On the way home today, we broke up the driving with a stop at a special location. This spot is called The Naco Formation. This gray outcropping is shale/limestone deposited here about 300 million years ago when the area was under sea. It is a giant bed of fossils of sea life including brachiopods, bryozoans, and crinoids.
It is a bit of a steep slope up to the edge. The rock up there is very delicate and dusty.
The boys could not be stopped!
It is very easy to chip in to the rocks. Almost every chunk had evidence of fossils.
Pretty cool stuff for in a forest surrounded by desert
Brendan kept picking up pieces of rock and holding them up to say, “I found something!!” He was probably right in this case!
The nearby Northern Arizona University has been bringing paleontology students here to collect for more than 30 years. There is that much material here! It is legal to collect from here as well, so we brought home a couple of little pieces.
The hill was so loose and slippery, I told Trevor to sit and crab walk down. He just slid.
More fossils
The temperature was increasing with the afternoon, but the area was so pretty
I told them, “Shovel twin powers, activate!!”
“Charge!”
We are back home and some tired boys are in bed! Just over two weeks to go for Brendan!