In 2003 this project went into full field operation, with funding from the NSF to me at Duke and to Tom Williamson at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History to support it. Duke student Francesca Pignataro came back for a second field season, and Jacques Colon tried out fieldwork for the first time, after a year in the lab. They were joined by Nina Videau of Durham, at that time a rising senior at Riverside High. Will Tsosie and Jimmy Benally, students from the Shiprock campus of Dine College (the tribal college of the Navajo Nation), joined us in New Mexico.

Having identified and worked several localities in previous years, our priorities were to measure and describe stratigraphic sections in the upper Kirtland Formation, to work one promising locality we hadn't gotten to, to recover more fossils by screen-washing and heavy-liquid separation, and to get samples within our measured sections for palynological (fossil pollen) analysis. USGS pollen expert Doug Nichols joined us in the field to teach us all how and where to sample for pollen.

At different times in 2003 we were also joined by NMMNH volunteer Chris Hughes, UMN graduate student Shirley Libed, NMMNH Curator Gary Morgan, and BLM representative Pat Hester. We also got a lot of help from Steve Semken (even though he was officially leaving the project) and the staff at Dine College in Shiprock. Thanks, everyone for helping us teach and learn so much, and for pitching in to get so much work done!

It is difficult to constrain the age of the Naashoibito Member of the Kirtland Formation. While the fossil vertebrates indicate a Maastrichtian age - possibly even a latest Maastrichtian (Lancian Land Mammal "Age") age - there are no ancient volcanic ashes that would yield radiometric dates, and attempts at magnetostratigraphy have been unsuccessful.

Finding fossil pollen that is biostratigraphically informative is another possible way of establishing the age of sediments. Weathered sediments at the surface do not preserve fossil pollen, however; one has to dig fairly deep in the Naashoibito to get a good sample. Here, Jimmy Benally (left) and Tom Williamson (right) trade off using the pick to get to some promising rock.

You can't see the pollen in palynological samples. The samples have to be prepared with acid and then examined by an expert who knows what pollen to look for under a microscope. Dr. Douglas Nichols is the expert who worked with us on this stage of the project - he also took a long weekend from his job at the Unites States Geological Survey in Denver to make sure we got the best samples possible. We put each sample in a bag and label it with a number before being sending it to a lab for preparation. Geological information about the site and section get written in our field books. In this picture Doug seems to be missing his sharpie, while Francesca has everything under control.

Before you ask, yes we did warn Nina that the staff wasn't vertical before she took this measurement!

Measuring and describing stratigraphic sections is one skill we teach every student who works with us in the field, as they do not seem to learn it elsewhere. At the beginning of July each section was an effort in controlling chaos, with everyone milling around wondering, "What am I supposed to do now?" or, "When do I get out of the sun?" Will and Nina picked up the mathematical aspects first and got comfortable with the Brunton. Francesca honed her skills at describing sediments. Jacques and Jimmy trenched where necessary. Before long, everyone was familiar with sketching columns and in two weeks we had efficient teams making good sections through all our fossil vertebrate and pollen localities.

We usually screenwash in a stock tank. But the new tanks ordered for Dine College never arrived, so we were resourceful. While Will and Jimmy worked in the chemistry lab doing the heavy-liquid separation and mixing up 10% acetic acid for breaking down some stubborn sediments, the Durham NC crew rigged up a shade tarp between the chem lab and the next building, then used a hose and extra screen to gently screenwash sediments.

As old-hat as the process was to my students, it inspired curiosity in a number of Dine College students. One of them even helped out for a day and then invited his new friends to come dancing in Shiprock! From front to back: Jacques Colon, Francesca Pignataro, their new friend, and Nina Videau.

Is something wrong with the car? Are the Duke students showcasing their mechanical skills?

No, they're just taking a break. In July 2003 New Mexico had a record number of days in which the temperature exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Nina, Jacques, and Francesca were quick to find the nearest source of shade at break time - although in this case, the view must have been less than inspiring!

Fortunately it does cool off when the sun goes down, and evenings in camp were livelier than lunches.

Well, this is in the Paleocene Nacimiento Formation and a little off-project. Our excuse is that you can't get to the Cretaceous without walking over (or camping on) Paleocene sediments, and you can't help but notice the fossils in the Paleocene sediments, and what?!, we're not going to leave them there! Plus, the students get to learn some techniques for excavating larger specimens in addition to the sack-and-screenwash method used for collecting microvertebrates. Here Will Tsosie (foreground) and NMMNH Curator Gary Morgan excavate the carapace of a large trionychid turtle, with some dubiously helpful advice from me.