Calendar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

To register, please email Cathy at
cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com

or call 610-209-0758 or
610-647-7926

Checks should be made payable
to Cathy Young and mailed to:

239 Valley View Road
Berwyn, PA 19312

We now also accept credit cards!

Thank You!!

                 Alabama Fossil Collecting Trip
Friday, March 16th, Saturday, March 17th and Sunday, March 18th
                        And
             Florida Fossil Collecting Trip
Monday, March 19th, Tuesday, March 20th and Wednesday, March 21st

  Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus of Invertebrate Paleontology at the
Virginia Museum of Natural History will lead a trip to Alabama and to Florida
to premiere fossil sites. In Alabama, we will collect fossils along the Alabama
and Tombigbee Rivers. We’ll ride by motorboats to the sites. These sites
yield exotic snails with spectacular preservation. We will collect in Paleocene
and Eocene strata, 60 to 45 million years old. Over 450 species of
invertebrates, shark, whale and manatee have been found in this area! One
of the sites that we will be collecting fossils is where Timothy Abbott Conrad
collected fossils in the early 1800’s. Isaac Lee also obtained fossil snails
from this area. Fossil sand dollars are extremely abundant when rain levels
are low. We’ll collect fossils for 3 days. Shells are extremely abundant.
Whale, shark and manatee remains are also found, but rare.

  Sunday afternoon, we’ll head for the panhandle of Florida and collect more
fossils there for 3 more days. We’ll collect fossils along the Yellow River,
the Shoal River, the Chipola River, the Apalachicola River and the
Ochlockanee River. We’ll collect in the Lower Miocene to Upper Pliocene. The
amount of fossil shells are amazing. There is very little vertebrate material
here, although last fall several whale bones were found at one of the locations.

You must register early, as space is extremely limited. This trip is for adults
and children age 12 and up.

Cost: $350 per person for the Alabama Trip, and $350 per person for the
Florida Trip. If you can join us on both, the fee is $600 total. This does
not include transportation, food or lodging. It does include the boat
transportation and Dr. Ward’s expertise.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THESE FABULOUS
TRIPS, E-MAIL cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com OR CALL ME AT 610-209-
0758.

              Kentucky Fossil Collecting Trip
           Saturday, April 14th and Sunday, April 15th, 2012

       Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus of the Virginia Museum of Natural
History, will lead a trip to Maysville, KY to collect invertebrate fossils all day
Saturday, April 14th and Sunday morning, April 15th. The fossils are
Ordovician Age. The area that we will be collecting was the floor of a shallow
sea about 450 million years ago. The amount of fossils there is incredible!
Everywhere you look are brachiopods and bivalves. You will also find
gastropods, horn coral, straight cephalopods, and trilobites! The trilobites
found here are mainly Isotelus, and some Triarthrus and Cryptolithus. Some
of the brachiopods are geodes with beautiful crystals inside.

This trip is recommended for adults and children ages 7 and up.

Cost: $100 per adult and $35 per child under 18. Cost does not include
food, transportation or lodging.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS SPECTACULAR
TRIP, e-MAIL ME AT cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com OR CALL ME AT 610-
209-0758.

   Spring Stratford Hall Fossil Collecting Weekend
            Saturday, May 19th and Sunday, May 20th, 2012

    Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus of Invertebrate Paleontology at the
Virginia Museum of Natural History will lead us on a weekend adventure of
fossil collecting at Stratford Hall on the Northern Neck of Virginia.

    Stratford Hall Plantation is General Robert E. Lee’s birthplace, home of 2
signers of the Declaration of Independence, and a world-class fossil collecting
site, along the Potomac River. The beach is closed to the public, except of a
small roped-in area, but Dr. Ward has special permission by the Executive
Director of Stratford Hall to take groups up and down the beach. As long as
the Potomac and winds cooperate, we’ll have motorboats with us to take people
to even more remote areas at no extra charge. This site is Upper Miocene
age (6 to 14 million years old). The fossils found here are from the Calvert,
Choptank, St. Mary’s and Eastover formations. Shark teeth, whale bones and
teeth, crocodile teeth and turtle shell are mainly found here. Some complete
whale, porpoise and crocodile skeletons have been collected here.
Occasionally, even a Megalodon shark tooth is found (a Megalodon is an extinct
giant shark – the huge monster whose teeth can reach 5 or 6 inches long).
There are also some beautiful fossil shells found here, including Chesapectens
and Ecphora. Some of the Chesapectens have both valves, and some of the
Ecphora are complete or almost complete. We sometimes even find crab
concretions here.

    Saturday we’ll collect fossils until about 3 PM or so. Sunday, we’ll go
back to Stratford Hall and collect fossils until 2 PM.

This trip is great for adults and children ages 4 and up.

Cost: $85 per adult and $35 per child under age 18. Cost does not include
transportation, food, lodging, or Stratford Hall Grounds Fee of $5 per adult
and $3 per child each day. Many of us will be staying at the cute cabins at
beautiful Westmoreland State Park. I will be holding a block of cabins for
those who want to stay there on a first call – first serve basis. If you wish
to stay in one of these cabins, you must register early.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS SPECTACULAR
TRIP, e-MAIL ME AT cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com OR CALL ME AT 610-
209-0758.

  Our 2012 Paleontology Camp at Stratford Hall, VA
Monday afternoon, July 16th through Friday afternoon, July 20th, 2012

Children ages 7 through 17 will have the opportunity to collect fossils and
learn about paleontology and stratigraphy with a real paleontologist at historic
Stratford Hall Plantation in Virginia. Dr. Lauck Ward, Curator Emeritus at
the Virginia Museum of Natural History and author of numerous paleontology
publications, will be leading this spectacular camp.

We will be staying at the Stratford Hall Cheek Guest House, right on the
beautiful plantation! This guest house sleeps 2 per room, and each room has
its own bathroom. Stratford Hall will provide our meals. We will collect
fossils each day at locations along the Potomac River. Dr. Ward will teach
the children about what fossils are, help them to identify their fossils, and
give lectures several of the evenings about stratigraphy and paleontology of
the Atlantic Coastal Plain. One of the days, we’ll be given a tour of the
Great House of Stratford Hall, home of 2 signers of the Declaration of
Independence, and General Robert E. Lee’s birthplace.

Stratford Hall beach is closed to the public – except for a small roped-in
area. Dr. Ward has special permission to take groups far past the ropes to
collect fossils. This site is Upper Miocene age (6 to 14 million years old).
Shark teeth, whale bones and teeth, crocodile bones and teeth, and turtle
scutes are among the many fossils found here. Occasionally even a Megalodon
tooth is found here. A Megalodon is an extinct giant shark – the huge monster
whose teeth can reach 5” or 6” long. Some complete whale, porpoise and
crocodile skeletons have been collected here. There are also some beautiful
fossil shells found here, including Chesapectens and Ecphora. Some of the
Chesapectens have both valves attached, and some of the Ecphora are
complete, or almost complete.

We will have motorboats with us to take us to other sites along the
Potomac. One of the days, we will drive to Fairview Beach, Virginia, put the
boats in the water, and stop at many beaches on the Virginia side of the
Potomac to collect fossils. We’ll then cross the Potomac to the Maryland
side, and collect fossils at several beaches there. Most of these sites are
Paleocene age, Aquia formation. They are much older sites than at Stratford
Hall. They are just above the Cretaceous. We’ll find lots of small shark
teeth, hopefully some crocodile teeth, and lots of fossil Turitella shells and
some beautiful “frilly oysters”.

Cost: $650 per person. This includes all meals, lodging, boat rides, lectures,
tour, everything.

Parents who wish to join their children for the week are welcome, but they
must pay the same price.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS SPECTACULAR
CAMP, E-MAIL ME AT cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com or call me at
610-209-0758.

  Our Adults Only Stratford Hall, VA Paleontology Camp
            Monday, August 20th through Friday, August 24th, 2012

      Collect fossils and learn about paleontology and stratigraphy for 4 days
with geologist/paleontologist Dr. Lauck Ward. Dr. Ward is Curator Emeritus
at the Virginia Museum of Natural History and author of numerous paleontology
publications.

      We will be staying in the Cheek Guest House on Stratford Hall
Plantation, home of 2 signers of the Declaration of Independence, and General
Robert E. Lee’s birthplace. We will collect fossils every day at locations
along the Potomac River, and possibly also collect along another local river.
We’ll have motorboats with us to take us to different sites along the rivers.
Dr. Ward will give lectures most of the evenings about the stratigraphy and
paleontology of the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

      Most of Stratford Hall beach is closed to the public, except for a small
roped-in area. Dr. Ward has special permission to take groups far past those
ropes to collect fossils. This site is Upper Miocene Age (6 to 14 years old).
Shark teeth, whale bones and teeth, crocodile teeth, and turtle shell are
found here. Some complete whale, porpoise and crocodile skeletons have been
collected here. Occasionally even a Megalodon tooth is found here. A
Megalodon is an extinct giant shark – the huge monster whose teeth can reach
5 or 6 inches long. There are also beautiful fossil shells found here, including
Chesapectens and Ecphora. Some of the Chesapectens have both valves, and
some of the Ecphora are complete or almost complete.

      We will also be going to sites during the week that are Paleocene Age,
Aquia Formation to collect fossils. And, one of the days, we will take a tour
of the Great House on the Plantation, and learn the history of this beautiful
southern mansion.

Cost: $650 per person – double occupancy, or $900 per person – single
occupancy. This includes all meals ( provided by Stratford Hall Dining Hall),
lodging, boat rides, lectures, everything except car transportation.

If you are only able to join us for 2 or 3 days, the cost is $165 per day per
person – double occupancy or $230 per day – single occupancy. This includes
all meals and lodging, boat rides, lectures, everything except car
transportation.

You also have the option of just joining us during the day - the cost is $85
per day per person.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS SPECTACULAR
CAMP, e-MAIL ME AT cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com OR CALL ME AT 610-
209-0758.

The Delaware Valley Paleontological Society’s Fossil Fair
            and Mineral Show
       Saturday, March 31st and Sunday, April 1st, 2012

I hope you can attend our 32nd Annual Show and Sale, sponsored by the
Delaware Valley Paleontological Society and the Philadelphia Mineralogical
Society. It will be held at the Lulu Shriners Temple, 5140 Butler Pike,
Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462. Saturday hours are 10 AM to 5 PM. Sunday
hours are 10 AM to 4 PM.

Admission is $5 per adult, $1 per child under 12, and uniformed Scouts are
FREE. You pay at the door.

Fossils, minerals, gems and jewelry will be for sale. There will be fossil and
mineral exhibits and demonstrations.

There will be learning activities for children, including a FREE “Fossil Dig” and
a Kids Corner with FREE mineral specimens. Scouting Merit Badge information
will be available. There will be food, beverages and door prizes.

Paleo/Mineral celebrities will be speaking on their fields of expertise
throughout the weekend.

Saturday, Dr. Matthew Lamanna, Assistant Curator of Vertebrate
Paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History will talk about
“Hunting Dinosaurs in the Southern Hemisphere”.

For more information about Fossil Fair, go to the DVPS Website at http:
//dvps.essentrix.net/ .


           PRIVATE FOSSIL COLLECTING TRIPS
                      and FOSSIL PROGRAMS!

Now your group can go fossil collecting together as a group. This is
great for a scout troop, homeschoolers group, school group, etc.
We can also do birthday party fossil trips and fossil trips just for
your family or friends. For more information, please e-mail
cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com or call 610-209-0758.

I am also giving fossil programs for groups. I talk about different
creatures and the time periods that they lived, while passing 25 -
50 real fossils for you to see up close and touch. I also bring a
large container of sand full of fossils. The children use a fossil
screen and trowel, and sift their own fossils to take home with
them.

Find out about our trips even before they are put on
the website. Just e-mail cathy@fossilandnaturetrips.com ,
and we'll be happy to put you on our e-Newsletter list.
We send e-Newsletters about every 2 weeks, informing
you about our newest upcoming trips.

Event Information:

Mid-Atlantic Fossil and Nature Adventures