Cowboy / Conger Pass

A couple of weeks ago we had a little accumulation of snow. Not much to really count in Baker. However, driving down in the valley over to Cowboy Pass, north of Eskdale, the blanket of snow got thicker. Surprisingly measurable! It was actually pretty dry snow too ~ not much moisture in it to be very beneficial. We weren't expecting that in this fossil hunting adventure. It was pretty cold in temperature that day (which is the norm in January)...... but after a long, lucky run of warm winter days you couldn't help but notice the chill. We didn't let a little bit of snow ruin our search.

Ava and Isaac stayed in the 4runner most of the time. I guess they weren't to thrilled about the cold. Or maybe it's because they raided the snacks...... 



After Bryan showed me an example of what to look for, it didn't take too long for us to find some seashell looking impressions in the rock. He found some of the best ones. This last photo shows the scale of the fossil better. 

After departing Cowboy Pass, we went around through Conger Pass. It always reminds me of the hayrides we had in high school ~ passing Skunk Springs ~ ohhh, it brings back memories. lol

We were the first ones to drive on the road since it snowed, which was pretty fun. It made the animal tracks very obvious; including feral horse tracks. As we drove we kept an eye out for the horses.  

Before long, they showed themselves to us as they made their way up the ridge. They looked healthy and bulky with their long winter hair.........
Every once in a while, they would watch us like we watched them......

After they disappeared out of sight we kept driving and ended up seeing another small herd of horses. I liked the colors of these ones, especially the buckskin and grey :)

Ava repeated "Dad, let's run and get one!"
It was a special treat for Ava to see horses........ lol

 Tracks :)

Another beautiful January evening; even if it was cold...........
;)

Grandma's 80th Birthday

We recently helped Grandma Hanks celebrate her 80th birthday. A party was held for her at Eskdale. There was a great turnout of family & friends. A good time was had by all :)



"Happy Birthday Grandma!"

Afterward, the guys threw the football around on the grass........

Conger Spring

These are the days in the middle of winter where you see more air traffic than road traffic........

When the weather cooperates we try to get out and enjoy the short daylight hours while we can. 

 

 

Last week we drove around to find Fossil Mountain and the GPS coordinates Bryan found on the internet failed us. We'll have to try again sometime. It was a cool drive anyway and we saw some neat features, such as this pothole-looking ridges next to the road. The BLM also failed us by not having informative signs.......

lol 

Ava made use of the rock hammer first ......................

When you explore in this part of the desert - you are likely to run into a heard of sheep and a sheephearders camp..........
"Baa Baa black sheep have you any wool?"

 

We ended up driving up to Conger Spring to find some fossils there. So, the great search began......

There was an obvious hole where other rockhounders were before.
Bryan & Isaac found most of their fossils on the surface while walking in a wash......
Meanwhile, I was happy to sit in the hole and dig them out.........

Success! These are called Crinoids.
Here is the description I got online:
Crinoids are unusually beautiful and graceful members of the phylum Echinodermata. This is the phylum that brings you starfish, sea urchins, and sand dollars. The crinoids are a breed apart however, they resemble an underwater flower. Some even have parts that look and act like roots anchoring them to the ocean floor. They are commonly called sea lilies. Their graceful stalks can be meters long. Other varieties have no stalks or root like parts. They are commonly known as feather stars. Unlike the sea lilies the feather stars can move about on tiny hook like structures called cirri.
They are some of the oldest fossils on earth.

It's nice to actually find what you go in search for....... we didn't leave empty-handed on this day ~
Horray for Crinoids!

Another beautiful winter day comes to a close as the sun sets over Conger Spring............

We are growing fond of these rockhounding adventures..........