#Udig quary cost pro#

We found absolutely stunning camping options along a sheer cliffside at the foot of Swasey Peak. There are no designated campsites at U-Dig, but the surrounding area is BLM-managed, and there are plenty of nice spots nearby. More information on rates, hours of operation, and trilobite digging in general can be found on the U-Dig website. The last 20 miles are on a well-maintained gravel road. The U-Dig Fossil Quarry is located 50 miles west of Delta, Utah. These fossils are a treasure from the dawn of time, and the search for them will take you out into the wild, far from the beaten path. The first dinosaurs didnвЂ™t show up to the party for another 250 million years, making a trilobite twice the age of any Tyrannosaurus Rex. When these trilobites were crawling around in the sea, the only life form to inhabit dry land was bacteria living in the soil crust. It really is a wondrous thing to hold a 500-million-year-old creature in the palm of your hand. With the help of CoryвЂ™s keen eye and a bit of luck, we unearthed some remarkable trilobite specimens. This is the fun part of hunting trilobites every rock you split open holds the potential for discovery. If youвЂ™re lucky, youвЂ™ll see a trilobite on the freshly exposed slab of rock, where itвЂ™s been sandwiched between the layers for millions of years. When you strike the layers just right, the block will split open like a book. Then you grab your rock hammer and turn the rock on its side so you can see all the layers. Sometimes you have to use a pry bar to dislodge a piece from the quarry wall. The first step is to find a big chunk of shale, about the size of a car tire. ItвЂ™s because of this layered structure that finding the trilobites is possible at all.

The soft gray shale consists of many horizontal layers, piled up like stacks of pancakes. Your success at finding trilobites in the U-Dig quarry depends on how many rocks you can split open, and itвЂ™s hard work. Not only is the House Range great for trilobite hunting, there are sites nearby for rock hounding geodes and topaz crystals, if youвЂ™re feeling really adventurous. The best part is that you keep all the trilobites you find, and after a few hours of effort, youвЂ™re almost guaranteed to unearth some excellent specimens. For a reasonable fee, theyвЂ™ll set you up with rock hammers, buckets, and show you the best places to dig. In the summer months, Cory does field work as a paleontologist, excavating dinosaur bones at remote dig sites, places so isolated that supplies often have to be dropped by helicopter.ДЄs for the dig site, we met up with the friendly folks at U-Dig Fossils, a remote private quarry 50 miles west of Delta, Utah. In the winter months, Cory attends classes and works part-time helping customers find the perfect gear for their next adventure.

#Udig quary cost pro#

To augment our chances for a successful dig, we teamed up with Cory D., a pro fossil hunter and a seasonal Gearhead. One of the best spots in the world for hunting trilobite fossils can be found in the foothills of UtahвЂ™s House Mountain Range, embedded in a layer of limestone called the Wheeler Shale formation. Trilobites, distant ancestors of crabs and lobsters, crawled around on the reefs in this sea, and their hard shells made them prime candidates for fossilization. But it hasnвЂ™t always been that way 500 million years ago this place looked like the Bahamas, covered in a warm, shallow sea. The high desert of western Utah looks the way youвЂ™d expect it to: dry, rugged, and desolate. Backcountry Journal: Fossil Hunting in UtahвЂ™s High Desert posted onВ August 10, 2015