Museum of the Red River

[Scotto]

Today a friend and I went to a rock swap in Idabel Oklahoma, which was being held at the Museum of the Red River.

The economy is getting so bad for this hobby, I was shocked to see only five dealers there. Pretty sad, and they all talked about how the older dealers/collectors are dying off, and they don't see hardly any young people getting seriously into the hobby.

This museum is where Perino has some of his collection housed, and some of the museum was good, some of it not so good IMO.

Fist off, the place is relatively new, is not crowded and some of the displays are done very well. They have some fantastic art there from all over the world, lots of very impressive things.

But the Indian stone artifacts are housed in this cabinet that resembles a blue-print cabinet, and we would have walked right by it if a director hadn't told us to look in the drawers. I sure thought we would have seen more things, there was only ONE Clovis in the whole place. Not a single corner tang. Disappointing. I took some pics, but they didn't turn out too well with the finger-printed plexiglass and the camera trying to focus thru it.

And they had some great pottery, but sitting on the same shelf, right next to each other, was something like this: An old pot, ca 800 ad, Caddo, a Uruguayan pottery vessel ca 1700, an art pot from Arizona artist ca 1900, and a New York artist's 1995 pottery piece. I wish they would have been seperated by culture at least.

Here are some pics;

[Scotto]

Some more pics, I put my lighter in there for scale on some of them.

What a frame of Agees! She-yit! (damn fingerprints and plexi)

Nice large hoes with good polish.

The last pic is an incredible find in the Red River, a halfted celt, with the preserved handle, awesome!

[Scotto]

This one dealer was selling fossils from Oklahoma, all personal finds that were so awesome with all the tiny details.

He offers digs at his place for $200 a day per person where he finds these.

[Scotto]

Another rockhound named Cephis Hall who I met some years ago thru a friend of mine, was out rockhounding one day for pyrite with a fellow digger and he finds this huge dinosaur skeleton. After 3 1/2 years of excavating (and a whole lot of grief), they have it displayed there. VERY impressive, not a T-rex but a close relative.

The first pic is my buddy next to it.

[Texhunter]

you ever try to find rocks in the red river?

lots of sand, takes miles of walking.

someone had determination or a 4wheeler that could climb walls.

[Bobby]

Scotto next time you are over in that direction go to Broken Bow. Can't remember the hwy number but it is the hwy that goes from Broken Bow to DeQween Ark. Over behind that little quick mart there is a museum owned by an old man, he may not still be alive its been a while since I have been there. His museum is in an old two story house and is free but he does take donations. His place puts the Idabel museum to shame. Lots of points and lots of pottery.

[Indianasmith]

The new Museum of the Red River is a nicer building, but in terms of artifacts I liked the old one better.

[marksimerson]

Thanks for the show Scotto! What the heck is that first fossil? Squid-like?

[Jesse walker]

WOW WOW WOW..im kind of embarrassed seeing a frame of $40,000+ dollar agees laying that way. sad


I WILL have to go up there to view those beauty's in person though =)

[ghost recon]

Thanks for sharing these Scotto. The paleos, Agees, Trilos and the hafted celt are killer. Eye candy fo sho.