Red Mountain, CO

Dates: May 9, 2009
Trip Leader: Rob Atkinson
Email: rob_atkinson80@hotmail.com

     * Provide detailed documentation of fossil finds to Larimer County.

     * Locate and document fossils of scientific significance.

This area in northern Colorado has been in private hands until recently, so although a geological survey was done in the late 1950's, no paleontological survey has ever been done here. The county plans to build trails in this area and we will identify Paleontological resources they need to be aware of before construction begins. In addition to WIPS standards, the following Larimer County rules apply:

     * All Larimer County Open Space Regulations will apply, except off trail use,

     * No Dogs allowed,

     * Fossil collection is prohibited, so, we will take only photographs, (and GPS info,) and leave only footprints,

     * All participants must be WIPS members, and

     * All participants must complete a Larimer County liability waiver prior to the survey.

Similar to the CNG Field Opportunity, WIPS members are organized into small teams. Each team is led by an experienced WIPS member and given specific areas to review and document.

Because this is a Field Opportunity, there are requirements for measurements, documentation, and imagery. Because the terrain is rugged and hiking is required and because of the requirements for documentation, participants must be at least 16 years old. Specimens identified must be documented according to the Field Guide. Participant reports describing specimens and locales are used to create a final report of the survey for Larimer County.

The county has requested we minimize the number of vehicles in the area, so there will be car pooling from an off site location(s).

The survey activities begin at 9:00am Saturday morning with a briefing on the areas to be surveyed. The day will be structured for detailed observations. Results will be collected to generate a combined report by the trip lead.

Limited to 20 people

Cost: WIPS $5 field trip fee

Baculite Mesa (near Pueblo, CO)

Date: May 23th, 2009
Trip Leader: Malcolm W. Bedell, Jr.

This is at least the 18th year that WIPS has offered a trip to the Cretaceous marine outcrops of Baculite Mesa, known, as the name suggests, for fossils of Baculites. Many other invertebrate fossils can be found there including ammonites, gastropods, nautiloids, scaphites and various pelecypods. Exposures of Pierre Shale as well as Tepee Buttes can be explored. Collecting is permitted on this trip to private ranch land, however, it is encouraged and expected that rare finds of potential scientific significance be made available for documentation, study and donation to an approved repository if applicable.

This year, we’ll also be collecitng educational specimens for Beth Simmons, former WIPS president, who teaches at Metropolitan State College.

The trip begins at 9 a.m. in Pueblo and contines until no later than 6 p.m. Ample details will be provided after sign-up.

Limited to 30 people

Cost: WIPS $5 field trip fee

Red Rock Canyon Open Space (Colorado Springs)

Date: May 16, 2009
Trip Leader: Sharon Milito

Although located near two major Front Range faults, the Rampart Range Fault and the Ute Pass Fault, Red Rock Canyon Open Space is relatively unfaulted and provides one of the best exposures in the state for viewing an uninterrupted sequence of strata dating from about 300 to 70 million years ago. RRCOS has a long history of quarrying for sandstone blocks, gravel, gypsum, clay and limestone. Quarrying in the Codell/Ft. Hays and Dakota hogbacks, in particular, has exposed otherwise hidden fossils.

This field trip will aquaint visitors with Front Range geology and will provide opportunities to see Cretaceous fossils from the Dakota Sandstone and Niobrara Formation in situe. This is city property so personal collecting will not be permitted, however exemplary fossils may be documented or collected for the City of Colorado Springs. Meet at 10 a.m. at the main parking lot at South Ridge Road and Highway 24. Wear hiking boots. We will be off trail among cactus and loose rock.

Cost: WIPS $5 field trip fee

Manitou Formation

Date: May 30, 2009
Trip Leader: Steve Wagner

We will spend the day in the Ordovician Manitou Formation where you can find marine fossils such as trilobites, brachiopods and cystoids. Collecting will be done under a WIPS permit from the U.S. Forest Service. As part of the permit, all scientifically significant specimens must be submitted to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS). Steve Wagner, the primary investigator on the permit, will be reviewing all finds to assess their scientific value. It’s likely that a few of our finds will need to be submitted to DMNS, but you should all have a fun time and add to your own collections as well.

The Manitou trilobites are often difficult to find and are poorly preserved, but occasionally you find some real beauties. The most common genera are Leiostegium and Kainella. The Manitou Formation is an extremely hard, dolomitic limestone. So, you’ll probably want to bring a larger hammer (i.e. crack hammer) in addition to your normal rock hammer. And, eye protection is a must!

We will meet in Woodland Park at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. Participants will receive specific details and a species identification guide via email prior to the trip. Please make sure your email/phone are upto- date on wipsppc.com.

Limited to 15 people

Cost: WIPS $5 field trip fee

Kremmling

Date: June 20, 2009
Trip Leader: Dick Boucher

During the late Cretaceous when much of Colorado was covered by the Western Interior Seaway, the Pierre Shale outcrops found northwest of Kremmling were deposited. The fossils now found in this area show that a teaming community of marine animals once thrived in this part of Colorado.

This trip will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the BLM office in Kremmling for a short talk by a BLM guide before heading to visit the BLM Kremmling Cretaceous ammonite site.This protected area contains many remains of Placenticeras, ammonites that reached up to 3 feet in diameter. Studies of this area have provided paleontologists with many clues about how these animals lived. Other fossils are also found at the site, helping us to better understand this ancient marin environment. No fossil collecting is allowed in this area.

During the afternoon, we will visit an area outside of the protected area, where we will be able to collect fossils. Members may keep any invertebrates found and are encouraged to allow others to photograph their specimens.

Physical Requirements: Moderate hiking in desert terrain at 7,500 feet with elevation climbs of several hundred feet.

Cost: WIPS $5 field trip fee

McCoy

Dates: June 6 - June 7, 2009
Trip Leader: Steven Reinhold

Flat Tops

Dates: August 8, 2009
Trip Leader: Jim Bullecks/Linda Soar
Assistant Trip Leaders:Linda Soar/Bernie Splika

Come join us on the Flat Tops Saturday August 8 to explore Mid-Devonian (360 mya) sea beds uplifted to over 10,000 feet in one of the most beautiful locations that WIPS visits. Bryozoan, gastropod, brachiopod, cephalopod, coral, crinoidal remains and much more abound in the Broken Rib Member of the Dyer Formation. There's always a good time and always a surprise in someone's collection at the end of the day. And on a clear night the star gazing is incomparable! There are established campgrounds, or pick your own spot in the White River National Forest that surrounds several localities available for you to explore with our guidance. When the lower elevations are sweltering, why not come to where the days are bright but temperate and the nights are cool for sleeping? Let us show you a truly unique fossil collecting experience on the Flat Tops. Hope to see you there!

FLAT TOPS LOGISTICS

Getting there: I-70 West to Dotsero exit (W of Eagle); turn R at stop sign, then over a bridge; Turn R onto Eagle County 301 (north) for about 1.5 miles; Turn L onto Deep Creek Road (FR 600) and begin climbing. (Detailed guide to our rendezvous will be provided later)

Elevation is between 10,500' and 11,000'. FR600 is a steep, gravel road with switch-backs. Driving up can be intimidating until you get used to it. Traffic is usually minimal. Once on top, the terrain levels out (comparatively). There's no Cell phone service there, so make any last calls once you've top out. If the altitude affects you, take it easy until your body adjusts.

Sights to see: The Flat Tops are beautiful - bring your camera! Deep Creek Gorge is like a mini-Grand Canyon. There's a marked turn along FR600 to an overlook. The military trains helicopter pilots in the gorge due to its topographic similarity to Afghanistan. Wildflowers bloom in carpets all summer long. Sheep Herds pasture here in the summer. Itinerant shepherds inhabit distinctive trailers, following herds on horseback across open meadows. Slow down when approaching herds - don't spook them. Don't interfere with working dogs; they may be unfriendly if you approach their herd. On clear nights Stars gazing is great - bring binoculars or telescopes. There are numerous lakes to enjoy.

Temperatures during the day in August are 70's to 80's; at night can range down to 30's and 40's. If you're camping, be sure to bring extra bedding and warm clothes. You can't be too warm! I typically bring 2 extra blankets, knit cap, gloves, and warm jacket with hood.

Weather: The sun is bright at this altitude - bring sun screen. Afternoon rain storms happen quickly and lightening can be intense. Keep rain gear handy and don't delay seeking shelter when clouds sweep in.

Camping: is recommended. Eagle and Glenwood Springs are prox 2 hours away. FT is in the White River National Forest. Camp anywhere but if you want an outhouse and table you'll have to pay for a campsite. (Multiple campers allowed on 1 site) We'll set up base camp at White Owl Campground on Friday. Bring enough food and water to last your entire stay. Mosquitoes can be thick in the evening, be prepared.

Fossiling Equipment: Chipping the limestone boulders is tough work. Look for weathered out specimens. Bring knee pads, a small chisel and awl.

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

Douglas Pass

Dates: June 27, 2009
Trip Leader: Michael Graham

Visit the world-famous Green River Formation northwest of Grand Junction to collect beautifully preserved Eocene invertebrate and plant fossils. Collecting is done under WIPS’ permit with the BLM, and scientifically significant specimens will be doanted to the DMNS. Many specimens from this project have become part of the online Green River Paleobotany Project at the museum.

Limited to 15 people

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

Garden Park

Dates: August 1 - August 8, 2009
Trip Leader: Virginia Tidwell
(303) 370-8278

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science, in cooperation with the Western Interior Paleontological Society (WIPS) will continue the excavation of a sauropod dinosaur from a quarry originally worked by the DMNS in 1992. A partial skeleton was recovered in 1992, but the rest was left for future recovery efforts. This year we return Aug. 1 - Aug. 8 to continue the work.

The dig site lies just north of Canon City, Colorado, in historic Garden Park, site of some of the hottest rivalries between O.C. Marsh and E.D. Cope in the late 1800's. There may be the opportunity to tour some of the historic dinosaur quarries excavated for Cope and Marsh. These sites include the type localities for Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Diplodocus, Camarasaurus, and Haplocanthosaurus. There may also be time to prospect other sections of Garden Park, looking for new fossils that might be eroding out of the Morrison Formation.

Accommodations are 'BYOT' (bring your own tent). Camping trailers are welcome, although the narrow, winding road into Garden Park limits the length to under 15 ft. (pop-up campers work great). Non campers can stay at a Canon City motel, and drive the 15 miles to the dig site each day.

Participants can sign up for the whole dig, or just drop in for a couple of days of dino digging. Each participant is asked to help out with either camp set-up or striking the site/camp. Cost is $15 per day, which covers food, water and sanitation facilities. These will be supplied by WIPS/DMNS. Due to the rugged terrain, and use of heavy equipment, this dig is open to those over 15 years of age, only.

For more information, contact Virginia Tidwell 303-370-8278 ; vtidwell@dmns.org

Limited to 10 people

Tepee Buttes

Date: September 26, 2009 *** Date changed from Sept 6th
Trip Leader: Dennis Gertenbach

The Tepee Buttes are unusual features that can be found in the Pierre Shale from Pueblo traversing northeast through Colorado. During the Cretaceous period when eastern Colorado was covered by the Western Interior Seaway, a series of methane gas vents developed on the ocean floor. The methane gas provided nutrients for reef colonies to form around the vents. The reefs provided food and shelter for a wide range of animals, including bivalves, ammonites, baculites, gastropods, and other invertebrates. The clam Nymphalucina occidentalis is only found on the Tepee Buttes, where they are quite plentiful.

This trip involves easy hiking and is suitable for children when accompanied by an adult.

Limited to 30 people

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

Field Trip Just for Kids

Date: September 12, 2009
Trip Leader: Dennis Gertenbach

For all WIPS families who have kids that love fossils, we are having a special field trip for children 8 years and older and their parents to Kremmling, Colorado on Saturday, September 12. Our first stop will be the Kremmling Cretaceous Ammonite site, where Frank Rupp, the BLM paleontologist for the area, will lead a tour. This site has exceptionally large and well-preserved fossils of giant ammonites (Placenticeras spp.) and many other marine invertebrate fossils, including baculites, inoceramus clams, and gastropods which lived about 70 million years ago. The fossil ammonites found here are the largest specimens of this Cretaceous group known in North America. Frank will talk about what paleontologists have been studying in the area and why so many of the ammonites are found there.

After the tour, we will travel a few miles away to an area outside the protected site and collect invertebrate fossils. Not only can they take home any invertebrate fossils they find, but the kids will learn how to identify their fossils.

All kids need to be accompanied by an adult and all adults need to be accompanied by a kid.

To sign up for the trip or for more information, contact Dennis Gertenbach at gertenbach@comcast.com or 303-709-8218. WIPS members, if you would like to help teach the kids on this trip, contact Dennis (and you get to come, even if you don't bring a kid).

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

Comanche National Grassland

CNG Dates: June 20 - June 21, 2009
CNG Tracks Dates: September 26 - September 27, 2009
Trip Leader: Steve Miller

The WIP Comanche National Grassland Cretaceous Survey is a Field Opportunity where members search for and document fossils for the USDA Forest Service in southeastern Colorado. These are the goals for the Field Opportunity:

     * Enable WIPS members to locate and collect fossils in the Comanche National Grassland.

     * Provide documentation of fossil finds to the USDA Forest Service.

     * Locate and document fossils of scientific significance.

There are two trips planned for this year:

The June trip will focus on the marine formations. We're going to start with a new area north of Alkali Arroyo. It is easily accessed. This is a wide area with ample exposures of the Juana Lopez/Fort Hays contact. There is a good possibility for finding shark teeth in the Juana Lopez, and some of the Niobrara outcrops (on the surfaces of the bluffs) could produce rudist bivalves. Depending on participation, you will be able to observe and collect in a significant portion of the Cretaceous straigraphic column, from the Lincoln Limestone at the base of the Bridge Creek formation through the Carlile to the Smoky Hills Chalk of the Niobrara.
June Trip limited to 15 people

The Sept trip will focus on dinosaur tracking. There will actually be two different trips that weekend (you can pick one) to Picture Canyon along the Oklahoma border, and to Withers Canyon. Both of these areas have been the topics of articles written about dinosaur tracks of the Dakota sandstone. Yet, both of these areas still have significant exposures that have not been explored for tracks. Last year we visited an area which gave us an idea of the different kinds of tracks we can expect to find: in the diversity of species and the in the diversity of track preservation. The Special Use Permit this year explicitly includes the opportunity to duplicate tracks using the non-destructive collapsible foam. Track duplicates will also be provided to the USDA Forest Service along with year-end documentation that you record.
September Trip limited to 20 people. Withers Canyon - 10, Picture Canyon - 10

For Each Trip:

WIPS members are organized into small teams. Each team is led by an experienced WIPS member and given specific areas to review and document. Because this is a Field Opportunity, there are requirements for measurements, documentation, and imagery. Because of the nature of the locations and the requirements for documentation, participants must be at least 16 years old. Specimens collected must be documented according to the Field Guide. Participant reports describing specimens and locales are used to create a final review of the survey for the US Forest Service.

The weekend survey activities begin at 9:00am Saturday morning with a briefing on the areas to be surveyed. Saturday will be structured for detailed and serious observations and collecting. Sundays will structured be for more casual observation, scouting and collecting. Saturday evening get-together and dinner is planned. Additional details will be provided to participants.

Ample information is provided in advance of these trips to help participants prepare for the trips.

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

FS Dino Quarry
Thermopolis, Wyoming

Dates: Approx. June-September
Trip Leader: Malcolm W. Bedell, Jr.
(303) 663-7119

Once again, for those who might be interested, there will be a field opportunity this coming summer at the FS Dinosaur Quarry near Thermopolis, Wyoming. This is a cooperative event, as it has been over the past 12 years, between the Big Horn Basin Foundation and WIPS. Thanks to generosity of the former, we will have access to a small house again for volunteers who cannot provide their own lodging, though this is somewhat limited [the house] in scope.

The climate is mostly very hot, and dry, with few insects – though an occasional monsoonal rainstorm can change all that. We are on a mountain side in the southern Big Horns, generally, and both 4WD and boots are valuable, though dry weather clay roads do access the site. Both hand tools, and some of the most sophisticated pneumatics known for this purpose are used, as well as expensive computerized survey instruments and, heavy equipment (backhoes, etc.) as needed. Instruction will be provided in the use of all but the heavy equipment, with an emphasis on recording good data for use in an ongoing, real scientific research project that has resulted in a couple of publications and the correction, at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, of one of their most famous dinosaurs, Diplodocus carnegeii.

Please contact Malcolm W. Bedell Jr. for more information and scheduling.

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

Denver Gem and Mineral Show
September 18 - 20

Displays, dealers, demonstrations, minerals, gems, jewelry, fossils. WIPS will have a booth.
Denver Gem and Mineral