As a Christmas present, I gave Jason a day of rockhounding for fish fossils at American Fossil near Kemmerer, Wyoming. I know, pretty fishy. We took this trip in July of last summer. During it, our main destination, American Fossil, wasn’t our only connection to the past. At Fossil Butte National Monument, we connected our brains and feet instead of our hands, which will be covered next time. For this portion of the post, let’s dig into American Fossil.

American Fossil is a privately-owned quarry located where the depths of Fossil Lake existed for 2.5 million years some 52 million years ago. The remains unearthed there come from life found in and around that lake, and a lot of those remains remain. Over a million fossils have been excavated from the greater area, the majority uncovered in perfect condition.

Why did so many fossils survive at Fossil Lake? It is believed that Fossil Lake had a layer of saltine water beneath its fresh water. The deeper parts of the lake may also have contained poisonous hydrogen sulfide. These factors would have prevented scavengers from consuming the carcasses of animals that fell to the lake floor, giving them a much better chance of being preserved.

The elevation at American Fossil’s quarry is around 7,000 feet. So, even in the middle of July, temperatures are doable but not necessarily pleasant. The high was 82 degrees the day we visited, which was a whole lot nicer than the 97 degrees back home. However, with heat reflecting off rocks, a sunny and still 82 isn’t as nice as it sounds. The quarry staff said it was the hottest day they’d had all summer; they retreated to the shade while the stalwart fish seekers carried on with their hammering.

We arrived at the quarry around 11:00 and pounded rocks until 4:45, nearly six hours. We found loads of fish, and we got sunburned, cut, covered in limestone dust, dehydrated, sore, overheated, and exhausted. All worthy sacrifices in the name of rocks!

Speaking of wordy sacrifices, I have plenty of advice for those heading to American Fossil, so let’s begin. First, the Google map is wrong. Do not use it. Instead, only use the directions given to you by American Fossil via their website or reservation confirmation emails.

If you are one of those people who meticulously calculates how many pairs of clothes they will need on a trip, please note you will not be able to re-wear anything you don while digging for fossils. In fact, your attire will be so dusty from those endeavors that you will likely need to put it in a plastic bag afterward to keep it from contaminating all the contents of your suitcase.

Also, fish fossils are delicate, and the limestone they are in breaks easily. Be careful how you transport your treasures back home. We had some crack. I’d recommend bringing bubble wrap or purchasing it at the Ace Hardware store in Kemmerer.

And one final note to the hungry, Kemmerer is a small town. It has a handful of good places to eat, but they close early and don’t open at all on some days of the week. So, the food situation is a little spotty. We found Pizza Hut the most reliable source of meals. On an inconsequential sidenote, the residents of Kemmerer are super friendly. They are also super proud of their world’s-first JCPenney. Unfortunately, the world’s-first JCPenney will not improve your stomach’s predicament.

Next time, I will finish the recount of our fossil quest by unearthing some advice about Fossil Butte National Monument.