Field Trips

April 19 = THE TRIP IS FULL.
Miocene marine fossils, including whale and dolphin vertebrae and shark teeth.
Sharktooth trip has a $60. cash fee
LIMIT: The limit is 35 members. As of Jan. 5, 2025, there are 26 on the trip list.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.

June 14: Nice beach location! There are plentiful clams, oysters and mussels, and some gastropods from the late Pleistocene epoch.
No limit.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.

FULL - The limit has been reached.
The La Brea Tar Pits has offered a one-hour, behind-the-scenes tour of the La Brea Tar Pits. It will be from 11 am to 12 pm, noon, on Sunday, July 6. Admission is free.
The free parking for the first 8 cars is now full. Members can sign up but will have to pay parking.
IMPORTANT: ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST HAVE CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP. (No friends, etc.)

Wed., Aug. 13: Members will arrive in Vernal, UT. Thurs. morning, Aug. 14: The group will drive to a site near Bonanza, UT.
In the afternoon, we will drive to Kemmerer, WY.
Fri. morning, Aug. 15: Members will caravan to Fossil Lake Safari, a privately owned quarry near Kemmerer, in search of fossil fish from the Green River Formation - (Eocene). Friday afternoon, the group will drive to Montpelier, ID.
Sat., Aug. 16: The group will caravan to Spence Gulch, ID (trilobites), with maybe a couple of other short stops along the way.
Saturday afternoon, most members will begin the drive home, with some driving to southern UT for the night and then arriving home on Sunday, Aug. 17.
This trip has a limit of 25, IMPORTANT: If you are considering this trip, sign up early, and make your hotel reservations well in advance.
For an itinerary and hotel information, email Dennis: dennisrainey@yahoo.com
The weather should be nice, with average temperatures: Bonanza (90), Kemmerer (81), Spence Gulch (81).
There is a fee to be paid to the quarry operator in Kemmerer. The amount depends on the quarry. (Maybe $80 (kids <17). - $160. (adults >= 17) . There are no fees for Bonanza or Spence Gulch.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.

September 13: Members will do an easy walk for about a mile collecting marine fossils, mainly gastropod mollusks, with Turritella (sea snails) being the most common genus found. The fossils are found in the Llajas geological formation of Chivo Canyon, and are from the early to middle Eocene (around 50 million years ago).
No Limit.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.Sept

Oct. 9: Drive to Fallon, Nevada.
Friday morning, Oct. 10: Our adventure begins with collecting fish fossils at the Hazen quarry, (Three-spine Stickleback fish and Nevada Killifish) from the Miocene epoch.
Oct. 11: We will collect Miocene leaf fossils near Fallon, NV, and if time permits, another nearby site.
Sunday, Oct. 12: We will visit New York Canyon, near Luning Nevada in search of late Triassic sponges, ammonites, other marine fossils.
Sunday afternoon, some members may visit the historic mining town Virginia City and brag about our fossils over a group dinner, while others will drive home.
No Limit.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.

November 8:
TRIP IS FULL. LIMIT HAS BEEN REACHED. - Fossils commonly found here include shark teeth, whale or dolphin bones / vertebrae, etc. They have been identified as belonging to the Round Mountain Silt Formation, Miocene in age (15 - 16 million years old).
There is a fee to be paid to the property owner. The amount, to be determined, depends on the property.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.Nov

TRIP IS FULL. LIMIT HAS BEEN REACHED.
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2 pm: Kwasi Gilbert has made arrangements for SCPS members to participate in a behind-the-scenes tour of the San Diego Natural History Museum, located in Balboa Park.
Sunday, Jan. 11, 8:30 am: Members will meet near Ocotillo, CA to collect fossils at 2 - 4 localities. Suggestion: Visit Balboa Park Saturday morning (several museums, restaurants and things to see) and then do the museum tour Saturday afternoon. Then spend Saturday night in the San Diego / El Cajon area, and collect fossils on Sunday. It's a 1-hour drive from El Cajon to Ocotillo (1 hr, 20 mins from San Diego). Depending on the locality, the marine fossils include: bivalves, gastropods, oysters from the Eocene epoch.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.

Feb. 13, 14 & 15, 2026
Dr. Torrey Nyborg will be our on-site trip leader in Death Valley National Park.

Tentative itinerary: Members will travel Friday, Feb. 13 to hotels near Death Valley (5 hour drive from Los Angeles, (if not rush hour). On Saturday and Sunday mornings our group will meet at specified locations. Locations and activities have not been determined, as weather conditions / rain will determine which sites will be visited. More details will be available in the fall. SCPS members enjoyed a successful Death Valley trip in 2024. On Sunday afternoon, members will drive home. (Some members may go a day or two early, or stay longer to visit other sites).

Having done considerable research in Death Valley over many years, Dr. Nyborg is an expert on Death Valley
and teaches in the Department of Earth and Biological Sciences at Loma Linda University.
This is a great educational trip for kids (10 y.o. or older). as well as for us older kids.
MORE DETAIL TO FOLLOW.
EVERY PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE A CURRENT SCPS MEMBERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP.