Does Anyone Do Fossil Hunting?

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Are any of you into fossils? I have collected a nice set of fossils, but I have bought them all. I have not found any myself. Paleontology is one of my interests and am thinking of going fossil hunting once this Corona thing is over.
Digging up things that lived long ago is so fascinating to me. And there is a very slight chance you can make a discovery that will make an impact in our understanding of the history of life. Here are some of the fossils I have bought ranging between $100-$300.

This is a Trilobite, about 500 Million years old. One of the earlier animals to evolve.


Fish related to tetrapods that lived in shallow waters (about 385 million years ago). Our ancestors were pretty similar and closely related to this species at one point.


This is a dinosaur bone, "cut" into a sphere.

I was an assistant on a paleontology expedition for a month, long ago. I don't live in an area where there are many accessible fossils now, though.

One interesting area is microfossils. Even if there are no macrofossils nearby, there may be microfossils if you have any sedimentary deposits at all in the area. It usually takes an acid bath to dissolve the matrix and then a microscope to search for them.

In my second or third grade (about 9yo), I had a "boyfriend" who introduced me to finding pebbles with fossilized seashels in gravel used for finishing park pathways. I became quite skilled in it.
Fast forward a quarter of a century, I introduced my children to this activity and now the younger one collects "interesting" pebbles and wants to become a geologist.
Boring, grey, a bit rough limestone is full of fossilized seashells here.

I absolutely would, but the only places where fossils occour around here are two small islands of metamorphic rock in the south, most of everything else is solid granite.

Interesting you mention this now. We just paddled three days on the Peace River which is known for its fossils. Some people make spectacular findings, but almost anyone can find shark teeth, sting ray radula, bits of turtle shell or bone.

When I was young I enjoyed looking for fossils. Most of the ones I found were of poor quality. It is far easier to go to a Rock and Fossil show and just buy them. I wanted to instill that sense of awe into my grandchildren. So I began to take them to the annual rock shows. I would even pack a lunch so we could spend the entire day there. My wife said "You're crazy, they will not sit still for even a few seconds. They will be bored out of their minds in a few seconds."

Well before we left, I gathered them together and I gave them each some money. I explained to them - there are two types of money. There is "saving money" and "spending money". The money I am giving you is "spending money". Any money you have left after we leave, you must return that money back to me. They would always spend every last cent and would spend hours trying to figure out the best bargain for their money.

Good stuff. Micro-fossils are an interesting suggestion. I am worried about handling strong acids though. If I recall correctly it takes very strong acids to dissolve the surrounding material.

I never done fossil hunting, I wouldn't have a clue where to go. I liked playing in dirt piles when I was little & I started a rock collection when I was a little older so I might could get into fossil hunting some if I was finding stuff. When I was a kid my parents took me on a trip to Arkansas & a nearby state or two(I'm from Louisiana). We stopped at some store that had some fossils & maybe some other rocks & my parents bought a clam fossil for me. They displayed it somewhere for a long time but then things got rearranged & the clam disappeared. I haven't seen it in many years & not entirely sure it's still at my parents house. They have a LOT of stuff picked up so I wouldn't have a clue where to look for it.

I bought an Ammonite fossil online a year or so ago. I got it because one of the original Pokemon was based off of it & the Pokemon is called Omanyte. I pretty much only know about the original Pokemon cuz I only seen the 1st couple seasons & only played the Yellow, Blue, & Red gameboy games. The story of Omanyte in the game is that it's an extinct Pokemon & you get it's fossil early in the games. You get to a cloning lab much later & you give them the fossil & you get Omanyte. Unfortunately Omanyte kinda sux cuz of it's odd duel type nature. It's part water & part rock but cant learn any rock attacks. There's two other Pokemon you get that way, Kabuto which is the same awkward due type & I'm not sure what Kabuto is based on, & Aerodactyl which you can guess what that's based on & it's part rock & part flying. Unfortunately none can learn rock attacks. In the TV series those Pokemon are also extinct but Ash falls through a cave & they're alive down there. Anyways getting back to the Ammonite fossil I bought, I thought it'd be neat to have a fossil a Pokemon was based off of even if the Pokemon is dud. Years ago I briefly searched the net to try & buy an Ammonite fossil but didn't get anywhere. A year or so ago I was buying some stuff on a site & the site was giving me special deals like free shipping & a certain percent off if I spent over a certain amount. My order was slightly under that amount & there wasn't anything else I majorly wanted off that site till I stumbled onto the Ammonite fossil. It's regular price seemed decent but it was on sale or clearance & then I was able to get the free shipping & the percent off 1ce I added it to my cart so I couldn't pass it up. One side is really detailed but the other looks a lot like a rock so the detailed side is displayed. I would post the link if the site & fossil were still there.

I kinda want some shark teeth but never got around to getting them online & I need to be careful with money rite now anyways so it'll have to wait. What's stingray radula? Are they the things that sting? I kinda want some of those too.

I have a collection of rocks and fossils from when my kids were young. Nothing fancy but still cool. City kids so I always had them in creeks and similar places where they could get dirty and explore. I've always liked rocks, minerals, fossils, geodes, meteors, seashells, etc. They fill me with wonder. Even when I was young I made up scavenger hunts for my brothers and sisters.

Interesting. I have some glacial till in my yard, including shale that splits apart if I hit it with a shovel. I would be really neat to find a fossil in my yard.