Baculite Mesa (near Pueblo, CO)

Date: May 22th, 2010
Trip Leader: Malcolm W. Bedell, Jr.

This field season marks the 20th anniversary of WIPS’ first 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.

The trip begins at 9 a.m. in Pueblo and continues 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: June 12, 2010 - NEW DATE
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

Wind River Basin

Date: May 21 - May 22, 2010
Trip Leader: Richard Stucky, PhD

Since the 1880s, the Wind River Basin of central Wyoming has produced one of the most comprehensive and diverse vertebrate faunas from the Eocene period for North America. Richard Stucky, curator of paleoecology & evolution at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, has studied primarily the mammal fossils from this area. Recent work has shown that the mammalian fauna is among the most diverse faunas over the past 65 million years. On Friday and Saturday, May 21-22, WIPS members and Museum volunteers are invited to join the field crew for two days of prospecting and excavation at the two most important fossil sites in the Wind River Basin. Participants must sign up through Tom Nelson and the trip is limited to 20 individuals. Participants will meet in Waltman, Wyoming on May 21 at 8:30 AM and will drive from there to the first field site. Over the two evenings we will camp at one of the sites in the badlands where you will need tents, water and basic supplies for camping. People interested in attending can download the following publication which gives general background to the animals and floras of the time period.

(http://www.dmns.org/science/publications/dmns-annals-september-2009.pdf)

Cost: WIPS $5 field trip fee

Kremmling

Date: July 17, 2010
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. Those who want to stay overnite will go with me to a prechosen area to set up camp for the night. In the morning we can go to another area nearby to collect before heading home.

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

Cost: WIPS $5 field trip fee

Douglas Pass

Dates: July 10, 2010
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 16 people

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

Garden Park

Dates: July 18 - July 31, 2010
Trip Leader: Virginia Tidwell

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 July 18 - 31 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

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

Warfield Fossil Quarry, Kemmerer, WY

Date: August 14, 2010
Trip Leader: Dan Durda

The Warfield Fossil Quarry (http://www.fossilsafari.com/warfield/index.html) is a pay-to-dig site in the famous Green River Formation in Kemmerer, WY, near Fossil Butte National Monument. The area is famous for its exquisitely-preserved Eocene fish fossils. All common fish collected during the trip may be kept, including Knightia, Diplomystus, Phareodus, Mioplosus, Amphiplaga, and Priscacara. By far the most common fossils are Knightia and Diplomystus - in four hours of collecting there last summer Trip Leader Durda collected over three dozen specimens. A side trip to Fossil Butte National Monument is a recommended option.

Logistics: See the Fossil Safari web site (http://www.fossilsafari.com/index.html) for directions, local hotels, and site-specific recommendations. Participants are responsible for their own arrangements for accommodations and transportation. We will meet at the quarry to begin collecting at 8am on Saturday 14 Aug. You will have the option to collect for a 4-hour ($60) or all-day ($100) period (you will likely find all the specimens you want in 4 hours).

Minimum of 10 people needed for the group rates quoted above.

For more information contact Dan Durda (durda@boulder.swri.edu).

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

Comanche National Grassland

Trip 1 Dates: June 5 - June 6, 2010
Trip 2 Dates: September 25 - September 26, 2010
Trip Leader: Steve Miller

This year, the WIPS Comanche National Grassland Cretaceous Survey concentrates on the Graneros and Greenhorn Formations. The Graneros and Greenhorn Formations observed to this point have been primarily confined to arroyos and a few wider outcrops, however our survey area this year appears to provide access to wide areas of these formations. The area to be mapped is in a geologic setting that is different from that which we have worked at the top of the Carlile.

Activities will involve surveying, measuring and documenting some PLSS sections in the Timpas Unit to develop geologic maps for the USDA Forest Service. We will measure stratigraphic sections where accessible; locate, document and collect fossils to help refine the stratigraphy. So, we will be documenting our fossil finds with a bit more detail than before. We will use that information and reference material to develop and refine the final results of this year's survey - documentation of all identified specimens and a map. So, there will also be opportunities to work on this project before and after the field trips.

This year's field guide will contain links to freely available reference material, recommended equipment, and other preparations. The Graneros and Greenhorn formations hold many different and interesting invertebrate specimens. Vertebrate specimens are also likely to be found and can be collected within the guideines of this year's Special Use Permit with the USDA Forest Service. A visit to the areas in this year's survey will be marginally more demanding, and potentially more rewarding.

Limited to 15 people

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

Tour of Pangea Designs

Date: June 26, 2010
Trip Leader: Lee Covington

Join us on Saturday June 26 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m for a tour of Pangea Designs. We will get to see more of the paleontological reconstructions from the demented mind of Dennis J. Wilson. If you enjoyed our March presentation, or if you missed Dennis' talk, you will want to join us as we visit Pangea Studios for a behind-the-scenes tour of how he creates his fantastic sculptures. (He is just putting the finishing touches to his croc reconstruction.) The studio is located at 2445 Eliot Street in Denver - just off of I-25 and 23rd street.

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

WIPS 25th Anniversary Day at the Denver Zoo

Dates: Saturday, August 28, 2010   Rain Date: Saturday, September 11, 2010
Where: Denver Zoo, 23rd Avenue between Colorado Boulevard and York Street
Trip Contact: Lee Covington
NO FIELD TRIP FEE -- The Zoo Day is FREE to WIPS members.

The Western Interior Paleontological Society wants to take you to the zoo for a day this summer! So bring your sunscreen and walking shoes -- and help us celebrate a quarter century promoting paleontology.

Here’s how it works:

     * Each attendee will receive free admission to the zoo and a lunch voucher.

     * 9-11 a.m. - Tickets and lunch vouchers will be handed out in front of the Zoo. (Additional tickets may be purchased at the box office the day of the event. Any tickets not picked up will be put into envelopes for late pickup at Zoo admission.)

     * Lunch vouchers may be used at the Samburu Grille, Northern Shores or the Brown Bear restaurants. You may dine at any of these restaurants, or get your lunch to go, bring your blanket, and eat at one of several picnic areas in the park. The Northern Shores picnic area, by the polar bears and seals, has outdoor tables, stools and plenty of room to picnic.

     * 1 p.m. - We ask that everyone meet at 1 p.m. for a group photo at the Northern Shores picnic area.

RSVP BY AUGUST 23:

Please RSVP by signing up as you would for a WIPS field trip (no field trip fee required), or by sending an email or snail mail note to 1st VP Lee Covington at: programs @westernpaleo.org or P.O. Box 200011, Denver, CO 80220-0011.

Be sure to indicate the number of WIPS members who will be attending and include a contact phone number and email address (so we can send you a confirmation and notify you in the event of weather cancellation).

Questions? Contact programs@westernpaleo.org

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 13 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; both 4WD and boots are valuable, though rough 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 scientific publications appearing in both JVP, Un. of Indiana Press and the correction, at the Carnegie Museum (Pittsburg), of one of their most famous dinosaurs, Diplodocus carnegeii.

July will be a focal point of activity, though long weekends can occur between the latter part of June and the end of September. Be prepared to pay for your own food and gas, bringing small hand tools if you can. The single most useful tool is a hard steel scratch awl [Ace Hardware].

Contact Malcolm W. Bedell Jr. for more information and scheduling.

Cost: $5 WIPS field trip fee

Denver Gem and Mineral Show
September 17 - 19, 2010

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