Recall hiking Coarsegold Canyon?

Two years ago today we hiked Coarsegold Canyon in the Angeles National Forest and found a 12-million year-old fossil!

All those millions of years ago, that part of California was a lush delta flowing into the Pacific Ocean. Then a volcano blew, burying the area in ash. The fossil we found (and I still have it!) is of a leaf that was covered in that ash, called volcanic tuff.

You helped me dig through some of the white chalky tuff and then took a break to enjoy some freeze-dried ice cream I brought. See the picture on this page!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our expedition!

Finding fossils, gems in Opal Canyon

Two years ago today we took a hike into Opal Canyon. Located in Red Rock State Park about 35 minutes north of where we lived in Lancaster, Calif., the canyon is most famous for its opal gems, but three sites also have been known to yield 7-million- to 12-million-year-old fossils.

We went opal hunting but kept our eyes out for fossils as well. You enjoyed tapping away at the shale with my geologist’s hammer as we looked for some cool finds.

And we did find some stuff! One was a fossilized impressions of tiny leafs and an opalized bone fragment in a chunk of shale. I also found a partially opalized bone fragment from a piece of shale; it looks vaguely like a tooth. I still have the fossils and gems and will show them to you one day!

Here’s a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!