Day: 31 August 2007
Location: Base Camp, South Dakota
Entry by: Robert DePalma
Upon our return from Belle Fourche, we discovered to our horror
that camp was ravaged by a storm. In our absence, a terrible rainstorm
tore through camp, leaving the tables and gear strewn about and
the awnings in tatters. Much of the day was spent gathering and
organizing what supplies we could and salvaging useable material.
Step by step camp was reconstructed and brought back to working
order.
In the latter half of the day, Feeney and I searched the countryside
for various plants and vegetables that could be of use to us. It
is extremely important to use caution and only collect what plants
are confirmed to be safe. Many toxic plants can resemble safe varieties,
so collecting wild plants should only be done by those who are
well-versed in botany. To that end, Feeney and I procured a variety
of very useful things, including yarrow, several types of sage,
thistles, more obscure medicinal plants, and the great prairie
puffball mushroom. Dinner tonight consisted of sautéed puffball
mushrooms with ravioli in tomato sauce, with tinned oysters on
the side.
Day: 02 September 2007
Location: Base Camp, South Dakota
Entry by: Robert DePalma
Overburden at the site is being removed at such a tremendous
rate that extra measures are being taken to store it away from
the digging
area. Because only two people are working the site this year
and heavy machinery cannot access the site, the waste dirt
and rock
must be stored close to the digging area. Using sandstone slabs,
a series if retaining walls were created to hold back the waste
dirt before we shoveled it from the top of the bone-bearing strata.
What began as a simple retaining wall ended up looking more like
ancient anasazi ruins than a retaining wall for a dig site. However
they did their job famously and allow us to dig unimpeded by
our waste rock.
As digging continued, a complete turtle shell was discovered
next to several duckbilled hadrosaur bones and the femur of a
raptor.
The raptor, most probably Dromaeosaurus, was one of the smaller
predators of the Hell Creek Formation, and most probably ran
in packs. Many mud clasts, or clay-like nodules that were carried
downstream, produced spectacular plant material, including cypress
needles, metasequoia cones, tree bark and seeds of various plants,
all of Cretaceous age.
Day: 03 September 2007
Location: Base Camp, South Dakota
Entry by: Robert DePalma
The morning started off with a bone-chilling event. Coyotes,
which have been heard nearby over the past few weeks, were
spotted on
the early morning horizon. They disappeared behind a butte,
but their howling calls could be heard. In a few moments their
howls
grew stronger and more excited and then, grew to a feverish,
sickening pitch as they mingled with a low, agonizing baritone
pitch of a
cow. Feeney and I looked at each other in disbelief as we heard
the cow’s baying gurgle and then cease, as the coyote’s
yippering and snapping in a frenzied manner. Amid the sounds of
crunching bone we realized that the cow had succumbed to the pack
of coyotes, which fell upon it and devoured it as a school of piranha
devours a hapless traveler.
With the morning’s events still fresh in our minds, Feeney
and I donned our field gear and packs, I shouldered my shotgun,
and we ventured back to the site. Working back in the nearly-cleared
section, a new, thinner bone-bearing layer appeared above the main
bone-bearing layer. This upper stratum contained smaller material
and flatter bones such as ribs and vertebral processes. Bones that
are washed down a river bed often group according to size and shape.
The bones that can be found in a particular area are often affected
by the magnitude of the water flow of the original river system.
Day: 04 September 2007
Location: Base Camp, South Dakota
Entry by: Robert DePalma
Digging back into the formation, a large, hard mineral concretion
blocked our way. The material was almost impossible to break
through even with estwing hammers and chisels. Upon examining
the infernal
mass, it was clear that we had a unique situation preserved
in stone. The shape of this new structure resembled a low
bell, and was flanked by fine sandstone and gravel. Toward
the peak,
siltstones
replaced the sandstone. The upper siltstones were reddish
orange in color and had traces of roots and plant mats preserved
along
the upper bounding surface. Based on the structures visible
to
us, it appeared that this new discovery was a tiny island
in the river, no wider than four or five meters, and was topped
by at
least some vegetation. No bones were found atop the island,
but in the main channel sections on both sides large bones
abounded.
The siltstones on top of the island were dark reddish-orange
because they were exposed for an extended time back in the
Cretaceous and
were able to oxidize. In sediments iron in its oxidized state
is reddish or orange in color. Samples were taken and will
be studied
back in the lab in Florida.
