Sorry gang, a couple of hours turned into a couple of days - sometimes life is a 3-ring circus and it's hard to get online time.
jb80 originally said :
That's a really kind offer but I couldn't possibly accept it as I was only joking around when I said that. Plus we have just moved to Spain and I wouldn't expect anyone to front the international postage for that. I do have a small collection though, that part was serious.
I appreciate the offer though.
International postage only gets expensive for heavy or large parcels. I can send a small sample-sized meteorite in a package under 4 ounces for about $5, so it's not a big expense at all. I've sent freebies to every corner of the planet.
Hmm... Spain is a pretty large and in parts arid country. There is bound to be something here. I might look into that but I dread to think what sort of rules they may have in place.
I'm not familiar with Spanish law, but I do have a customer in Spain who I can ask.
Spain has a few dozen important meteorite falls and many documented finds. See the link below. It shows all officially-recognized meteorites from Spain. Many of the entries contain GPS coordinates or other geographic information that you can use as a starting point to search.
Link -
Meteoritical Bulletin: Search the Database
Really, I would of thought there would of been more?
I don't know why but it just seems that way but maybe there are more hobbyists and enthusiasts making their presence known so it seems otherwise.
As much as I like that show when I have seen it I would take much of it with a pinch of
salt. Although some of the place they have been I'd love to visit.
There are many amateur hunters and many are successful - they contribute to the body of science, enlarge their own collections, and occasionally sell some pieces. But very few people make a comfortable living solely from hunting and selling meteorites. Hunting meteorites is a drain on financial resources, time, and energy. Even in a known strewnfield that has produced many meteorites, one can do a systematic careful search for days and not find a single fragment. Travel expenses, lodging, food, incidentals, and not to mention the cost of equipment. It's not a very profitable pursuit except for the very lucky few. Most meteorite hunters have rocks in their heads.
After reading your post last night I was checking out Peace River and that sort of thing looks like the perfect activity to do with the family. My only concern is what the water levels would be in late January and whether that would stop you if it was too high. I'm going to google Bone Valley in a minute and check that out as well.
There was one site I was looking at that mentioned they have a group permit so that would cover you on one of their trips but it looks so straight forward I'm not sure you even need a guide. Then again it's always useful to have someone who knows what they are doing.
Thanks Mike for your detailed and informative response. I find this
thread very interesting and am glad you started it.
The dry season is typically in the "winter" - I put that in quotes, because winters here are very mild. We have had very rainy summer this year, so the rivers are very high and it's not good for fossil hunting at the moment. Although, after a good rain, one can search the banks and washouts. That is how we have lucked up on a few things. The small handful of times I searched the rivers with a screen, I only found a few tiny common fossils and nothing to get excited about. It's a lot like meteorite hunting - you do it more for the outdoors and
thrill of doing something you love.
Best regards,
MikeG
