My four kids have spent many a seaside vacation hunting for shells and smooth stones to decorate sand castles (and our windowsills back home). But on a recent expedition to Shark Tooth Creek Outdoor Adventures, a remarkable fossil site in Alabama far from the Gulf of Mexico, my younger daughters, Maura, age 11, and Sally, 9, and I discovered that amateur archaeologists of all ages can find prehistoric marine treasures without ever having to visit the ocean.
WHERE WE WENT:
Shark Tooth Creek Outdoor Adventures, near Aliceville, Alabama
WHAT WE PAID: Admission is $15 per person for a two-hour shark-tooth-hunting expedition (includes a hayride and access to the playground). Families and groups can also camp, canoe, and picnic. Camping is $7.50 per person.
WANT TO TRY IT? Visits are by appointment only, February through October (205-373-2605; sharktoothcreek.com).
1. A history lesson. We start our morning at the main pavilion, where owner Ken Owens explains that millions of years ago, this part of Alabama was underwater and home to 16 species of sharks. Each fish produced and shed up to 10,000 teeth, which were buried in what is now the creek's limestone bed. As the streambed erodes, the fossilized teeth are exposed.
2. Training the eye.
Creekside, we see that days of rain have washed hundreds of shark teeth onto the sandbars. The biggest challenge is training our eyes to distinguish the triangular black, brown, and white teeth from the many pebbles, but Ken is on hand to help. Nobody, he says, will leave empty-handed, as thousands of teeth turn up every year at this creek alone.
3. Hunting and gathering. Ken encourages us to gather as many teeth as we
want, from which we can each keep 15 as souvenirs. Beneath a canopy of trees along the bank, Sally focuses on one spot, while Maura wanders into the water to investigate new areas. A caveat to would-be hunters: "Don't wear flip-flops," Maura says. Closed-toe water shoes are best for preventing cuts.
4. Teeth-totaling.
After two hours, we head back to the pavilion, where Ken helps us identify the types of teeth and determine which species of shark left them behind. Maura and Sally size up each other's treasures, then cap off their successful outing with some spirited play on Outdoor Adventures's immense play structure. Like sharks, they just have to keep moving.
