So the wife and I were fortunate enough to take a few days and head down to Jekyll Island for a few days to enjoy the sun and surf before she starts back to the new school year. We spent the first few days as we normally do eating way to much amazing food and laying around like bums on the beach...lolol
Since we are going home tomorrow, we decided to try something a little different than most people and head to a secluded spot on the island to search for fossilized sharks teeth and fossilized mammal bones. This is not technically a "beach" as it is on the back side of the island and the water is a strip of brackish water between the marshes and the island shore. It is almost entirely covered with oyster shells and other shells and the water is far from pristine and clear lolol
Most people can spend years and years travelling to Jekyll Island and never realize you can hunt for fossils here. The entry to the area is very unassuming and not marked other than the signs in the photo. Nothing announces what is at the end of the trail.
Although the trail is about a mile long and in the sweltering, oppressive heat of south Georgia, it is extremely well maintained, wide, and a very easy hike even for the youngest of your adventuring party! There are views of the adjacent marsh throughout the hike and you get to your destination much quicker it seems than the actual 20 minutes it took for us to make our way to the water.
Once you get down to the water, you immediately realize there is no shade at all anywhere near the water and regretted not bringing our four pole tent to provide a "basecamp" for our fossil hunting endeavors. The water is pleasant even if it appears very murky and ominous. I grew up around marshes like this and although there is the potential for sharks and other predators, you definitely get used to it and don't even give it a second thought. We saw multiple mullet fish jumping out of the water trying to escape whatever was chasing them, more than likely the local dolphins.
Most people walk along the shore and hope to see the teeth and fossils laying on the surface, but to increase your chances of finding these treasures, it is better to take some type of sifter and some type of scooping tool to dig in about knee deep water until you find a clay layer. You then sift the material in the water until you can see the shells and discard them leaving you material that has the potential to have fossils inside.
We made sure we brought plenty of drinks and snacks because once you are out there you don't want to head back to the car a mile away until it is time to leave. Even though the heat is breath-taking in the summer being in the water mitigates some of the discomfort. We ended up finding a couple of partial sharks teeth and several fragments of fossilized bone, which is pictured below. I also found a piece of petrified wood, but it is not in the photo.
After hours of exhausting searching for these natural treasures, we decided to call it quits and spent the trek back to the car debating where we were going to stuff ourselves for dinner! lolol If you are planning any trips to the southeast US near the coast, check with the locals to see if there are any fossil sites nearby......you may be surprised what you can find! Remember that I love you all and each of you deserve to find the treasure for which you seek!
All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter,
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
-Tolkien
