2024 Field Trips
Lake Cumberland, KY - Oct. 25-27
Early one fine Friday October morning, 15 Tulip City members set off from West Michigan with dreams of collecting amazing Kentucky fossils! We were not disappointed, although there were some bumps in the plan as often occurs…. An approximately 7.5 hour drive took us all south around Indianapolis, over the bridge into Louisville and through the rolling hills and curvy roads of Kentucky towards the Jamestown and Lake Cumberland region. Our first stop was at the Lily Creek boat launch. Water levels in the fall on Lake Cumberland are substantially lower, and exposed areas of an amazing crinoid reef. Climb up on and through the rocks, brush away some leaves, and it was amazing what kind of an abundance of material you would find!
Early one fine Friday October morning, 15 Tulip City members set off from West Michigan with dreams of collecting amazing Kentucky fossils! We were not disappointed, although there were some bumps in the plan as often occurs…. An approximately 7.5 hour drive took us all south around Indianapolis, over the bridge into Louisville and through the rolling hills and curvy roads of Kentucky towards the Jamestown and Lake Cumberland region. Our first stop was at the Lily Creek boat launch. Water levels in the fall on Lake Cumberland are substantially lower, and exposed areas of an amazing crinoid reef. Climb up on and through the rocks, brush away some leaves, and it was amazing what kind of an abundance of material you would find!
Missouri Druzy - May 24
Friday May 24 started with a modest group of Tulip City members making their way towards the old lead mining districts of northeastern Missouri at Haunted Ridge. The amount of material at Haunted Ridge is quite impressive. The owner, known to me simply as Greg, does an amazing job of keeping the material fresh. Even after a couple of visits, it feels like he has barely scratched the surface, and there is so much variety in the material. My favorites there are the bubbly specimens that look like frosted popcorn, somewhat similar to formations you see in caves. We happened to
find some interesting Hematite forms growing on the drusy this time as well.
Friday May 24 started with a modest group of Tulip City members making their way towards the old lead mining districts of northeastern Missouri at Haunted Ridge. The amount of material at Haunted Ridge is quite impressive. The owner, known to me simply as Greg, does an amazing job of keeping the material fresh. Even after a couple of visits, it feels like he has barely scratched the surface, and there is so much variety in the material. My favorites there are the bubbly specimens that look like frosted popcorn, somewhat similar to formations you see in caves. We happened to
find some interesting Hematite forms growing on the drusy this time as well.
Kentucky Brachiopods & Cincinnati GeoFair - May 3-5
Four intrepid Tulip City members travelled to Maysville, Kentucky, and braved occasional rain to examine fossiliferous Ordovician limestones (~ 450 million years old), with an eye out for whole brachiopods. I was excited to explore some new outcrops in the area, as every spring for the last decade, I have taken students in my Geo 312 Sedimentology-Stratigraphy class on a weekend field trip to Maysville. Jon Mull, our field trip leader, did not disappoint, leading us to outcrops in nearby Flemingsburg that had abundant whole brachiopods and also the occasional geodized
brachiopods. We also found a kind of sponge called Solenopora that has the fissured appearance of the outside of a brain. In addition, at an outcrop in Maysville that my students visit to observe the “ball and pillow” structures, Jon discovered a layer that was mostly whole brachiopods. Thanks to Jon, I can add some new stops to Geo 312 and can assure all my students that they will find at least one whole brachiopod. On Saturday afternoon, we separately explored the Cincinnati GeoFair Show sponsored by the Cincinnati Mineral Society and Dry Dredgers. Compared to Tulip City, the Cincinnati show was much larger and more dealer-focused (+ 50), but with little in the way of club sales or silent auctions. However, a highlight for me was a SWAP meet (~ 4 people) where I was able to swap four pieces of Kona Dolomite (Lindberg Quarry cost of ~75 cents) for a large dinosaur bone (~$30). Unfortunately, the show left me mostly unfulfilled as I was hoping for more local fossils to be sold. I did purchase one of the few local Ordovician whole trilobites that was for sale ($45) and some other nice specimens (i.e., Crawfordsville Indiana, crinoids and calcite from Linwood Mine in Iowa) that I am allowed to display in my office at GVSU. I enjoyed the good company and conversations. Personally, this trip helped me transition to “summer mode” and I enjoyed being in Kentucky without being responsible for a flock/herd/gaggle of students. Thanks to Jon Mull for leading the trip!
Four intrepid Tulip City members travelled to Maysville, Kentucky, and braved occasional rain to examine fossiliferous Ordovician limestones (~ 450 million years old), with an eye out for whole brachiopods. I was excited to explore some new outcrops in the area, as every spring for the last decade, I have taken students in my Geo 312 Sedimentology-Stratigraphy class on a weekend field trip to Maysville. Jon Mull, our field trip leader, did not disappoint, leading us to outcrops in nearby Flemingsburg that had abundant whole brachiopods and also the occasional geodized
brachiopods. We also found a kind of sponge called Solenopora that has the fissured appearance of the outside of a brain. In addition, at an outcrop in Maysville that my students visit to observe the “ball and pillow” structures, Jon discovered a layer that was mostly whole brachiopods. Thanks to Jon, I can add some new stops to Geo 312 and can assure all my students that they will find at least one whole brachiopod. On Saturday afternoon, we separately explored the Cincinnati GeoFair Show sponsored by the Cincinnati Mineral Society and Dry Dredgers. Compared to Tulip City, the Cincinnati show was much larger and more dealer-focused (+ 50), but with little in the way of club sales or silent auctions. However, a highlight for me was a SWAP meet (~ 4 people) where I was able to swap four pieces of Kona Dolomite (Lindberg Quarry cost of ~75 cents) for a large dinosaur bone (~$30). Unfortunately, the show left me mostly unfulfilled as I was hoping for more local fossils to be sold. I did purchase one of the few local Ordovician whole trilobites that was for sale ($45) and some other nice specimens (i.e., Crawfordsville Indiana, crinoids and calcite from Linwood Mine in Iowa) that I am allowed to display in my office at GVSU. I enjoyed the good company and conversations. Personally, this trip helped me transition to “summer mode” and I enjoyed being in Kentucky without being responsible for a flock/herd/gaggle of students. Thanks to Jon Mull for leading the trip!
New Mexico - March 29-April 7
About a dozen members made the long trek to New Mexico to collect petrified wood, copper minerals, flourite, and more. The group also visited the Chaco Culture National Historic Park, DoBell wood ranch, Petrified Forest, ect... The trip was a hit, and a fantastic success.
About a dozen members made the long trek to New Mexico to collect petrified wood, copper minerals, flourite, and more. The group also visited the Chaco Culture National Historic Park, DoBell wood ranch, Petrified Forest, ect... The trip was a hit, and a fantastic success.
Club Bus Trip Chicago - March 16
The club rented a bus to travel to the Chicago Field Museum and the Lizzadro museum of Lapidary Art. The trip went off without a hitch. The Chicago Museum trip on March 16th was an absolute blast for those who attended. Thank you
goes out to Julia and Bob Sherwood for helping coordinate the trip and Jon Mull assisting big the day
of as well.
The Lizzadro Museum was an amazing display of lapidary genius in Mosaics, Dioramas, Jade Carvings and so much more. The Castle Lizzadro showcasing exquisite lapidary and gold smithing techniques was a crowd pleaser and one of my favorites. The massive piece of Petrified Wood and The
Last Supper made of Ivory were also amazing to see. The incredible pieces were in great abundance
and continued to amaze us all.
The Field Museum was an almost overwhelming experience with so many things to see and do. The
Meteorite display had a vast number of samples on display, but the Grainger Hall of Gems held the
best examples of Crystal, Jade, Topaz, and so many other gems to admire. The whole museum was
so amazing and getting to see SUE the T. rex
The club rented a bus to travel to the Chicago Field Museum and the Lizzadro museum of Lapidary Art. The trip went off without a hitch. The Chicago Museum trip on March 16th was an absolute blast for those who attended. Thank you
goes out to Julia and Bob Sherwood for helping coordinate the trip and Jon Mull assisting big the day
of as well.
The Lizzadro Museum was an amazing display of lapidary genius in Mosaics, Dioramas, Jade Carvings and so much more. The Castle Lizzadro showcasing exquisite lapidary and gold smithing techniques was a crowd pleaser and one of my favorites. The massive piece of Petrified Wood and The
Last Supper made of Ivory were also amazing to see. The incredible pieces were in great abundance
and continued to amaze us all.
The Field Museum was an almost overwhelming experience with so many things to see and do. The
Meteorite display had a vast number of samples on display, but the Grainger Hall of Gems held the
best examples of Crystal, Jade, Topaz, and so many other gems to admire. The whole museum was
so amazing and getting to see SUE the T. rex
2023 Field Trips
New Mexico - March 31-April 9
Spring Break New Mexico - Our first stop was as expected for our family at the Uranus Fudge Factory in Uranus Missouri. The best fudge comes from Uranus! On day three they made it to the Great Salt Plains Selenite Digging Area. Our group arrived on the opening day of digging. Beautiful clear to ice tea colored translucent crystals with the characteristic hourglass. Needless to say leaving was a process as everyone needed to get “one more good one”. On day 4 we headed for a wash that Jon heard about due to his habit of seeking out grumbly old men in overalls with huge collections and stories to share. While the wash is unnamed, the exit off of 25 is Hwy 6 near Los Lunas and the Southwest Livestock Auction is the landmark. We have dubbed it Fuh-Google Wash, as Google appears to be incapable of locating it. It was worth the wander. In an hour we found petrified wood, agate, and jasper. Material was everywhere. We decided to check out the old Baker Mine for thunder eggs, where they had a run in with an irritated landowner. Yeah, that was lousy. We did not actually trespass but people can be pretty “spikey” about their property out there. We headed into Arizona to Mule Creek, which was a bust, and one other spot along Hwy 78 for agate which was nearly non-existent and blocked by fences... and some spots that Jon managed to find on his own by recognizing landforms. On our way to find gas and bathrooms I saw some very light colored rock at the bottom of the road cuts on both sides of Hwy 75, it turned out to be common opal! Then, onto Brock Canyon . Hoping to find god knows what. The target for the day was Fluorite. The location was shared with us by another friend of Heidis named Greg Merrit. It was a beautiful but slow drive in and out and the material took some hard work but it was worth it. Day 8: Up early this morning and on the road. We started with some shopping in Mesilla, and then over to the Zuhl Petrified Wood Museum. This was our second time at the Zuhl. I can’t express enough how amazing this place is. Do not miss it if you have some time in Las Cruces. The last “event” of the trip. Just north of Radium Springs on Hwy 185 is a nice little half mile hike which leads to a slot canyon. Day 9: We awoke in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Next target, Home!
Spring Break New Mexico - Our first stop was as expected for our family at the Uranus Fudge Factory in Uranus Missouri. The best fudge comes from Uranus! On day three they made it to the Great Salt Plains Selenite Digging Area. Our group arrived on the opening day of digging. Beautiful clear to ice tea colored translucent crystals with the characteristic hourglass. Needless to say leaving was a process as everyone needed to get “one more good one”. On day 4 we headed for a wash that Jon heard about due to his habit of seeking out grumbly old men in overalls with huge collections and stories to share. While the wash is unnamed, the exit off of 25 is Hwy 6 near Los Lunas and the Southwest Livestock Auction is the landmark. We have dubbed it Fuh-Google Wash, as Google appears to be incapable of locating it. It was worth the wander. In an hour we found petrified wood, agate, and jasper. Material was everywhere. We decided to check out the old Baker Mine for thunder eggs, where they had a run in with an irritated landowner. Yeah, that was lousy. We did not actually trespass but people can be pretty “spikey” about their property out there. We headed into Arizona to Mule Creek, which was a bust, and one other spot along Hwy 78 for agate which was nearly non-existent and blocked by fences... and some spots that Jon managed to find on his own by recognizing landforms. On our way to find gas and bathrooms I saw some very light colored rock at the bottom of the road cuts on both sides of Hwy 75, it turned out to be common opal! Then, onto Brock Canyon . Hoping to find god knows what. The target for the day was Fluorite. The location was shared with us by another friend of Heidis named Greg Merrit. It was a beautiful but slow drive in and out and the material took some hard work but it was worth it. Day 8: Up early this morning and on the road. We started with some shopping in Mesilla, and then over to the Zuhl Petrified Wood Museum. This was our second time at the Zuhl. I can’t express enough how amazing this place is. Do not miss it if you have some time in Las Cruces. The last “event” of the trip. Just north of Radium Springs on Hwy 185 is a nice little half mile hike which leads to a slot canyon. Day 9: We awoke in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Next target, Home!
Utah - May 1-19
Indiana - May 26-27
Memorial Day weekend is a great time to get out and collect rocks nearby. It is just getting warm enough and the final disappearance of wintery blahs also tends to reveal new material on the surface. This year we headed down to Indiana for some geodes. We found lots on the Griffy Creek trail on Friday. Saturday was planned for three different areas to stop and hunt for geodes. We headed out, buckets in hand off to find some geodes in the river and on land! We found many different sizes of geodes, some were already split open, while others were solid. The buckets got heavy REALLY fast. I got to open some right there with the hammer. We learned that some were silent when shook and others sounded like they had rice inside rattling around. Plus we found a bunch of fossils along the river beds too. My favorite part was smashing them open with the hammer to see what was inside. We also checked out a site on Knob Creek which was shared with us by Mike and Vicki from the White River club. I had not been to this site before and found it very productive. I was also surprised by how many “rattlers” we found.
Memorial Day weekend is a great time to get out and collect rocks nearby. It is just getting warm enough and the final disappearance of wintery blahs also tends to reveal new material on the surface. This year we headed down to Indiana for some geodes. We found lots on the Griffy Creek trail on Friday. Saturday was planned for three different areas to stop and hunt for geodes. We headed out, buckets in hand off to find some geodes in the river and on land! We found many different sizes of geodes, some were already split open, while others were solid. The buckets got heavy REALLY fast. I got to open some right there with the hammer. We learned that some were silent when shook and others sounded like they had rice inside rattling around. Plus we found a bunch of fossils along the river beds too. My favorite part was smashing them open with the hammer to see what was inside. We also checked out a site on Knob Creek which was shared with us by Mike and Vicki from the White River club. I had not been to this site before and found it very productive. I was also surprised by how many “rattlers” we found.
Thunder Bay, Ontario - June 17-24
The Thunder Bay Amethyst field trip occurred the week of June 19th-23rd. Field trip attendees traveled up to Thunder Bay at various times prior to the start of the event with several stopping to collect along the way. Monday morning the group met at the Blue Point Amethyst mine where we were graciously hosted by the mine owner Jordan Vivian. This is the first year with Jordan as owner and he was a wonderful host. As this was a rock club event we were allowed access to the mine pit itself and not just the tailing piles. He reserved the whole week for us in the pit with no other people or groups allowed into the mine but us and we were the first group into the mine pit this year. Much adventure was had in the mine as sounds of clanging hammers, chisels, and drills rang out along with sounds of joy and happiness as discoveries were made! The next day, we were off to the Diamond Willow Amethyst mine. Interestingly enough, the Diamond Willow shares part of the same mine pit with the Blue Point Amethyst mine. We could only hunt in the tailing piles at Diamond Willow, but still some good discoveries were made. On Wednesday, we visited the Panorama Mine. This mine, again only allowed hunting in the tailing piles. One of the items the Panorama is known for is their giant amethyst points of which several were found After collecting at both the Diamond Willow and Panorama mines, several people once again went back to the Blue Point Amethyst mine since we had access to the pit for the full week. The group spread out for the rest of the week with some heading home, collecting along the way. The trip was a great success with many attendees looking forward to returning in the future!
Keokuk, Iowa- September 1-3
Over Labor day weekend a handful of Tulip City members made their way to Keokuk, Iowa to look for geodes. We spent a couple hours at Vickers, on Railroad Creek with fair returns and tried out a place called Bear Creek with minimal success but ended up within range of a somewhat famous winery (for some of us) before heading back to Keokuk. We spent the first part of the day collecting at Tipton’s (another section of Railroad Creek) and then found a park in Keokuk and took some time to “crack a few” with very enjoyable results. After lunch, we headed out to check out a section of the Fox River in Missouri. On Sunday we stopped in at Jacob’s Geodes to see the sad reality of a location that is nearly “dug out.” Personally, I will very much miss this long time collecting spot. All in all, I think everyone had a great time and had safe travels home.
Alpena, Michigan - September 29-30
Six intrepid adventurers braved the sunny skies and warm weather of the Alpena area on Friday September 29th, and Saturday September 30th to collect fossils. On Friday afternoon, three club members visited the Holcim quarry. This quarry was formerly known as the Lafarge quarry and is one of the largest cement quarries in North America. The field trips can no longer go down into the quarry pit itself, however, Holcim has a designated area where they bring samples to where field trip members can then collect at. One of the highlights of the trip, besides the fossils, was that we were able to observe some blasting that occurred in the quarry itself. We had a nice birds eye view of the quarry wall as the explosives went off. A spectacular sight to see!
2022 and before Field Trips
BASEMENT FIELD TRIP - March 26, 2022
Around 20 brave members ignored the cold damp weather to travel to the South Haven area on March 26th. The first stop was at the home of Bob and Julia Sherwood for about 2 hours. Their fairly large collection is in several rooms of the house. In addition, Bob had displayed on a large work table in the basement, some of their recently collected rock specimens from New Mexico as well as a number of slabs and/or polished petrified wood limbs for sale.
At noon, most of the group went for lunch in downtown South Haven. Around 1:30 they went to the nearby home of Gary and Susan Katt where a few more members showed up as well. Gary spends much of his collecting efforts in the Keweenaw Peninsula focused on greenstones. His collection of these raw stones and polished gems is extraordinary. Everyone was also able to see his, as well as Bob's workspace with various saws, grinding wheels and polishing drums.
Around 20 brave members ignored the cold damp weather to travel to the South Haven area on March 26th. The first stop was at the home of Bob and Julia Sherwood for about 2 hours. Their fairly large collection is in several rooms of the house. In addition, Bob had displayed on a large work table in the basement, some of their recently collected rock specimens from New Mexico as well as a number of slabs and/or polished petrified wood limbs for sale.
At noon, most of the group went for lunch in downtown South Haven. Around 1:30 they went to the nearby home of Gary and Susan Katt where a few more members showed up as well. Gary spends much of his collecting efforts in the Keweenaw Peninsula focused on greenstones. His collection of these raw stones and polished gems is extraordinary. Everyone was also able to see his, as well as Bob's workspace with various saws, grinding wheels and polishing drums.
TRI-STATE FOSSIL TRIP - April 2 to 6, 2021
GEODE collecting in Keokuk
Port Huron collecting trip
Collecting Quartz Crystals
in Arkansas - April 2018
by Jodi Miller
UP Field Trip / Champion Mine, Lindberg Quarry, Big Bay Jacobsville sandstone - 2018