are geodes with beautiful crystals inside! Two years ago, Dan found a large, almost complete Isotelus trilobite. Mike found a beautiful crinoid calyx (with branches). Several complete trilobites were found. Last year, one of our people found the underside of the top of a complete trilobite in exquisite condition. Another person found an adorable complete trilobite roll-up, with the cutest face! Someone else found a trilobite body with the head possibly under the rock. Most of us found beautiful straight cephalopods. I found 4 pop-out cephalopods plus 4 in rocks full of other fossils. There were lots of crinoids, horn coral, several different species of gastropods, bryozoans, and many, many different brachiopod species. This trip is recommended for adults and children age 7 and up. Cost: $100 per adult and $35 per child under 18. Cost does not include transportation, lodging, food or entrance fee to see The Natural Bridge. The basic trip price is the same, whether you join us for The Natural Bridge or meet us in Kentucky. FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS SPECTACULAR TRIP, E-MAIL CATHY YOUNG AT CATHY@FOSSILANDNATURETRIPS.COM OR CALL 610-209-0758. Cape Fear River Fossil Collecting Trip Friday, April 30th, Saturday, May 1st and Sunday, May 2nd , 2010 Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Virginia Museum of Natural History will lead a 3-day fossil adventure in North Carolina. We’ll spend Friday going to a few of the North Carolina mines between New Bern and Elizabethtown, NC. We’ll collect fossil shark teeth, crocodile teeth, sea urchins, sand dollars, and fossil shells at these mines. We’ll spend Saturday and Sunday on the Cape Fear River via boats, collecting fossils at several locations. We’ll be based out of Elizabethtown, NC. We’ll collect both marine and non-marine fossils from the Upper Cretaceous. We’ll find plant material, shark teeth, and bones and teeth from reptiles – maybe even some dinosaur material. We’ll also go to sites along the river that are Lower Pleistecene, Waccamaw Formation. We’ll find millions of well-preserved shells at this location. In addition, we’ll go to another site that is Duplin Formation (equal to Yorktown Formation). There we will also find millions of well-preserved shells, including huge horse conchs, busycons, and many other gastropods and bivalves. We’ll also find some shark teeth there, too. We recommend this trip for ages 10 and up. Spaces are extremely limited on this trip. The Cape Fear River must be low in order to do this trip. Cost: $250 per person for 3 days - $200 per person if you only want to go on the Cape Fear River part of the trip, and skip the mines. Cost does not include car transportation to the meeting sites, food or lodging. It does include the boat transportation. FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS SPECTACULAR TRIP, E-MAIL CATHY YOUNG AT CATHY@FOSSILANDNATURETRIPS.COM OR CALL 610-209-0758. Darby Creek and “Mineral Hill” Mineral Trip Saturday, May 8th, 2010 Join us for a full day of mineral collecting in Prospect Park and Media, PA. Karenne Snow, past President of the Philadelphia Mineralogical Society and co-author of Gem Trails of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, will lead this exciting trip. We’ll walk in a stream in Prospect Park and collect kyanite, quartzite, and unattractive, but interesting feldspar crystals. Then we’ll head for Media, and go to “Mineral Hill”. This area is also rich in feldspars. We may also find moonstone, amazonite and chronite crystals here. Last year, the minerals found in the tributary to Darby Creek included the gorgeous blue kyanite on quartzite that is much sought after! Everyone enjoyed digging the feldspar, kyanite, quartzite, muscovite and biotite mica. We also found some schist. Several people found small kyanite blades out of the sandy formation. Minerals found in the tributary near “Mineral Hill” included tremolite/actinolite, serpentine, albite feldspar, orthoclase feldspar, possible enstatite and mica. No chromite, though we also didn’t see much sand in the gully we were in. We did find a cute salamander! This trip is great for ages 5 and up. Cost: $40 per adult and $30 per child under 18. FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS WONDERFUL TRIP, E-MAIL CATHY YOUNG AT cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com or call 610-209-0758. Stratford Hall Fossil Collecting Weekend Saturday, May 15th and Sunday, May 16th, 2010 Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus of Invertebrate Paleontology of the Virginia Museum of Natural History and leading authority of molluscan biostratigraphy of the Atlantic Coastal Plain will lead us on a weekend of fossil collecting adventures. Saturday morning will meet at Westmoreland State Park in Montross, VA, and head for the beautiful Stratford Hall beach on the Potomac River. Stratford Hall Plantation is not only General Robert E. Lee’s birthplace, but it is well-known as a world-class fossil-collecting site. The beach is closed to the public (other than a tiny roped-off area), but Dr. Ward has special permission to take groups up and down the beach. As long as the Potomac and winds cooperate, we’ll have motor boats with us to take people up and down the beaches to even more remote areas at no extra charge. This site is Upper Miocene age (6 to 14 million years old). Shark teeth, whale bone and turtle shell are mainly found here. Some complete whale, porpoise and crocodile skeletons have been collected here. Occasionally even a Megalodon shark tooth is found (a Megalodon is an extinct giant shark – the huge monster whose teeth can reach 5 or 6 inches long). There are also beautiful fossil shells found here, including Chesapectens and Ecphora. Some of the Chesapectens have both valves, and some of the Ecphora are complete or almost complete. We are also finding crab concretions here! Sunday we will go back to Stratford Hall to collect more fossils there for half a day. This trip is great for adults and children ages 4 and up. Cost: $85 per adult and $35 per child under age 18. Cost does not include transportation, food or lodging. If you wish to stay in a cabin at Westmoreland State Park, you must register early. I will be holding onto a block of cabins for those who want to stay there on a first call – first serve basis. FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS SPECTACULAR TRIP, E-MAIL CATHY YOUNG AT cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com or call 610-209-0758. Delaware Naturalist Weekend Friday evening, June 4th, Saturday, June 5th and Sunday, June 6th, 2010 If you have a passion for nature and want to learn more about the creatures that live in Delaware, you must join us on the Delaware Naturalist Weekend. We will have 4 Naturalists with us, taking us on nature adventures all weekend. We will be staying at Mallard Lodge, in Smyrna, DE. You should arrive Friday evening for dinner, which we will provide. After dinner, we will have orientation, then go out for a frog walk. There are thousands of frogs, including several different species on and near our property. We will put everyone in groups, and rotate the groups from Naturalist to Naturalist all weekend. Naturalist Tina Hay will take groups to the boardwalk on our property that is over a salt marsh. As we walk the boardwalk, we’ll learn about the importance of salt marshes, while seeing many different creatures living there. Tina was a Museum Educator at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for five and a half years, taught in the Museum, and Managed the Live Animal Outreach Program. She was also a science teacher at Abington Friends School and was a Teacher/Naturalist at Peace Valley Nature Center and Honey Hollow for school programs and summer camps. International birder, Kevin Loughlin, will take us to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, which is only about 15 minutes away. The birds there are incredible. We should see dozens of different species of shore birds. Kevin is President and Senior Leader of Wildside Nature Tours. He’s also a photo instructor. His website is www.wildsidetoursinc.com . Anthony Jackson will be taking us seine netting in the Delaware Bay and wetlands to see what fish and other critters live in the waters of Delaware. Anthony is an Environmental Educator with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environment Control, specializing in wetland education with an emphasis on the brackish marsh. Another Naturalist will lead the evening frog walk and the daytime reptile hunt. He’ll take us to places in the area that are reptile environments, and will identify reptiles and amphibians that people find. Saturday evening, we’ll go to the Delaware Bay, and watch thousands of horseshoe crabs mate. Saturday morning we will provide a Continental Breakfast, and sandwiches will be provided for lunch. We’ll provide dinner, also. Sunday morning, we will provide pancakes and sausages. Then we'll go on our last excursion. After our excursion, we’ll have sandwiches for lunch, have a re-cap from our leaders about all of the different animal species that we saw, and pack our bags. At that time, if you would still like to continue your adventure, you are welcome to canoe for a few hours in the afternoon. There are several lakes on our property, and one of the lakes has canoes that you may use, FREE of charge. Cost: $210 per adult and $110 per child under 18. The cost includes all of the excursions with our 4 Naturalists, canoe use on Sunday, Friday and Saturday nights dinners, Saturday’s and Sunday’s breakfasts, Saturday’s and Sunday’s lunches, and lodging for Friday and Saturday night. Lodging is dorm-style in bunk beds – men in some rooms, women in others. Cost does not include transportation (we meet at Mallard Lodge in Smyrna, DE). This trip is geared for children age 5 through adults without children! FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS FABULOUS TRIP, E-MAIL CATHY YOUNG AT CATHY@FOSSILANDNATURETRIPS.COM OR CALL 610-209-0758. Fossil Collecting along the Lower James River (via boats) and Lieutenant Run Fossils Saturday, June 19th and Sunday, June 20th, 2010 Join us as we explore the lower James River banks by boats. Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus of the Virginia Museum of Natural History and leading authority of Molluscan biostratigraphy of the Atlantic Coastal Plain will lead this fabulous trip. Saturday, we’ll travel by boat about 15 miles along the lower James River, across the river from Jamestowne, collecting fossils at many sites. These sites are Miocene and Pliocene Age. The outcrops we will be collecting from contain millions of shells, whale teeth and bones, and shark teeth. A few years ago, someone found a 5 ¾ “ Megalodon shark tooth at one of the sites. We’ll also find HUGE Chesapecten (scallop) shells, some of which have an orange or red hue due to the presence of iron. And, we’ll find huge plates full of these Chesapectens. There will be many other wonderful fossil shells, too. Sunday, we’ll go to Lieutenant Run near Petersburg, VA. This is a “type” locality from where Isaac Lea and T. A. Conrad received fossil shells. It is Upper Yorktown Formation, Rushmere Member. There is also some Eastover Formation found here. More than 150 “type” mollusk species have been described from this area. We all found literally tons of fossil shells on this trip last year. Two years ago, Mike found a huge, beautiful Ecphora and a Busycon. Jane found a really nice, little Busycon. We all found lots of large Mercenaria, Dallorca, Lirophora, Chesapecten middlesexensis (some with both valves attached), Carolinapectens, and many other species. We recommend this trip for ages 10 and up. Cost: $130 per person. Cost does not include transportation to the meeting sites, food or lodging. It does include the boat rides. FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS SPECTACULAR TRIP, E-MAIL CATHY YOUNG AT cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com or call 610-209-0758. Stratford Hall Paleontology Camp Monday afternoon, July 5th through Friday afternoon, July 9th, 2010 Children ages 7 through 17 will have the opportunity to collect fossils and learn about paleontology and stratigraphy with a real Paleontologist at historic Stratford Hall Plantation in Virginia. Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus at the Virginia Museum of Natural History and author of numerous paleontology publications, will be leading this spectacular camp. We will be staying at the Stratford Hall Cheek House. This fabulous guest house sleeps 2 per room, and each room has its own bathroom. We will collect fossils every day at locations along the Potomac River. Dr. Ward will teach the children about what fossils are, help them to identify their fossils, and give lectures several of the evenings about the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. One of the days, we’ll tour the Great House of Stratford Hall, home of 2 signers of the Declaration of Independence, and Robert E. Lee’s birthplace. Stratford Hall beach is closed to the public – except for a small roped-in area, but Dr. Ward has special permission to take groups there to collect fossils. This site is Upper Miocene age (6 to 14 million years old). Shark teeth, whale bone and turtle shell are mainly found here. Some complete whale, porpoise and crocodile skeletons have been collected here. Occasionally even a Megalodon tooth is found here. A Megalodon is an extinct giant shark – the huge monster whose teeth can reach 5 or 6 inches long. There are also beautiful fossil shells found here, including Chesapectens and Ecphora. Some of the Chesapectens have both valves, and some of the Ecphora are complete or almost complete. Last year at the Paleo Camp, hundreds of sharks teeth were collected by all! Zach found 3 fossil crab nodules, including 1 that had 6 walking legs attached and 1 that had both pincers still attached! One of the crab nodules clearly shows the triangular apron of the underside, proving that it was a female. He also found a 2” Megalodon tooth and a 2”Mako tooth. He found at least 300 sharks teeth totally, including several cow shark teeth, several large stingray plates in rows, and 2 crocodile teeth. In addition to hundreds of shark teeth, Rose found a huge, gorgeous Turritella plate during a side trip we took further up the Potomac. Alaina found one of the largest Mako teeth I’ve ever seen. It must have been at least 2 ¾ - 3” in length. Connor also found 3 HUGE crocodile teeth, and Matthen found an enormous cow shark tooth. In addition to many shark teeth, I found a crab nodule of the upper body of the crab, 4 complete Ecphora, a huge, gorgeous Turritella block from a side trip we took one day, and many Chesapectens with both sides attached. Cost: $650 per person. This includes all meals and lodging, boat rides, lectures, tours – everything except transportation to Stratford Hall Monday and back home Friday. Parents who wish to join their children for the week are welcome, but they must pay the same price. FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS SPECTACULAR CAMP, E-MAIL CATHY YOUNG AT cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com or call 610-209-0758. Adults Only Stratford Hall Paleontology Camp Monday afternoon, August 23rd through Friday afternoon, August 27th, 2010 Collect fossils and learn about paleontology and stratigraphy with Dr. Lauck Ward at historic Stratford Hall Plantation in Virginia. Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus at the Virginia Museum of Natural History and author of numerous paleontology publications, will be leading this spectacular camp. We will be staying at the Stratford Hall Cheek House. This nice guest house sleeps 2 per room, and each room has its own bathroom. We will collect fossils every day at locations along the Potomac River. On days that the Potomac and winds cooperate, we’ll take our motorboats to different locations along the Potomac River. Dr. Ward will give lectures every evening about the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. One of the days, we’ll tour the Great House of Stratford Hall, home of 2 signers of the Declaration of Independence, and Robert E. Lee’s birthplace. Stratford Hall beach is closed to the public – except for a small roped-in area, but Dr. Ward has special permission to take groups there to collect fossils. This site is Upper Miocene age (6 to 14 million years old). Shark teeth, whale bone and turtle shell are mainly found here. Some complete whale, porpoise and crocodile skeletons have been collected here. Occasionally even a Megalodon tooth is found here. A Megalodon is an extinct giant shark – the huge monster whose teeth can reach 5 or 6 inches long. There are also beautiful fossil shells found here, including Chesapectens and Ecphora. Some of the Chesapectens have both valves, and some of the Ecphora are complete or almost complete. Cost: $650 per person – double occupancy or $900 per person – single occupancy. This includes all meals and lodging, boat rides, lectures, tours – everything except transportation to Stratford Hall Monday and back home Friday. If you are only able to join us 2 or 3 days, the cost is $165 per day - double occupancy or $230 per day – single occupancy. This includes all meals and lodging, boat rides, lectures, tours – everything except transportation to Stratford Hall Monday and back home Friday. You also have the option of just joining us during the day. The cost is $85 per day if you want a box lunch provided by Stratford Hall, or $75 per day if you decide to pack a lunch. FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS SPECTACULAR CAMP, E-MAIL CATHY YOUNG AT cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com or call 610-209-0758. 2010 Philadelphia Mineral Treasures and Fossil Fair Saturday, March 27th and Sunday, March 28th, 2010 The 2010 Philadelphia Mineral Treasures and Fossil Fair will be Saturday, March 27th and Sunday, March 28th. It’s sponsored by the Delaware Valley Paleontological Society and the Philadelphia Mineralogical Society. It will be held at the LuLu Shriners Temple, 5140 Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA. Fossils, minerals, gems and jewelry will be for sale. There will be fossil and mineral exhibits and demonstrations. There will also be learning activities, including a FREE Fossil Dig for children and a Kids Corner with FREE mineral specimens and scouting merit badge information. There’ll be food, beverages and door prizes. Admission will be $5 per adult, $1 for kids under 12, and uniformed scouts are FREE. We’ll have Paleo/Mineral celebrities speaking on their fields of expertise in the Merrimac Room throughout the weekend. The speakers include: Saturday 11:00 – Bob Jones, Senior Consulting Editor of Rock and Gem magazine, will speak about “A Mineral Tour of England”. Mr. Jones has been writing for Rock and Gem since its inception. He holds the Carnegie Mineralogical Award, is a member of the Rockhound Hall of Fame, and an author of numerous books and audio scripts. He is a nationally known mineral author and speaker. Saturday 1:30 – Dr. William B. Gallagher, Research Fellow and Associate Professor at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ, will speak about “Kun Long: Finding Fossils in the Land of the Feathered Dinosaurs”. Dr. Gallagher grew up collecting fossils in the Delaware Valley and got his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania with Dr. Peter Dodson. His paleontological interests and research have taken him to Iran, Egypt, China, Patagonia, Mexico, Western Canada, and all over Europe and Western United States. Saturday 3:00 – Bob Jones, Senior Consulting Editor of Rock and Gem magazine, will speak about “Agate – Its Beauty and Design”. Sunday 2:00 – Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus of the Virginia Museum of Natural History, leading authority of molluscan biostratigraphy of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and author of numerous books and publications, will speak about “Stratigraphy and Paleontology of the Atlantic Coastal Plain”. For more information about the 2010 Philadelphia Mineral Treasures and Fossil Fair, please go to the DVPS website at http://dvps.essentrix.net . PRIVATE FOSSIL COLLECTING TRIPS and FOSSIL PROGRAMS! Now your group can go fossil collecting together as a group. This is great for a scout troop, homeschoolers group, school group, etc. We can also do birthday party fossil trips and fossil trips just for your family or friends. For more information, please e-mail cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com or call 610-209-0758. I am also giving fossil programs for groups. I talk about different creatures and the time periods that they lived, while passing 25 - 50 real fossils for you to see up close and touch. I also bring a large container of sand full of fossils. The children use a fossil screen and trowel, and sift their own fossils to take home with them. Find out about our trips even before they are put on the website. Just e-mail cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com , and we'll be happy to put you on our e-Newsletter list. We send e-Newsletters about every 2 weeks, informing you about our newest upcoming trips. |
Event Information:
Mid-Atlantic Fossil and Nature Adventures
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