Utah Trilobite Fossils // Visiting the U-Dig Trilobite Fossils Fee Dig

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

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[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Just to be clear we didn't receive any form of payment for producing this video at this fee dig, we also didn't receive a complementary dig session, we paid full price to visit and dig the same as anyone else would.

[@chiselready9320]

So cool.

[@Superdoopercooper]

i cant wait to be dug up and grinded for collection a billion years from now

[@RockyMountainBear]

There are *so many* old abandoned mines & ruins scattered throughout western Utah. They're all over Utah, really, but it seems like Western Utah is nothing but old mines. Those ruins remind me of the smelter & mill building ruins of an old silver mine at a different site out west. It might help to look up what minerals were being mined in that area west of Delta, UT. If I had to venture a guess, I would say it looks like the remains of some type of ore smasher mill & smelter. That looks like a really fun dig site. Another location going on my list. Thanks, Jared.

[@yoopermann7942]

its nice to know about these places so a person can get the feel of the area,, those were some of the better trilobites i have seen in a while,,, thank you guys for bringing us along

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I think visiting a location like this is good for many reason such as just getting a feel for the collecting process and to be able to chat up someone much more knowledgeable on the subject.

[@marbleman52]

Imagine that 500,000 million years ago, this area of Utah was part of an ocean. The geology of where fossils are found is always incredible to think about. I would think that the Trilobite body has been replaced with Silica and that is why they are so hard and why a careful use of a wire wheel doesn't damage them and why it accepts a bit of a shine.

[@hockeyrace]

What an awesome place to go! Thank you for sharing 🤩. It’s a bonus when the owners and staff are super nice and knowledgeable. Cole is definitely outstanding. That a Grade A operation. That stay seems like a definite 👍, overall. The view was 🤯. Love to see and hear from Sara. There just isn’t a lot of us women rockhounds shown on KZbin. I’m glad she had a chance to tell us her thoughts at the end also. Thanks, Sara! Again, thanks for sharing! I am definitely putting this spot on my go-to list. Stay Crystal 💫

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I'm glad you liked the video and I agree, the operation was top notch. Sara always pipes up when she wants to! :)

[@CrystalRanchArtistry]

Thank you for your videos it has inspired me, although I am just beginning to understand the terminologies, you’ve helped a great deal. Just started enjoying the hobby of rock hounding. Its only been about four months now but it’s something that I’ll be doing the rest of my life

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

There's for sure a lot to it but don't get overwhelmed, it will all come with time. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you.

[@genewilliams6966]

Enjoyed watching you dig fossils. That trip now is definitely on the family bucket list. Thanks.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Its a good location.

[@juliemckenna514]

Wow! The trilobites are so cool, what a trip you guys had, such beautiful scenery ❤️❤️ Thank you for sharing 😊

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It was a good trip for sure.

[@tenaedmonson1213]

loved it, thank you ! The three of you gives me and Bear my, ( Bulmastif, ridgeback) so much enjoyment.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Yay! I'm glad you liked it! :D

[@RSSIPPEL.ART.]

Looks to me, like a great way to spend these turbulent days. I used to rock hound on Lake Superior, around Marquette and further North on the Keewanau Penninsula. Happy Hunting. Keep the videos coming..they're good.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I couldn't agree more! Time out in nature looking at cool things is an incredible way to spend your time.

[@CharlestonFossilAdventures]

What a great video about the U-Dig site! Thanks for sharing the mine with us! It really is impressive how durable those trilobites are... It's comparable to how durable our shoreline fossils are. Phosphate mineralization is really robust, and the teeth and bones we find on the beach have tumbled around in the ocean for quite a bit before they go home with our clients. A far cry from the fragile fossils pulled straight from some geologic deposits!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

The durability of the trilobites from there is really impressive. So many other fossils are incredibly fragile.

[@KatyDidRocks]

If you eat a trilobite, does it become a coprolite? Hey, you have a new ride! ... AWESOME FOSSILS!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

There's only one way to find out!!! :D The truck is an old ride but for big trips its nice to take.

[@GIBKEL]

That is some dream living. It’s a hell of a backyard. Nice to check in and see what you’re up to. I bounce between old guitars, being owned by time, abuse and breaking of things, looking down at the ground with a sore neck and missing my old dog. Oh….and a hell of a lot of snow. I was beginning to forget I live in the mountains. That is a great location and future fun. Thanks for sharing.

[@tenaedmonson1213]

Beautiful!😄

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Thank you.

[@wendymartinez7366]

Fascinating! You can tell that this guy is super experienced and not at all afraid for his hands. I saw on their website that they will send you a bad of stone - what a great birthday present that would be when u love fossils

[@1sec2midnight]

Super nice Trilobites! Great description and guide for anyone who would want to visit the site. I'm not a fossil hound yet, but I think the Trilobites are now my favorite. Thanks so much for sharing very interesting and engaging videos.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

We're also not really into fossils that much but I think it can be a fun side quest when rockhounding.

[@larrykay6606]

Thanks for this video! U Dig has been on my list of places to visit for several years.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

You should go!

[@kylaabegglen1275]

Very cool! Amazing how they polish them up. Can't believe how many great ones you guys found. Thank you for sharing!✌🤠

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It was a hard two hours of work but I think it was worth it. When we go back we might stay longer and not work as hard :)

[@elleisme8565]

Very cool 🦁

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Thank you!

[@patriciamckean4186]

Really neat fossils, didn't know you can polish them without risking fracture. Thanks for sharing and taking us along. I learn so much from your videos!

[@jimlancaster6120]

That was good to see thank you for the great trip you have been showing and taking all of a us along.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Thank you for coming to watch and comment, we had a really good time in Utah.

[@stowestamp8262]

Thanks for showing your Utah trip rock adventures. The trilobite dig was really interesting!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I'm glad you liked it.

[@michaelcavalieri262]

Looks like a lot of fun. I enjoy watching your videos. The best thing is you both enjoy the same interests. That‘s the best thing. Have fun. Be safe.

[@sandmaker]

We have been there and were able to bring home a lot. There was no wire wheel when we were there, but now I will go back and give the wheel a try. It was very hot when we were there. You picked a good time. We had a lot of fun with you and Sara on your Utah adventures. Be happy, safe and stay healthy 😷⚒

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Its a really easy way to clean them up.

[@DanFarrar]

Cool they leave a positive and negative impressions. Fascinating fun!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I know! I love these little guys.

[@utahrockhoundingcouple]

That's awesome you made it there! We haven't done this yet, but it's definitely on our list of places to go here in Utah!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It's a great location to visit.

[@lisae2389]

I really enjoyed this episode, Thank You Sarah for adding your thoughts, I’m definitely adding this place to my Trip Wish List. Jared I really enjoy your videos & I hope Sarah will be adding to the conversation more often. #KeepRocking

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@cvx2dog549]

This is definitely on our bucket list! Thanks for showing us the lay of the land.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Oh it's a great spot.

[@trishalynn56]

I really like your videos. You take me where I can't go. Thank you!

[@patriciamckean4186]

The building with a trough may be a food cold storage and water for desert summers.

[@dancurran8977]

The guy running the place was really nice. It looked like fun!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Oh yeah, he was really fun to chat with.

[@vernsrocksstuff5989]

Looks like alot of fun

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It's a good place to visit for sure.

[@Ontario_Rockhound]

Awesome video! This place is on my bucket list, this year I got the chance to do a couple fossil hunting trips in my local area and I had a blast.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Oh its a solid location to visit and belongs on the list.

[@markattardo]

Wow, awesome place!! Fantastic video.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Thank you!

[@normaallred7568]

Probably a spring house, cool water running under it was used to refrigerate food

[@joniangelsrreal6262]

👁👁 catching up….👏👏

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

:D

[@veronicamoore3777]

Love the adventures!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Thank you!

[@GREEKEXPLORERS]

Congratulations my friend another wonderful video and of course continue the awesome work you do on your videos!! Good luck and thank you for sharing it with us!!

[@magapickle01]

That might have been a hot spring tub or just a tub. I seen the water pipe going into it . The walls keep the wind off you possibly or people from shooting at you

[@dustinfindsrocks]

I am amazed at how they polish up! When you said polish in the beginning of the video I was like NOOOOOO 😂 but I just waited to see. Dude THAT was cool! I agree it’s awesome that they’re so durable. Most fossils are so frustratingly not.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I know right! I really want to enjoy fossils but so often they are just so fragile.

[@TheAdventureCloset]

We hit so much wind in Utah too. Worth enduring for all the sweet rock finds. You guys did a great job of planning your adventures there. Been enjoying the vids.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

At times we felt sand blasted by the wind but it was well worth it.

[@TheAdventureCloset]

@@CurrentlyRockhounding yikes. I bet!

[@olmilfishrock]

Great video!! It’s nice to go to pay to dig mine where they are so friendly and helpful like that . Now I have to talk the wife into a trip to Utah. Thanks for sharing. Keep rockin!!👍😎

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Oh Utah is an amazing place to visit.

[@rockhoundingwithjasperblue]

Another cool video. I’m not too much of a fossil guy, but you made this look very interesting and fun. Thanks for sharing your adventures!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Likewise I'm not much of a fossil guy but I do think they can be interesting. I think any time something like this has a cool story to tell its really fun to go collect it.

[@txwaterbird6115]

Regarding the loss of "thumbs", I will put a quick notation in the comments section. For example: I really enjoyed the subject matter in this video, so THUMBS UP.

[@jeffreygillis522]

Went there on my way from Tx to CA, spent 1 hour and came back with loads of stuff, used it in my kids science night at school. May have to drag my kids and wife in there, kind of a long haul though

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Yeah its a bit out of the way but a lot of fun and it sounds like you didn't pretty well.

[@traviscalton3615]

I think they called them a cistern which is to collect water out of the ground. There is a old ghost town called Joy that is not far from here towards topaz Mt. but this one still has water in it.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Ohh that cool to know about, I do love an old ghost town.

[@chrisydawn]

its cistern, thats what they used to store water in.

[@Ricoware]

Last time I was there was around '97. It looks pretty much the same. :D Try a brass wire brush on a few of them, it leaves behind a bit of the brass for a nice shine.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I haven't started to prep these at all but I will keep that in mind.

[@lylelay]

The one thing their sheet doesn't give that would be helpful, is size range. I got a couple of the Peronopsis but didn't know it until I put them under magnification. They're about a 1/4 inch long!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Very true, that would be good.

[@ocklawahaboyrocks]

Yes, they look like they have it together. You mentioned Polka-dot. You rarely get to go in the pit there. Although it is a great experience, it's quite a bit different.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I think operations like this offer a great options for those looking to do some easy collecting. Sometimes the low hanging fruit is the best.

[@brucevanderzanden9638]

The 2nd building could have been a cistern or spring house. My thoughts are because of the low walls.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Sure could be.

[@a3skywarrior929]

Never got to the Indiana or Ohio site 😞. The early bird gets the Trilobite! Need to watch this on my big TV after work tonight. Another spot for my bucket list! Have you ever been to the fossilized fish park.... Fossil Butte in Kemmer, Wyoming? That's also on my bucket list. Thanks guys!👍

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I soooo want to go to the fossilized fish park.

[@RagnarRocks]

Trilobite's are super fun and cool! Definitely looks like a destination to explore! Makes me wonder if there are any free public dig sites around the area?!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

There's a number of places to go look for them for free around Delta Utah but we really wanted something easy for the end of the trip. Next year we plan on going to some of the free locations.

[@evastapaard2462]

great finds! i have found loads of very fragile ammonites in the UK. do you have any of those?

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

We have not found any yet but there are locations around here with them.

[@charlesfrederick7074]

Very cool stuff, I was curious if you have seen Theo Kellison and how he does his fossils?

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I have not watched those videos of his yet.

[@janvafa9959]

Would it have helped to put a tarp under the blocks you were splitting to catch the pieces that came off?

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Maybe. I think that perhaps the best thing to do at this location is just try and process as much rock as you can and collect what's easy.

[@j.ericswede7084]

#USaw #UDug #UTaught and #URecordedItAll in #Utah Fabulous Series on #TheBeeHiveState. #UGetAnA

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Hahaha thank you! We look forward to future trips exploring the state.

[@1968capnkman]

Hey Jared. What kind of hammer are you using? Doesn't look like a "typical" rock hammer.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It's a brick layers hammer.

[@WeazerNarnia]

I would love to be able to do this one day. 😀

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Its a location worth visiting for sure.

[@stephansmithakatroutscout1391]

That structure appears to be Roman bathhouse. Haha!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Ha!

[@bryanolsen5764]

You should have gone down the road maybe 20 miles on the way towards great basin national park and looked at notch peak the 2nd largest vertical drop in the lower 48 2200 feet and when your done looking at the cliff you can look down you might find a meteorite there i have found some there at the hard pan dry lake so if you go back there one more thing to get

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

That sounds fun, perhaps that will get worked into next years trip to the area.

[@Daruma_Studio]

What month was this visit during? Not during December (upload date) right?

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

We visited in September.

[@elizabethvandeventer5487]

Looks like an old well house

[@williamtbaird8457]

You are at the Old CCC camp . You should have fresh water close. Conservative corps from back in the day.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Oh I didn't think about this being a CCC camp, I will look into it. Thank you.

[@DonohueLabs]

You mentioned toward the end that they "prefer" people use their tools. Is that just a recommendation, or are personal hammers/chisels not allowed?

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It seemed like a strong recommendation, but I didn't push the subject with the site host. After all it's not my playground.

[@dickhaskins9273]

@@CurrentlyRockhounding That alone would turn me off to that place. Sounds like a way to limit the amount of decent finds.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

@@dickhaskins9273 I disagree, think they're more concerned with people hitting their hands holding a chisel and being slower and not finding enough good stuff. The place has been going a long time with no end in sight, I don't think that was a concern really.

[@dickhaskins9273]

@@CurrentlyRockhounding Probably the case (This litigious society now days makes me sick). I know I would be more successful with hammer and chisel. Will put it on our list if we ever pass thru Utah.

[@brucevanderzanden9638]

I think the more intact structure could have been a cistern or spring house.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I think you could be correct, but it sure seems like a ton of work for that.

[@brucevanderzanden9638]

@@CurrentlyRockhounding in the desert country you do what you have to do for water and to save/store it. Have seen a few down in Arizona.

[@brucevanderzanden9638]

Great video also. I would suggest a 2-3” wide chisel anytime you need to split the shale rock or similar rock

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

@@brucevanderzanden9638 I also think that would be that case but they really insisted we not use it.

[@smlang1951]

HOT Bath !

[@tracymccreary7441]

Could be an old sheep hearder homestead/camp

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

That is for sure a possibility.

[@benhunter8882]

How can I get that hat?

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

This hat was a gift, but I have been looking into getting them made but getting merch made that is high quality and affordable is really difficult to do.

[@joniangelsrreal6262]

🍺 🍺..🐾🐾 👍

[@oldhippie2388]

Its a sweatlodge. Build fire in trough, leave rocks in it and sprinkle with water when hot. Bond with other sweaty males.

[@katecarpenter7366]

Next time, rewind your video and watch where the piece flew.

[@haroldvonhelms8304]

I live in co but utah is better