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

June 2009 by Pam Joslin & Alix Villers

Our first visit to U-DIG Fossils Quarry was in the summer 2009. I saw this adventure was possible on the Travel Channel and shared the idea with my 10 year-old granddaughter, Alix, and it was a “go.” We were going to be “treasure hunters” for a day.

We drove from Salt Lake City the day before the “dig” and stayed at the Best Western in Delta, Utah. The people there were quite hospitable. After breakfast at the hotel, we headed off for our journey to the quarry. The last 20 miles to the quarry were a “never before experience “ into desert country.

After arriving at the quarry, a staff member, Bevan, assisted us with some instructions on digging for fossils, set us up with buckets and picks and we were ready to go. We were only digging for a short period of time before we found our first Elrathia Kingi “pop-out”. So clearly defined and just waiting for us to discover it. The next couple of hours of digging revealed many “pop-outs” and trilobite fossil imprints. Bevan was very helpful in helping us choose which of our treasures were “keepers” and which ones we could “let go.” We left with some pretty impressive fossil plate imprints and around a dozen of the trilobite “pop-outs” and most importantly, memories to last a life time. I hope to be able to return someday with grandsons to share this “treasure hunting” experience.

September 2009 by Bill Johnson

We read about U-Dig online in 2008 and didn't have time to visit while in Utah that year but summer 2009, we made a special trip to Delta and on to U-Dig fossils and what a great day!

In only a few hours of whacking rocks and talking to you folks we had way way WAY more than enough trilobites to take home, and give to friends and relatives, plus line our shelves with great souvenirs.

We very much enjoyed learning about the Utah landscape and its changes through history to date, and your grandson's guitar playing was a VERY big hit, and made a great day a fantastic day, thank you very much for all your time and help, it was hard to imagine that you can pick up just about any rock laying around your dig site , whack it a few times and poof! there are beautiful fossils right before your eyes!

Thanks for an amazing time, and thanks for allowing our pets to be leashed with us while we dug, that was the main reason we came but the reason we will keep coming back is the fossils are great, the digging done for us, and the knowledge and help from you all there was simply icing on the cake! You are certainly #1 when it comes to Utah fossils, no one can hold a candle to your experience.

We can't thank you enough for the great fossils, a few hours in the beautiful Utah backcountry and it was the highlight of our three weeks in Utah!

We will see you again next summer for certain, we are planning a day set aside just to come dig at U-Dig Fossils, can't wait!