What a day we had Wednesday! We ate good food, had good company and saw some incredible sights.

First, our team went to visit the Aurora Phosphate Mine. The actual mine is a huge strip mine operation run by the Potash Corporation in Aurora, NC. Potash Corporation has rights to exploit an area of 8,900 hectares (22,000 acres) of phosphate-bearing reserves, sufficient to support the mines operations for around 75 years. They mine phosphate and process it into many products, including Phosphoric Acid.

What we’re interested in is the layers above the phosphate which they scrap off and dump to the side as waste material. This kind of mining confuses the layers of deposition so we can’t tell when the shark teeth were originally deposited. But we are more concerned about the frequency of shark teeth shapes and sizes.

We were able to see the mine from the top of a hill and talked to one of the workers from the mine. We also saw a portion of the processing plant across the road. A unit train was lined up to be loaded with products waiting to be shipped out. They have a  31mile (50km) railroad spur that connects the facility to the Norfolk Southern and CSX railways. They also ship products via local waterways to barges in Morehead City.

The best part of the field trip was our visit to the Aurora Fossil Museum. Each year the Potash Corporation brings some of what they consider the waste material to the museum and dumps it for visitors to look through for fossils. We spent some time on our butts in the dirt looking for sharks teeth. We met some nice folks who were also there prospecting; a couple from Fayetteville and a couple from PA who summer in Emerald Isle in Onslow County. The couple from PA let us borrow their shovel to collect sediment for our classrooms.

We were instructed in the fine art of soil identification by tasting. A small pinch of soil delicately crunched between the front teeth give details of the quality grit in the soil. This information leads to the identity of the type of soil: smooth sand, larger grit sand, etc.

Two recommendations:

1 Bill’s Hot Dogs – For the hotdog lover with simple tastes. Fabulous red dogs with your choice of mustard, spicy chili , or onions on a steamed bun. For the true gourmand, you can order your dog all the way.

2 King Chicken – If you long for delicious fried chicken on a cheese biscuit you need look no further. One chicken and cheese biscuit is a meal, but they also have great southern sides. In addition, you can watch a regular occurring checker game while you wait for your order.