Kemmerer, Wyoming's Warfield Fossil Safaris
The Would-Be Fossil Hunter's Playground in Kemmerer
Jul 17, 2009
Almost everyone longs for an Indiana Jones type adventure. The appeal is obvious. You leave your regular workaday life behind, dig in the dirt, and come home with treasure. For one company, Warfield Fossil Quarries, it’s a true life adventure that’s turned into a way of life.
For over thirty years Rick Hebdon, the Warfield’s owner has made his living digging up fossils and inviting others to do the same. The kindred spirits who visit his quarry near Kemmerer, Wyoming walk away from their own fossil safaris with more than just pictures.
“Most people find enough fossilized fish to satisfy their appetite in the first two hours,” he says.
Only the Hardiest Adventure Travelers Need Apply
On any given day, people can be seen at his private fossil reserve, located on the Green River Formation. The Green River Formation was formed during the Eocene Epoch during the Cenozoic Era, and is teaming with an abundance of Knightia, Diplomystus, and Mioplosus fishes plus slews of others.
And this experience is about as safari as a person can get. After a basic lesson in how to use the tools and make sure that hard hats and safety glasses are in place, diggers can go to and dig fossils to their hearts content.
But be forewarned. Potential Indiana Joneses must bring their own food and water, gloves, hats, sunscreen and any other item that might make the dig more comfortable. An outhouse is about the only amenity on the site.
An Accidental Fossil Hunter in Klemmerer
That doesn’t seem to be a deterrent to would-be safariers, which turns out to be a good thing for Hebdon. He didn’t start out in the fossil business. He and his father were sheep ranchers. A purchase of new grazing land rewarded them with a gold mine. Or in this case a fossil mine. To his and his father’s delight, Hebdon sold his entire truck full of fossils at the first fossil and gem show he attended.
Upon his return his father exclaimed, “Boy there is a Cadillac in that quarry; you’ve just got to dig it up!”
He laughs as he relays the story. “There hasn’t exactly been a Cadillac, but I’ve gotten several new pickup trucks, a backhoe and a slew of other things from it!”
The business proved so successful he gave up sheep ranching. Now he spends his time traveling the world with business friends, digging up fossilized fish, and making significant contributions to museums, scientific organizations, and other outfits dedicated to Paleontology. Not bad for the sheep rancher turned accidental adventurer. To learn more go to Warfield Fossil Safari's website.
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