2012 Excavation Sessions
	Unlike other field trips on the market today, you will be able to keep almost everything that you find (up to a maximum of $4,000.00). Only individual bones valued at over $1,500.00 and articulated bones are excluded. In all cases, however, if you cannot keep your find, you will receive a finder's fee of three percent after the final sale of the object. In most cases each participant finds several hundred bone fragments, ten or so mostly complete bones and an occasional tooth and claw. As a result of the high number of requests for information for our upcoming field season, we have structured our time in the field to accommodate as many participants as possible without a reduction in the quality of the experience. In order to achieve this goal we will be in the field for six separate, week-long sessions:
			Mr. Sula's Femur (large Edmontosaurus)
Session #1. June 10th to June 16th - Nebraska Session #2. June 17th to June 23rd - Wyoming Session #3. June 24th to June 30th - Wyoming Session #4. July 1st to July 7th – Wyoming (College Credit students only) Session #5. July 8th to July 14th - South Dakota (College Credit students only) Session #6. July 15th to July 21st - Staff only Session #7. July 22nd to July 28th - South Dakota (See detail descriptions below) Each session will be limited to the first 15 applicants. Sessions will be booked upon our receipt of your confirmation, waiver and deposit. The ranches will be divided into collecting zones, one for each session so that everyone will have the opportunity to collect fossils from prime areas. Please note that ALL participants who fly in for their trip are required to rent a vehicle and get themselves back and forth from the airport, with the exception of students enrolled for college credit. Individuals who use their vehicle to get back and forth from the collecting areas will receive a $300.00 discount. After arrival and check in on Sunday, collection will begin on the first Monday morning of each session and end each Friday evening. Wake up call will be at 6:30, breakfast at 7:00 and we will leave for the field by 8:15 AM. Lunch will be provided in the field and we will return each evening in time for dinner. Detail Session Information: Session #1  During Session #1 we will be located in Chadron, Nebraska. There are three collection ranches. One has produced abundant articulated mosasaur specimens from the Pierre Shale Formation and excellent artifacts. Two others are new to us, from the White River Formation (Oligocene). We will stay in the Westerner Motel in Chadron. (Fly to Rapid City, South Dakota) Session #2, 3 & 4 During Sessions #2, 3 & 4 we will be located in Newcastle, Wyoming. For Sessions 2 & 4, the collection ranch is located about 25 miles to the southwest of town. It is in the Lance Creek Formation. It has very well preserved but somewhat hard to find dinosaur material; however, it also has ABUNDANT museum quality plant fossils.  This ranch is a must for any plant fossil collector. During the week we will spend time collecting in the dinosaur beds as well as time collecting plant fossils. During Session #3 we will collect from two new ranches in the Lance Creek Formation. These ranches have not been collected on in years! During Session #4, students will have the opportunity to excavate one of the several fairly complete dinosaur specimens that were found during the 2011 season, as well as the normal collection activities. We will stay at the Sage Motel in Newcastle. (Fly to Rapid City, South Dakota) Session 4 is restricted to College Credit students registered for our course. Sessions #5 & 7 During sessions #5 & 7, we will stay in Buffalo, South Dakota, collecting on three private ranches. For Session #5, we will collect on a ranch 45 miles NW from town. Abundant high quality dinosaur bones (Hell Creek Formation) are found on this ranch. Primarily these are Ceratopsian bones, occasionally articulated. We will spend time excavating a T. Rex discovered by one of the Gainesville State College students during the 2011 collecting season! In Session #7, we will be collecting on two Harding County ranches, both of which are in the Hell Creek Formation. These are both close to town, and over the years have produced large numbers of quality fossils. The ranches have many good collecting areas and are excellent for first time collectors as well as more experienced participants. Fantastic meals will be served at a local saloon with an excellent cook - nobody will go hungry! Do not plan to lose weight during these sessions! We will stay at the Tipperary Lodge Motel in Buffalo, South Dakota.  (Fly to Rapid City, South Dakota) Week 5 is restricted to College Credit students registered for our course. Earn College Credit! Dr. Steve Nicklas, the founder of PaleoProspectors, will be offering a college-credit field course for select participants through Gainesville State College, Gainesville, Georgia. Participants will get hands-on experience excavating two sites in Wyoming and South Dakota. Be the first to see these bones come from the ground before they get to the museum! For more information, please click on the "College Credit" menu tab on the left of this page. This requires advance registration for the two week course (Sessions #4 and 5).