It’s that time again! Bob Ertman has once more invited us to join him in collecting petrified wood at Odessa, DE. Thanks, Bob! The trip is coming right up: Saturday, November 25, 2023.
This event listing is for informational purposes only. To sign up for the trip, you must email Bob directly. You will receive his contact info upon registration.
Bob says: “Signup needs to be by email directly with me because I need to be sure that everyone knows the new ground rules and the limits on the collection area and because I need to be able to notify everyone in case the harvest is late, and we need to postpone the trip.”
New ground rules: We will collect only in the area to the left of the driveway and only as far back as the old house. Everyone needs to sign up with me so that I know that everyone knows this. This is a working farm.
We’ll walk the field and collect petrified wood (cypress), probably originally deposited in the Cretaceous or Paleocene Rancocas Group and later redeposited in a Pleistocene bed. (Thanks to Dr. Earl Manning, DVPS member, for correcting our previous description of the petrified wood as being Pleistocene.) No special equipment is necessary; in fact, you should leave your tools at home so that we do not do anything to cause erosion on this low-till farm. Here’s a link to a nice write up about one of our trips to a nearby site: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/2011/08/petrified-wood-from-delaware.html
The trip will not be called off for light rain but thunder is a different matter: we cannot be the highest things in the field!
This is a John Wolf Memorial Trip. We’ll meet at the farm, 384 Old State Rd, Townsend, DE, starting at 10:00 A.M. There is a long driveway directly across the street from a school complex. We’ll be there until 3:30 or 4:00.
There is more than one way to get there but if you go through Middleton, there is a good pitstop at the Starbucks at 454 E Main St., and a Wawa at 690 Middletown Odessa Road (same road as Main St. going out of town). Your GPS is your friend. If you get lost, call Bob’s cell (# provided upon registration).
Since we are meeting at the farm, Bob doesn’t need to know if you will be late or if you decide to skip the trip. He does need to know if you want to come.
This is always a fun trip!