The April 2008 field trip brought beautiful weather and a nice relaxing weekend. Claire, Martha and Leisa were able to get to the site on Friday and enjoyed an evening gazing up at the stars and listening to the night birds. Saturday morning brought the arrival of the rest of the field trip party. Members ventured up stream and down stream.

Our June speaker will be John Gilliam of the University of Alabama, who will be presenting his research on Cretaceous predacious shell borings found in Sumter County, Alabama.

George Phillips, paleontology curator at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science will be speaking to us about Cretaceous paleo research. Here is some advance information:

Fossil Workshop in SW Alabama

This fossil workshop is sponsored by the Geological Survey of Alabama, The University of West Alabama, and Discovering Alabama.

A rare 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit southern Illinois early on Friday, April 18, 2008. It was felt as far south as Memphis, TN, and as far east as Ashville, NC. Because the ground isn't as fractured as in California, they tend to be felt in a much wider area. Since the quake was deep and not close to the surface, property damage was minimal.

A recent article in Gallivant magazine highlights a museum in East Tennessee where a road building project uncovered a huge repository of fossils, including camels, elephants, rhinos, and tapirs. The fossils date from the Miocene, about seven million years ago.

The 112 acre Huntsville Botanical Garden will feature full sized dinosaur models through July 15, 2008. They will be displayed in life like settings using plants similar to those of ancient times. Included will be a 30 foot Edmontosaurus, a 30 foot Parasaurolophus, a 20 foot Allosaurus and many others.

This month BPS spent our field trip exploring road cuts along a new highway, which included 10+ stops to survey various likely looking areas. Though rain was widely predicted, it didn't happen, and the weather was perfect for being outside. The fossil collecting wasn't as prolific as expected, but everyone found quite a few nice specimens, including brachiopods, tracks, and ferns.

Tonight's presentation will be "Southeastern Dinosaurs", by Dr. James Lamb, Curator of Paleontology at McWane Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama. For a great dinosaur and fossil day, check out the current McWane exhibit on Alabama Dinosaurs, catch the Dinosaurs Alive IMAX movie, take a supper break, then head on back down to hear the lecture!