The Oak Springs Trilobite Dig Site

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Did you enjoy this video and find it to be informative? You can help ensure that more videos just like this get made by supporting the project on Patreon. www.patreon.com/currentlyrockhounding

[@scottp8672]

ROARING with appreciation, THUNDEROUS applause!!! This is one of your better videos yet...the reality of Rock Hounding. I do admit, we take the Grandkids to Glass Buttes--material everywhere, no quesiton if you'll find it. BUT, on our first trip to McDermitt, years ago, we drove the loop and thought it was good but no big deal...next day, we walked a bit, dug a bit, and poked around. Shazam! stuff everywhere!! This year, after many years of poking around, we finally found the wonderstone. Effort is rewarded, but ya gotta put in the time/effort. Thanks Jared and Sarah, so nice to see "real" videos.......

[@betojdesigns]

Merry Christmas to Jared, Sarah, and Lyka. Thanks for the hard work you do all year long to help bring us interesting and informative information about the Rockhounding World of Rocks.

[@savagesquirrel9828]

You tried! Valentines Day! Thanks

[@kennethchristie5167]

Merry Christmas Jared and Sarah 🎉

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Merry Christmas to you as well!

[@philstover2422]

Merry Christmas Jared and Sarah!!

[@CharlestonFossilAdventures]

I think the point that resonates the most here is that it’s a BLM designated site and the “abundance” makes it look like you were scouting out a new area. I agree with you both that shouldn’t be the case! I’ve definitely had days where I’ve been skunked fossil hunting, but that was legitimately on scouting missions. While I haven’t personally collected any of the UT trilobites, I know some sites require wire wheel polishing of the exoskeleton for more detail to arise. Looking at the table discards, they seem similarly chalky and possibly easy to overlook if the bilateral symmetry isn’t immediately apparent. At least you still had a great day outdoors together! 😎 Thanks as always for sharing!

[@Bones_and_Stones]

Merry Christmas! The only relevant advice would be not digging before you find indicators. Fossils come up in 'beds', and being above or below the right layer means you will find nothing. And a few meters away, there could have been 100s of those bugs waiting to be discovered... You know, as if you just started banging into a wall of rhyolite in the hope of finding agate.

[@kylecduncan]

Merry Christmas, Jared and Sarah. This is a great video, guys, because you tell it straight. The reality is that it can be hard to find good material. Was at Hampton Buttes yesterday and slopped around in several holes in the rain with son doing some serious digging and hardly anything. Tools, perseverance, experience… and bubkis. Onward!

[@RadioactiveRockChannel]

May you guys have a prosperous and blessed new year full of amazing rocks and adventures!

[@DanFarrar]

Merry Christmas Currently Rockhounding ❄️. Fun episode 💯

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Merry Christmas!

[@robertguggenbickler1123]

Merry Christmas and happy new year to you and the wife and puppy

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Merry Christmas!

[@Mrjoshuasjourneyzzz10420]

Nice, great effort!!!

[@Ontario_Rockhound]

Merry Christmas! For fossil collecting, speaking from my experience I find it can be challenging to find the fossil lenses or beds, they are often not very uniform and the concentrations, type, and quality of the fossils that can very with in even a 1ft of direction. Now I will admit that most of my experience is with softer clay and shale fossil bearing matrix but the strategy remains the same. You can try and find concentrations of fossils in the loose material and then focus on that area or try and find the material in ground and try and peel and split the layers. Also you have to remember that just like minerals some places will have fossils in lots of abundance and some places it is there but a lot more scarce. So this place seems like a place that might require a lot of time investment in order to find a nice specimen. I have been fossil collecting as part of the hobby for about 5 years now and I have only found 3 whole trilobites at my go too location.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I always appreciate your input and I think you might be on to something here with this location when you say "this place seems like a place that might require a lot of time investment in order to find a nice specimen." I guess I even question if it is worth it on not to put that time and I also question how and why this became a site in the first place.

[@Ontario_Rockhound]

@@CurrentlyRockhounding yeah, it definitely seems like 'expert lvl' site if I am going to coin a term. Defeintly not a site for most collectors only maybe those that are crazy enough or dedicated to their collecting niche. My question is do only the easy sites deserve the spot light? I feel like niche/harder to collect at sites kind of get thrown to the wayside often and I think that might give ppl the wrong impression of the hobby. This year especial I focused on collecting out side of my comfort range collecting at less well known sites/new sites that me and my friends found in exploration. It was an eye opening experience.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

@@Ontario_Rockhound This is a subject I personally struggle with. How should one showcase this hobby online? Do I only show the easy spots that are a slam dunk? How do I balance that with producing videos that people want to watch because that's the point here, to make videos people would like to watch without compromising myself and doing clickbait junk videos. Visiting spots that are a challenge to collect are personally enjoyable for me but I find it difficult to craft a video around.

[@Ontario_Rockhound]

@@CurrentlyRockhounding Very true, there where plenty of spots I didn't record a video for bc it doesn't make for good videos, but I agree we need be to as honest as possible when showing the hobby.

[@candacepeterson8932]

I'd check it out if I were near there! And I call them butter knives!!!

[@sandmaker]

We went there a few years ago and didn't think we did so good. We stopped by the office and had a look at their display. All of the few pieces we had were better then anything they had. We left them for them to show so people could at least see what they were supposed to be hunting. They had a few pieces of head with no body. The impressions so thin they could have been scratched with a nail. We still had fun, but won't make the trip for fossils again. North and South of Caliente are some really good petroglyph sites. Some days peanuts, some days hulls. We wish you all the good the seasons can bring and happy hunting. 😷⚒

[@BlindSquirrelRocks-dv9lc]

Merry Christmas folks! P.S.: I can't stop laughing at Meatloaf Lapidary! QUALITY stuff!!🤣

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Merry Christmas! Also, Meatloaf Lapidary is quickly becoming an industry leader.

[@future_me_6067]

Great video in a great state! Doggie could help y'all with some of that load. Merry Christmas.

[@JouleEon]

The Drumheller Badland look similar, but we don't get your awesome rock material. Even your Gem Dino and Pet Wood is so much better. You can even find Turquoise and Variscite there. I am not envious.

[@ocklawahaboyrocks]

I feel your pain. If you like going to designated rockhounding areas and leaving empty handed, might I suggest garnet hill, near Ely NV. Similar to this spot, there are 6 billion rocks to turn over and not a garnet in sight.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Hahaha we might have to do just that.

[@largent45]

Merry Christmas! That seemed like a very wasted trip! Idk that area at all so tips from me are a negative! But you did learn one thing! Don't go there with any expectations, or you will be disappointed! Thanks Jared and Sara! 🎅🤶🎄🎁

[@cliffmiller1021]

Hope your holidays are filling. I grew up calling those table knives, which most people use for spreading butter and a butter knife had some funky bend in the handle giving it an off set with a niche in back side of the blade. Somewhat comical I only ever saw the "butter knife" come out on the holidays. Bum deal on the luck for a fossil, I hope it's not the only location near you, and you get a chance to try again.

[@patrickkillilea5225]

Hey Merry Christmas!!!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Merry Christmas!

[@barbarahopkins5239]

Merry Christmas

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Thank you and Merry Christmas to you as well!

[@nathans.3751]

I have not been there but I have been to other trilobite sites in Nevada. The material is pretty much the same and the results are the same. More trilobite bits than bites.

[@remaguire]

I was there about a year ago and had the same experience as you. Still might go back. Place is easy to find. I've been to U-Dig also and for the most part, I'll stick to that site, thank you very much! Yeah, you gotta pay, but you'lll more than likely find something and the guy who was there when I was there, Cole, is very helpful. Family business also, and I like suppoting them.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

We have also gone to U-Dig and it is very good. If you go back to this location and find some good specimens, I would love to see some photos and perhaps even share them on my website with your permission, of course.

[@manisteerocks7092]

Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 guys!!!

[@dustinfindsrocks]

I brought one of these fossils to my work (not these particular ones but a trilobite fossil I found in Illinois). No one knew what it was! I knew what trilobites were when I was 4! Am I weird? 😂 seriously surprised this wasn’t common knowledge. Hope you guys have an excellent 2025!

[@rickhicks6833]

Some newbie without any experience will walk up to some random spot, and hit the mother load of trilobites.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Ha! Maybe but I'm not sure that they will find much here, even with that luck.

[@rickhicks6833]

@CurrentlyRockhounding yes, you 2 seemed to have worked it pretty well. But after years of rockhounding I've seen it happen that way. You got me wanting to plan a trip to Utah, see what we can find.

[@madelyn5376]

🧑‍🎄💖

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Merry Christmas!

[@markkilley2683]

Gordon Freeman crowbar.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Ha!

[@BenStratton-b5o]

Jared, I want you reach out to me. I’m a lifetime resident of iron County I could show you so much. New content I’m Bubba

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Shoot me an email and we can chat!

[@danksmoker420]

Glad one of us are currently rockhounding lol. Too cold here in michigan beaches are frozen til spring.