Starr suggestions?

[jljjdye]

Taking my wife for first dig as a small Christmas present to her (love those kind of gifts). Planning on going to the Starr. Anyone have any suggestions on where to begin and where not to. We have never dug before and really dont know much about the digging aspect of it, but want to learn. Suggestions on what to bring would be appreciated (best tools ect...) We are planning on going Monday night staying in Waco and digging all day Tue/27. Would love to meet any fellow members that might be there that day. Any Paleo coming out of that place? Thanks in advance

[comanche]

Good Luck!
Although I have not been to Star yet.
I have heard from a few that have and they have found some great Martindales,(Early Archaic).
As Far as tools
I would bring atleast a handful and see what works best.
My suggestion
A Swing pick,,,,The best I have found for the $ is from Callahan's,($20.00) for the 26".
A Hand Rake or small hoe.
A piece of Tarp to lay down in your dig Hole to pull the Material out of the Way.
Since you are taking a Digging Partner this Piece of Tarp works real good.
Next would be a Long Screwdriver of Sorts to Wiggle With.
I look forward to seeing what you two might find,,,HH and HH//////c

[MidlandMan]

The equipment Comanche suggest will do just fine. I was out there today and did alright getting a decent Ensor and an Early Archaic looking Stemmed point rewoked losing a shoulder and a 'drill' tip for the last inch and almost compleetly patinated white throuhout.Dont have to look far. As soon as you park the digging starts! The so called Martindale camp is just below the short trail and you cant miss all the digging thats been going on. Martindales are common here but deeper than the Transitional Archaic materials found shallow above and in less then ten inches deep. Also on Friday i hit a Late Archaic level just below the massive amount of tangled briar roots and three Castrovilles popped out in an hour or so (all broken to some degree but what was there was fantastic). Take good gloves if your going to dig the briar patch. There is still a lot of good points to be had in this little patch but its slow tough going. Below the patch about twenty feet towards the spring fed stream not much digging but today I started a (mud) hole and the Early Archaic Stemmed popped out pretty quick. Couldnt work it very long and had to leave but good lithic material is in high concentration and there are no briars or roots to slow down progress which can be a bad thing as the tendancy is to move a lot of dirt and miss artifacts. The muddy conditions mean its sometimes hard to see the flint so check it carefuly as it comes out. If you cross the stream and go up the other side you cant miss where people have been digging. On the top is the 'Pedernales' camp with lots of Middle to Late Archaic artifacts and an honest to God burned rock midden. Also produces lots of Late Prehistoric true Arrowheads some are pretty darn small so be careful especialy shallow. Craig is a fantastic guy and will be happy to show ya'll around if you let him know your new to this and its your first visit. Hope this works for you and your wife and best of luck!!

[jljjdye]

Thanks to both of you guys that replied. Pretty excited. Happy holidays

[Steve Valentine]

So, how did the dig go today?

Did you find anything?

[comanche]

Yep,,,,Would really like to know how it went?/////c

[nativetexas]

ANy updates

[jljjdye]

Used the advice that was given. Started out on the so called pedernales camp on the hill on the other side of the spring. Was so overwhelmed that I could not find a place not to dig. Started digging and was finding tons of tools in the top 10 inches. Found a double notched bird point that I have not typed yet. Found 10 or so brokes just surfacing around the top. Spent the second half of the day down around the briar patch with Howe (great guy) from Austin Diggers. It was producing some older stuff. He was working the briar patch as I was below him closer to the spring. I hit a Early archaic layer next to the spring as was stated. Found a couple scrapers in blue/orange color but no points. This place is awesome and I recommend checking it out for yourself. My wife found about the same as I did, her being more patient than I. We had a blast and Craig is a nice guy. I am at work now but will post some pics later. There are about 5 locations being dug right now, but plenty of places that have not been found yet. I would recommend spending half a day or so just checking the place. There were some nice drills pulled out 30 yards or so south of the mouth of the spring right off the creek. Couple ensors and some teeth close to the spring. As we were leaving I found a 3 inch spear point right by the truck with the tip broke right on the surface. Hope this helps

[Indianasmith]

Where is this place and what is the contact info? Sounds awesome! Do they have a website?

[MidlandMan]

Indy heres the contact info: craighiles@starradventureranch.com