So we went on the fossil hunt. The weather was questionable at best, but this had been planned for a while. I wasn’t going to let a little rain stop this adventure. I was declared the “Josh Gates” of our very own Destination Truth. Sometimes on the show, Josh and the gang have to try multiple times to find the correct place or the right area to investigate. That was us on Friday. You see, multiple people told me how EASY it was to go to Big Brook and find shark tooth fossils. I was the good mommy I’m supposed to be and I googled Big Brook and got directions. The maps certainly seemed easy.
But you see, there is Big Brook Park and Big Brook Preserve.
BIG difference between the two.
The directions from Mapquest were almost accurate. I already wished we had the Destination Truth GPS equipment. And the film crew. We ended up at Holmdel Park initially. The very nice ranger let us use the bathroom and we found another map. We got back in the rocketsled and headed to Big Brook Park, still unaware of our initial mistake, Park versus Preserve. We easily found Big Brook Park and there was much rejoicing. The kids were hungry already so we ate in the rocketsled (since it was still raining) and studied the maps. We felt we had found the easiest way to the brook and as we finished lunch, the rain was even letting up a bit. We all hit the Johnny on the Spot and headed down the trail.
We quickly stopped as we realized how much it was not going to get us to the brook. With some grumbling from the kids, we got back in the vehicle and studied the maps again. At this point, Josh Gates took over my mind and I didn’t become freakishly tense Mom. I stayed loose and relished the quest for the shark tooth fossils. The kids were having a field day anyway. And shortly after we got back on the road, the rain started coming down again.
We went around to another side of the park and entered through a trail. We followed the paved trail and made our way across a bridge. 
We guessed it was the brook, but there was no access. We turned around and tried an unpaved trail. There we were, the five of us, trekking through a field, keeping the woods to our right while looking for another trail. We found evidence of an old trail and decided to try that since it headed toward the woods. We also could see signs on some of the trees so some other human had approached this area and we felt we were finally on the right track.
We weren’t. Back to the rocketsled. Back to the maps. We had noticed some playground equipment and the sign on the tree said no shooting because there was a school within 50 feet. We decided to look for the school since that would be public property and, in theory, we could access the brook from there. We headed out again and slowly came to realize as we tried every little street that the playground equipment belonged to really rich kids with gigantic playsets in their backyards not a school.
By now, we were laughing about the lack of luck, enjoying the journey, and relishing the fact that we were in the rocketsled during the current downpour.
We stopped by a gas station, asked for directions (no luck) and used the facilities. We ventured another direction and found a park on a road that was on the map, had the required woods, and a trail leading to them. We kept driving to scope the area, found another key road from the map, and a small sign that said Big Brook Preserve with rules listed on it. It was simply a sign on the side of the road next to a small bridge. We figured these were our last two options (considering we were down to about an hour of “fossil time”). We decided to check the park first. Our own personal “Ryder” volunteered to scope it out in the rain. The rain was light but then it became a downpour. The kids didn’t care. They were out playing in the playground and running around in the rain. Ryder reported back via phone that the park was not the right place. The five of us piled back into the rocketsled completely soaked, but thankful we had a more reliable vehicle than the Destination Truth gang usually has to drive.
We went to our last place to try. We had about 45 minutes before we had to head home. Ryder scoped it out again and finally, finally, we had found the right place. Big Brook Preserve.
And so in the rain we trekked carefully down the side of the bridge, with Ryder leading the way and me, Josh, bringing up the rear. Happily, one thing I was told was truthful. We found shark teeth fossils in the little bit of time we had in the brook. The rain was pouring down and the laughter was floating in the air.
I went so far out of my comfort zone on this trip. It was invigorating. While it was not as adventurous as what Josh, Ryder, and the DT gang usually do, it was quite an amazing adventure for us. Pick a destination and see what truth you can find. In my Josh Gates mode, I found that I can still climb, play in a brook, and dance in the rain. That was my Destination Truth.
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I believe the fossil above (toward the upper center of the stone) and below (upper right of stone) are bryozoans. They are fan-like and, in my opinion, very delicate looking. Very gentle. In the bottom photo, there also seems to be a fossil of a brchiopod. Look to the left of the bryozoan. It looks like a little seashell.
ohbloodyhell8 