U-Dig Fossils Visitor Experiences at U-DIG Fossils Return to Home

May 2007 by April Martin

I just got back from my second trip to U-dig fossil quarry. This time I found even more fossils than the last (in 2000), including a completely intact 2-inch Elraithia, and numerous complete baby Asaphiscus. I found 75+ complete to near complete trilobites in a 5 hour period. The guides are very helpful and will provide tools if you do not choose to bring your own. I recommend wearing mechanic's' gloves, as regular garden or work gloves will not allow for fine-tuning of rock matrix around your trilobite with the hammer. I think the most beautifully intact and well-preserved fossils can be found in the solid black rock but if you look in the softer layers you can occasionally find a nice specimen that just flakes right out of the matrix. My 4 year old son was a bit young to really get into this (at least after the first two hours we were there!) but enjoyed playing with trucks and sand toys in the dirt. Thanks for a great time, U-dig, we'll be back!!!

August 2007 by Glenn Gouldey

I had the chance to visit the U Dig site for the first time in August 2007. I visited along with my son Jeremy who is a graduate student in Geological Sciences at Ohio State University. He has had the opportunity to visit many locations in the west collecting geological samples as part of his education process and found the U Dig site to be one of the most interesting and productive. I have hunted fossils and other rocks through my life in my spare time and was very pleased with the U Dig visit.  We drove to the site from during our trip through the west from Delta, Utah in the morning and were one of the first visitors when they opened. We brought hammers but found the ones supplied by U Dig to be much more suited for the site. Not special wear was required to work the site. We had great success finding Trilobites almost immediately as we split the black rock finding many different varieties. At the end of the visit we carried significant pounds of rock with embedded Trilobites back to our vehicle for the trip back to Michigan. The process continued after arriving back home as more detailed cleanup work on the rocks we collected revealed even more Trilobites buried in the rocks we collected.

August 2007 by Noreen Moffett

I just want to say that the 13 hour road trip to your quarry was well worth it!!   I had seen the quarry on Americas Treasures' and was awesome struck on how easy it was to find trilobites. All was true.  Several hours later, the five of us had buckets full of trilobites and stories to tell!  I can't wait to plan our next trip.

August 2007 by Nick and Bruce Eu

Hailing from California, we flew to Salt Lake City and rented a Toyota RAV4. We drove to Delta and stayed at the Best Western, which was very comfortable. (we also filled out gas quite often). The next morning, we left Delta at about 7:55 AM and headed west on the lonely Highway 6. It WAS lonely. There weren't drivers for miles, so it was an easy drive on Hwy 6. We saw the sign on the right and drove in. The gravel road was very bumpy when we came (It wasn't maintained?). We drove at 25-35 MPH. There were many rocks on the road, and cows grazing too. We kept driving, with the roads being smooth at some points, bumpy at others. When we neared U-Dig, we passed an intersection we thought to be U-Dig. So we kept continuing to make a U-turn at the next intersection, but the next intersection happened to be the real U-Dig quarry! We parked and walked toward the office. I could see fragments of trilobites on the ground. We met up with the staff at the office at 9:30 AM. He showed us what we'd be looking for and gave us hammers and buckets. It was pretty exciting to be there. It was also difficult to find a spot. There is A LOT of shale there for you to hammer. You can dig the bulldozed shale, or use larger tools to wedge out fresh rock. We dug and dug and dug and dug. It got hot near noon, so we ended the dig. In total, we found about 20 whole trilobites and a lot of imprints, fragments, etc. We left very satisfied. The ride back was just like the ride there. By 1:45, we were back in Delta. We got some of our trilobites cut up at the rock shop on Main Street. This was an experience to remember. 

August 2007 by Mike, Amy, and Ian Abbott

We made the long trip from Florida to the U-dig mine this August with the Fairygodmother Make A Wish Foundation. (wish foundation for people with life limiting illness) The folks at U-dig were  absolutely wonderful with making this happen for us.  We can't thank these  fine, thoughtful people enough, and would like to tell you about our  wonderful experience at the U-dig mine.

The three of us , (Myself, my 6 year old son and wife) Stayed in  Delta then got up early to beat the heat at the U-dig mine. The  mine was easy to find, and the roads were passable by just about any kind  of vehicle.  There were several signs so the quarry was easy to  find.  It was cool when we  arrived, and the staff was absolutely  wonderful about showing us where and how to dig. Splitting the rock was not  that hard, and the fossils were not hard to find. With a little looking you could find really beautiful specimens.  About noon it became kind of hot,  but not unbearable if you bring plenty of water and maybe some snacks. Be  sure to bring sunscreen.  We found around 30 really nice fossils in about  3.5 hrs.  We only left the mine because my portable oxygen had run out! We would have loved to have stayed longer, its quite addicting once the fossils start showing up, which is almost immediately.

After leaving the mine we went to the "Bug House" and had a couple geodes cut which our child really enjoyed. There were many interesting things to see at the "Bug House" as well, and the staff was great there also. It was a great place to end our fossil hunting trip!.  Hopefully my son will be able to return to the mine one day and re-live many great memories! Absolutely wonderful experience.  Thanks U-Dig!!