In Search Of
November 19th, 2007The Peace River begins her meandering path in Polk County, Florida. She winds lazily down to Charlotte County Harbor estuary. Many years ago the Peace River was known as “Rio de la Paz” river of peace. The Seminoles called it Tallackchopo (cow peas).
The river is a contradiction of shallow and clear and deep and dark. It is also sandy, rocky and a combination of both.
We started our adventure in the town of Arcadia in DeSoto County. There are several places along the river to rent canoes. We chose the Canoe Outpost mainly for their impressive website. ( http://www.canoeoutpost.com/Peace/peace1.html )
The Outpost has screens and shovels to borrow for your fossil hunting experience. You can also use your hands and a kitchen strainer. We used a very fine laundry bag to collect our specimens. Some shark teeth are very small and would slip through large openings.
According to the website the best times for fossil hunting is March, April and May. We went in July. The water level is usually low from March to May.
We were bussed about 5 miles up river and our canoes were put in the water. This allowed us to paddle with the current. We paddled down stream and I was the look-out person for gators. The water was dark with many downed trees and limbs so gator spying was difficult. Several times we heard a splash in the water near the shore but saw no movements. We were told don’t bother them and they won’t bother you. So I had all intentions of staying out of their way.
The river was shallow at our starting point and was the color of sweet tea. We paddled slowly down the curving river and came across a shallow area. The water was very clear with a small rocky sandbar. There are many private dwellings on the river with ‘No Trespassing’ signs.
We pushed our canoe on the sand bar, grabbed our gear and heading toward the middle of the river. The current was quite swift so we chose to start our expedition closer to the sandbar and the canoe in case we needed to have a quick getaway. I searched the area for resident gators. There were none.
My husband dumped the first shovel full into the screen and I shook it with a vengeance. I rubbed my hands through the stones and saw it. A perfect specimen lay in my screen. I was so excited as I reached in and grabbed the black shiny shark’s tooth. Overcome by excitement of my find I fell face first into the water and rolled directly into the current. I dropped the screen and it started floating down the river. My grandson retrieved it and we started again.
All total we collected 27 shark’s teeth, 1 gator tooth, three bone fragments and 2 mysteries teeth. I called them my baby Megladon teeth. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.