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Slip Slide and Away on Black FridayInstead of standing outside of BestBuy from 10pm the night before until 6 am the next morning hoping to get a bargain on some electronics, I headed to the Potomac for some other bargain deals on fossils! I drove past the BestBuy on my way and saw a billion cars - and they say the economy is bad - not here in Bowie, MD. Anyhow, I had a free kitchen pass since my wife's parents were visiting - this meant I could stay most of the day! Unfortuantely, the collecting conditions were such that at first I didn't feel like staying for more than a couple hours. The hydrilla seaweed grass was piled up over most of the collecting area(s). So, I resorted to sifting here and there where I could, trying to avoid the seaweed. I found the usual numbers of worn sandtigers, and then found a decent Otodus with some tip damage, and then two nice Croc teeth as the water receded a little. The weather was great, the scenery was great as was the visiting tundra swans, and I found a few nice teeth. The only downer was that I got hurt while walking back along the beach. I stepped up onto a big fallen tree with no bark and slipped. Normally I wear my waders with felt soles, but I had these new ones on with rubber lug soles. As I slipped I fell forward off the tree and came crashing down into another tree and its roots laying on the beach just a few feet away. It happened in a split second - no time to put out my hands to brace my fall. As I fell into the next tree my right arm smashed through the roots cracking them as I fell. At first I thought it was my arm making the cracking sound. After landing with a thud and realizing my head grazed the tree, I also realized I was still conscious, but in some pain. I thanked God that it didn't turn out much worse. No broken bones! I made it to the car and back home ok, and survived the weekend with lots of Tylenol and Ibuprofen to heal the aches and pains. Make sure you always carry a cell phone if you collect by yourself like I do most of the time. Even if you can't make a call, the cell phone companies can still locate you because they can triangulate your phone.
Daryl.
Oh yea, notice the date on the teeth pics?? After the first pic of the beach and river-scape, the batteries died. Actually brought spare batteries and was able to salvage the day and take some pics. So, besides the cell phone, don't forget batteries for the camera. If you're smart you'll even remember to set the date on the camera - I didn't :(
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Location
| Potomac River, Maryland, USA |
| ID | 3139 |
| Member | Daryl |
| Date Added | 12/2/2008 |
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Great ground shots! - 12/2/2008
Reviewer
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Tom from Maryland United States
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Total Rating
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10
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| Glad to hear that you weren't seriously hurt! I love the ground shots. I didn't get any good ground shots on my last trip because even though I had charged the battery the night before, it wasn't until I had already walked about a mile that I realized that my camera was still sitting on the front seat of my car! I really need to get more sleep, instead of heading out so early! |
Content Quality : 10 of 10
Drool Quotient : 10 of 10
Picture Quality : 10 of 10
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slip-n-zip - 12/2/2008
Reviewer
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brachiomyback from
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Total Rating
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10
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| I know that slip side feeling too well... glad your ok. I usually do the "wipe out" after I find a nice tooth and run around like an idiot while trying to find someone to show off my find. Even more reason now for Santa to upgrade me to a felt pair. I always have a small ziplock with me with various sized waterproof bandaids, those compact alcohol wipes and neosporin... It came in handy a couple of times for me at the GMR.... Usually put my cell in ziplock to. Nice pix and finds. |
Content Quality : 10 of 10
Drool Quotient : 10 of 10
Picture Quality : 10 of 10
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Glad you're OK - 12/3/2008
Reviewer
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Fat Boy from Maryland United States
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Total Rating
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10
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| I was also thinking when walking down to the beach on Sunday about not having my medical kit in my backpack. I did have my cell phone with me though for safety reasons. Climbing over some of those fallen trees can get pretty hairy, if not for the threat of injury, the threat of the "spikes" from broken branches punching a hole in my current water tight waders! I'm glad that it wasn't serious. Looks like you found some nice teeth though, and I love the ground shots too. One of the things that I like about them is to zoom in and look for other fossils in them, especially when I review my own shots to see if I missed anything! Even though I forgot my medical kit, I was cognizant enough to lug 25 pounds of sand/gravel back to my truck! Nice report! I have camera issues that I'm trying to resolve, hence my lack of report and pics thus far. |
Content Quality : 10 of 10
Drool Quotient : 10 of 10
Picture Quality : 10 of 10
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think safety - 12/3/2008
Reviewer
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Daryl from Maryland United States
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Total Rating
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10
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| You know, my little mishap actually caused me to stop and really think hard about how much worse it could have been. I know we've all had our bumps and bruises, a cut here and there, and suffered some poked holes in our new waders - been there, done that. But when I was laying there scrunched up in a ball like a baby in between the two trees, it was like a dose of reality hit me saying slow the heck down. For the rest of the long walk back to the car I kept thinking of how they would have found me if I got knocked out, or if I had a compound fracture, could I have walked back on my own, or would 911 send a boat down the river to get me etc. Not trying to be melodramatic or anything, but one thing's for sure, I'll be going a little slower over the trees and slippery boulders a little slower from now on - with my felt bottom boots too.
It's funny to read what the rest of you guys pack and tote along with you - lots of similarities. I always try to have a couple of band-aids with the antibiotic stuff already in them packed in my wallet. I try to have a fresh bottle of water for drinking and rinsing of cuts, but get careless and don't always remember to pack it, or always have a fully charged cellphone. Can't stress enough how important the cellphone is, because even if you are incapacitated and can't call, if your phone is powered on, by law after Sep11 (911), all cellphone companies have to have the ability to triangulate and locate your cellphone (with or without GPS). They do this by "pinging" your phone from multiple towers.
As for ground shots, I have to thank DW and the others from this site over the years for the idea. They just add so much more to the story and I know how much we all like seeing the teeth still lying there - almost as if we're finding it ourselves. For the teeth I found this day, they were fairly well exposed which isn't usually the case. Lots of finds come from knee-crawling. I still need to get some pics of teeth while still in the water.
As for lugging material back to the vehicle, if you don't already, try using large 1-gallon or larger zip-lock bags, or small thick-ply bags. I always filled a bucket part ways and carried it back, but my arms got tired. Filling a few baggies and stuffing them in my back pack was much easier. If you go often enough, you don't really need to take that much back with you each time.
take care guys. |
Content Quality : 10 of 10
Drool Quotient : 10 of 10
Picture Quality : 10 of 10
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I agree 100% - 12/3/2008
Reviewer
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Fat Boy from Maryland United States
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Total Rating
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3.333
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| And also make sure that phone is charged! Sometimes I forget to plug the phone in and charge it, taking it for granted that they always work when needed. The first thing that I do now when I leave home for a trip is to plug that phone in.
Felt sole waders have saved me more times than I can remember. I use them often for fishing, but also for fossiling along the river and bay. They help on the logs, but also the slippery waters edge on many places of the bay where there's no sand, the water is up to the edge of the cliff or nearby, and the cliff has that eroded ground level layer that cries out for slippage! I recently purchased a new pair of wading shoes from Cabelas and I'm very pleased with them. They are not only felt, but also studded. I haven't used them while fossil collecting yet, but man those came in handy in PA while fishing on that slippery shale creek and river beds. Last year I used felt up there and really had to be careful while crossing fast water areas of the creek. This year, I was still careful, but a lot more confident. The reason that I think that I might be using the studded felt soles more often is that the climb up the hill to the path is often slick after the rain making it difficult to get up the hill, posing a safety risk for a potential fall. I think that the studs would help. And, also on that topic, for those that have felt and wish to make them studded, you can do my ice fishing trick and simply use a power drill and short sheet metal screws to stud your boots. If you do this with them while wearing them, make sure that you dont' use sheet metal screws that are too long! LOL |
Content Quality : 10 of 10
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- 12/3/2008
Reviewer
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Down by the banks from
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Total Rating
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10
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| Great post glad your ok. |
Content Quality : 10 of 10
Drool Quotient : 10 of 10
Picture Quality : 10 of 10
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