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Collecting Trilobites in Utah -
The Perfect Mother's Day Present  by Marilee Strech    

What kind of gift would most mother's want for Mother's Day--candy, flowers, jewelry, etc?  Not this rockhounding mother!!  I was visiting my oldest son in Tooele, Utah for Mother's Day, and he gave me the gift of a trip to the Trilobite beds near Delta, Utah as my present for that special day.  I had tried twice before, once in Nevada, and once in Texas to collect some trilobite specimens, but with no luck. Then I found this site mentioned in the Gem Trails of Utah book by James Mitchell, which sounded like just what I have been looking for!   Several good friends who are also rockhounds have told me about the great collecting for these little fossils to be had west of Delta, even showing me some of the ones they had collected the year before.

We started out at 10:00  AM the "back way" past the wonderstone collecting site at Vernon, past the turnoff to the Dugway Geode beds (along the Pony Express Trail), arriving in Delta around 12:00 noon.  We had the address for Loy Crapo's Bug House (350 East  300 South, Delta, UT 84624), and after realizing that it was in a residential area, found it after a few minutes.  He was very helpful in giving us directions and showed us some of the fossils we would be looking for.  As he explained, fossils that haven't been cleaned are sometimes difficult to see due to discoloration by iron or other minerals present in the shale.  His store is very well stocked with mineral specimens as well as fossils, and well worth the stop for that alone.  He gave us several of his flyers  which give some good background information about trilobites  as well as containing the map and directions to the collecting site.  As to the hourly charge for collecting, he told us that would be calculated when we were finished collecting for the day.  (When all was said and done, it figured out to be about a dollar a specimen for all the different sizes we collected--very reasonable!)

From there, we proceeded to follow the map, which was quite easy to do.  We turned off the paved road after 32 miles, onto graveled roads which were decent.  In the distance to the south,  we could see the extensive dry bed of Lake Sevier, and to the north, Topaz Mountain is barely visible. 

After another 20 miles, we arrived at the collecting site which is very clearly marked. There were a number of vehicles parked around the quarry--obviously, it's a very popular site!  We found the gentleman who was manning the fee station and handing out the correct kind of tool--an Estwing  rockhammer which is designed for splitting rock. I had brought along my own hammer, but it is a hard rock tool which is useless for this kind of collecting!  He also provided us with several buckets in which to place our finds.  We had remembered to bring gloves, water, food, and something in which to wrap the specimens to take them home in good condition.  This site is 50 miles from the nearest gas station or grocery store, so it is wise to bring everything you think you might need with you.  Be sure and fill your gas tank as well!!! 

He then proceeded to show us a good spot to start looking for trilobites, even splitting  a large chunk of shale and finding a decent-sized one  in that very chunk!  He made a gift of it to my seven-year old grandson, who was excited to say the least.  We proceeded on our own after that, and found two complete  specimens which were 2 inches in length within the first fifteen minutes!  Then  we found several complete "jewelry" size, complete trilobites in the 1/2 to 1 inch range, along with some broken pieces.   After that, between the four of us (my son, daughter-in-law, grandson and myself) succeeded in collecting several specimens with six to eight tiny trilobites in groups along with some "fossil hash" which will need a magnifying glass to determine what's what.  Best of all, though, was my find of a perfect specimen, 1 1/2 inches long, with both the trilobite itself (the positive) and its imprint (the negative) intact.  To think that I actually was the first person to see this fossil is really exciting--the perfect Mother's Day present!

We only stayed about two and a half hours, as we had a long drive back home to Tooele.  I am planning a return trip, however, which would include an overnight stay at one of the motels in Delta.  Another possibility would be to bring a motor home and stay on the BLM land which is adjacent to and surrounds the fee dig site owned  by the Crapos.  I think it would be fun to compare the finds from the  collecting areas right adjacent to the U Dig Fossils fee dig site, even though they bill themselves as "forty acres of the best Trilobite collecting property in the world"!

Enrique Chavez, who owns Chavez' Indian Jewelry Store at 33 W. Vine St.. Tooele, UT 84074, shared his method of using black shoe polish on some of the better specimens to highlight and polish them before he sets them in silver.  They are very nice mounted as earrings and pendants.
 

 

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