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My dad was visiting and he's a big hiker. Even though it was pretty hot, he talked me into going out on a hike. When we set out there were a few puffy clouds (picture #1 below), but it didn't seem like anything to worry about, especially since this has been a very dry year.

Along our hike, as we got about 3 miles inland, we found a hill covered with huge petrified oyster shells (2nd picture below). They weren't imbedded in the rock, just sitting loose on top of the hill. It was a very large area, maybe half the size of a football field. It would be interesting to know how old they are.

We heard thunder in the distance and saw a few clouds starting to rise, so we decided it was time to turn around. It only took about 30 minutes for the sky to go from blue to the third picture below. In about 10 more minutes it was raining so hard I couldn't use the camera. We got home just as the skies really opened up.

I'm actually glad the hike was cut short. I was feeling kinda tired, but my 73 year old pop was game to go several more miles.

Maybe those are Native middens?

I can't figure why they would hike 3 miles to munch instead of closer to the beach.

The linked article shows this photo of thousand year old oyster shells. How did the ones you see compare?

I have been caught a couple of times by surprise with storms like that. Always gets your adrenaline going...

Originally Posted by Marty Cortez

Maybe those are Native middens?

I can't figure why they would hike 3 miles to munch instead of closer to the beach.

Not my idea, pop's wanted to see where the canyon went. Went straight into a thunderstorm

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

The linked article shows this photo of thousand year old oyster shells. How did the ones you see compare?

I have been caught a couple of times by surprise with storms like that. Always gets your adrenaline going...

Completely different. Here's one I brought home. They look petrified...I would imagine they pre-date the indians by a few million years.

Nice "It was a dark & stormy night...." pics! It's always intrigued me when I've come across huge piles of shells any distance inland....makes you wonder if the shells were carried that far inland because that's where a village was or whether possibly over the intervening years, water levels have changed or land has shifted. Maybe you & Pop were standing at what eons ago was beachfront property!

Might be a good idea to check the weather site to see what might be heading your way prior to heading into any canyons or you could find yourself being swept out to sea in a gully-washer. I suppose you forgot to take a bar of soap with ya! The past week, we've had a lot of weird weather drifting over the Peninsula from mainland.

Hope you had a great visit with Pops! You can rest after he leaves!

Another nice thing about retiring down here is that you will have the opportunity walk more. I have lost several pounds since making the move south to SQ and it does feel great. Maybe with a little exercise and in a few more years you can keep up with Dad!!!

Originally Posted by longlegsinlapaz

...Maybe you & Pop were standing at what eons ago was beachfront property! ...

That makes a helluva lot more sense than "let's lug all this stuff a few miles away and then eat it."

When Shell hunting at Mulje I have found some really nice shells way up above the tide line under the brush and cacti I would think they were up there because of the storms

Originally Posted by Marty Cortez

That makes a helluva lot more sense than "let's lug all this stuff a few miles away and then eat it."

Or maybe shellfish had legs back then...

Not sure where Woo lives other than BCS, and certainly cannot tell if what was found was fossilized. However, maybe consider that La Paz was once the Oyster and Pearl capital of the world. They had this unexplained die off a few decades go. But just perhaps one may consider the shells to be a long time dumping site attached to the pearl industry???

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

Or maybe shellfish had legs back then...

Naw....I chose to believe they just had feet....legs is too much of a stretch of my imagination!

Those oysters would have looked like a herd of kicking their little legs to move their big shell heads out of the water & travel 3 miles above the beach! Besides, Wooo didn't mention any thigh bones or drumsticks!

Aye aye Sir, clamming up now, Sir!

How about that crab invasion?



I can picture Ron training a few as caddies for those Christmas Island rules: "...If a crab knocks a ball in, it's in..."

Call him OddCrab.

The shells were on the Pacific side, about 3 miles inland and about 150 feet above sea level. We were outside San Juanico (about 5 hours north of La Paz).

We also found a lot of small clam shells in the riverbed, and I've since found out that it's possible to find sharks teeth in the riverbed, and in the strata (didn't see any ourselves). That makes me think this area was once the seabed and was uplifted somehow over time.

Baja Gringo: I don't know about loosing weight walking, or getting better at hiking. I'm more of a water creature, my gills dry out when I get too far from the water.

Oh...Longlegs clams was a good theory though

It's geologic. No. Way. were they hiking for the helluvit.

Well, at least it's comforting to know the peninsula is rising and not sinking...