Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Fossil Safari, Kemmerer, Wyoming

Fossil Safari at Warfield Fossil Quarries, in Kemmerer, Wyoming is a pubic access site for Eocene Green River Formation fossils.  It is located in southeast Wyoming, not far East from Fossil Butte National Monument.  It is a fee-basis site and customers are allowed to keep all designated common fossil fish, while the Quarry reserves the right to retain all unusual fossils, which can include freshwater Stingrays, Turtles, Reptiles, Birds, Gars, Amia, freshwater Shrimp, Paddlefish, Crayfish, Mammals, "Aspiration" and "Eohiodons" (not sure what those last two are).

If I am able and circumstances permit, this is sort of a "Recovery" Bucket List item.  Thirty-plus years ago, while I still lived in El Paso, from a local rock shop, I purchased a cool slab of Green River Formation with 70+ fossil fish (probably the common "Knightia") for a good price of less than $100.  

I managed to hold onto it for perhaps 15 years or so after I moved back to Georgia.  Due to family-related expenses, I had to sell it to a traveling "rock shop" that was a regular at Atlanta-area rock and mineral shows.  I think I sold it for around $200, a decent profit though I hated to see it go.  (At least it probably made someone else happy.)  

The "Recovery" designation for this Bucket List item is because "I used to have one", had to sell it, and I would like to at least "replace" it with a smaller version maybe in hopes that one or both of my grandsons would be interested.  If I found several, I have two great-nieces that very much into science and nature things, as well.

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