slash2
Senior Member
I was bored so I thought I'd go on Google maps and follow some of the roads that lead off of the Saline Valley road to see what they lead to.
Spotted this thing. Zoomed in, didn't look like anything I was familiar with, kinda reminded me of the Mars lander with the three petals that folded out. Area 51 isn't that far away, maybe it's something cool.
Had some free time so I decided to check it out.
The road in was a bit rough.
I couldn't see anything from the road so I had to get out and walk around a bit. After a short time I spotted something in the trees.
Found it!
Nope, not an alien lander...
Not wreckage from Area 51....
Just a water collection system... for deer!
Since when have deer needed help finding water!?!?
So, now that the mystery objects were identified it was time for the next hunt to begin.
I had learned that there were Trilobite fossils further down Saline valley Road near Waucoba Canyon. My wife teaches Geology, Paleontology and Oceanography at the local Community College and we often incorporate hunting down fossils and interesting geological features into out travel plans. I figured I might be able to convince her to put up with the 50 mile B.S. filter that is Saline Valley Road if there were some cool fossils to look at along the way.
I was on my own this trip but she did look up a geology map of the area and showed me the general area to go look in.
They were suppose to be somewhere near here.
I know what Trilobites look like but I had no idea what the rock formation they were in
look like.
My plan was to hike around and hope to find something.
Nope, not here.
Nope, not these rocks.
This was cool, looks like fossil poop, but no Trilobites.
Well eventually I gave up, it was getting late in the afternoon and I wanted to get to the warm springs before dark and set up camp.
You often meet very interesting people while soaking in the warm springs and enjoying an adult beverage, I was fortunate enough to meet Major Tom, certified warm springs Old Timer and one of the foremost authorities in Saline Valley history, not to mention being an all around nice guy.
Not only did he give me the historical background to the significance of the fossil bearing formation but offered to meet me there in the morning and walk me right to the site!
I could've found if I knew what to look for... maybe.
...and sure enough we quickly started finding bits and pieces of the little critters in the fragments of broken rock. It's important to note that this site is within Death Valley National Park so it is illegal to collect or keep any of the fossils or anything else you might find in the park, so I took some pictures and left some footprints and considered myself a lucky guy to have met Tom and to see the site.
What fun, but I ended up spending too much time in the park to make it home in one day so I stopped at Harris Ranch as it was getting dark. The cool thing about Harris Ranch is they let you spend the night in your camper in the parking lot between the restaurant and the hotel, they even have security! Of course they are hoping you go in and have dinner, which by the way is very good but pricey, and you are right next to the freeway so it's noisey and the parking lot lights are bright, but it beats the heck out of driving I5 at night while you are tired!
Spotted this thing. Zoomed in, didn't look like anything I was familiar with, kinda reminded me of the Mars lander with the three petals that folded out. Area 51 isn't that far away, maybe it's something cool.
Had some free time so I decided to check it out.
The road in was a bit rough.
I couldn't see anything from the road so I had to get out and walk around a bit. After a short time I spotted something in the trees.
Found it!
Nope, not an alien lander...
Not wreckage from Area 51....
Just a water collection system... for deer!
Since when have deer needed help finding water!?!?
So, now that the mystery objects were identified it was time for the next hunt to begin.
I had learned that there were Trilobite fossils further down Saline valley Road near Waucoba Canyon. My wife teaches Geology, Paleontology and Oceanography at the local Community College and we often incorporate hunting down fossils and interesting geological features into out travel plans. I figured I might be able to convince her to put up with the 50 mile B.S. filter that is Saline Valley Road if there were some cool fossils to look at along the way.
I was on my own this trip but she did look up a geology map of the area and showed me the general area to go look in.
They were suppose to be somewhere near here.
I know what Trilobites look like but I had no idea what the rock formation they were in
look like.
My plan was to hike around and hope to find something.
Nope, not here.
Nope, not these rocks.
This was cool, looks like fossil poop, but no Trilobites.
Well eventually I gave up, it was getting late in the afternoon and I wanted to get to the warm springs before dark and set up camp.
You often meet very interesting people while soaking in the warm springs and enjoying an adult beverage, I was fortunate enough to meet Major Tom, certified warm springs Old Timer and one of the foremost authorities in Saline Valley history, not to mention being an all around nice guy.
Not only did he give me the historical background to the significance of the fossil bearing formation but offered to meet me there in the morning and walk me right to the site!
I could've found if I knew what to look for... maybe.
...and sure enough we quickly started finding bits and pieces of the little critters in the fragments of broken rock. It's important to note that this site is within Death Valley National Park so it is illegal to collect or keep any of the fossils or anything else you might find in the park, so I took some pictures and left some footprints and considered myself a lucky guy to have met Tom and to see the site.
What fun, but I ended up spending too much time in the park to make it home in one day so I stopped at Harris Ranch as it was getting dark. The cool thing about Harris Ranch is they let you spend the night in your camper in the parking lot between the restaurant and the hotel, they even have security! Of course they are hoping you go in and have dinner, which by the way is very good but pricey, and you are right next to the freeway so it's noisey and the parking lot lights are bright, but it beats the heck out of driving I5 at night while you are tired!
