The price of fossil hunting....

Boat $22,000

New truck to pull boat $28,000

A trip like this one priceless!

The traffic is always terrible coming home on Friday afternoons before a holiday so I decided it would be a good day to head south to the bay. The night before I had packed my fossil collecting equipment, my fishing gear and an air mattress and sleeping bag so I could just spend the night on the boat. Oh, did I mention I now have a new fossil collecting machine? After many months of trying to decide on what would be best I purchased a 21' Carolina Skiff. Even though it's a rather big boat it only takes 8" of water to float so I get get it right up to the shore. A benefit that will be more appreciated as the water gets cold this fall. But I digress.... I arrived at the cliffs just after low tide so I hurriedly put the boat into the water to get to my collecting spot before the water became to high.

I started at my favorite spot but there just wasn't much showing up on the beach. The only thing good was that there weren't any footprints and no one is sight. I continued past where I normally hunt because I remembered that earlier this year there was a section that just looked Meggy further down the beach. As I continued the teeth started showing up. Some Tigers, a Mako and finally a small Meg not what I was looking for, but it was a good start. The fossils just kept coming after that, another Mako and then another Meg . Just after I found my second Meg I looked in the wash and saw what I knew had at one time been a BIG Meg. I snapped a quick couple shots while I started to say repeatedly "Oh please be whole..please be whole!!" I slipped my finger under the tooth and slowly lifted up. I could see from the sand rising it was mostly there. I picked it up and gave it a quick rinse...that's when it hit me....I just had found what will probably be my biggest and most perfect Meg from the bay that I will ever find. I knew right away that it was way bigger than my old best Meg that measures 3 15/16". I felt my legs starting to shake so I sat it down and snapped a few more shots while I could still hold the camera still. When I got home it measured at 4 15/16". The feeling was priceless and so is that tooth. At least to me it is!!