On a Hunt for Fossils

We spent most of the day at the farm with my siblings and their children. It is a rare event to get us all together. It was Grandpa Pud's 87th b-day party. We got a picture of him and his seven great-grandchildren. We tried to get Grandma Maxine in the picture but she politely declined. We should have gotten a picture of them and their seven grandchildren too, but one of us was missing (Luke had a football game). It was a beautiful, beautiful day.

Once everyone had left but us (we typically stay for an early supper at the farm so we can pack up the boys and put them straight to bed when we get home) I asked Mazy if he wanted to go on a fossil adventure with me. He had been digging old bones out of the yard all afternoon, and telling everyone that they were dinosaur bones. They looked a lot like raccoon and barn cats to me, but he was happy. I was slightly grossed out, especially by the jaw bone with all the little teeth. But who am I to dampen the spirits of a young archaeologist?

So, while Bobo was napping I took Mazy and cousin Jenny (15 yrs old) on a fossil expedition around the county. First stop was the "campgrounds" just north of Gerald's Pond. Gerald's Pond is where I learned to swim and spent most of my childhood summers swimming in the cool, murky waters, diving off the diving board, playing on inner tubes and having an all-around delightful time with my siblings and cousins.

Anyway, we walked around the timber, hoping to come across an old creek bed where we could search for interesting rocks and possibly some fossils, but we couldn't find one. So then we packed up and took a gravel road to the Raccoon River, south of Panora. We had heavy rains over the weekend and the river was way too high for rock searching. So we walked around in the mud, spotted deer tracks, chased little frogs and identified a couple trees and bushes. Then, we decided to try Lenin Mill in Panora, also on the Raccoon River. It, too, was high and had no sandbars for exploring. So we threw rocks, disturbed water bugs and then Mazy found a river oyster shell (or a clam?) and was very excited. And that was the end of the fossil expedition. Mazy went back to the farm, and by then Bo was awake, so they hunted for more bones and found quite a few. Including a chicken leg from today's lunch... Gross. I made them put that one back.

I love exploring my childhood haunts with my children. It is a treat that I looked forward to even when I was a child. These places hold so many memories for me, and it is exciting, nostalgic and fun to relive them with the boys. Plus, now that I'm "in charge" we can stay and explore and do all the things I never thought I got enough time to do as a kid!