About Us

  Having come from a family of rockhounds and fossil lovers, it's not a mystery why I love the hobby. Back in the 1960's, my family would all pile in the car and go on excursions out to the desert. There, we would search for fossils in dry creek beds. One year, my mother read a magazine article about digging for shark teeth in an area called Sharktooth Hill located in Bakersfield, California.  Soon after, off we went on a 2 hour ride up north to Bakersfield.  After many wrong turns, we finally made our way to the site.  I was 7 years old at the time and that adventure sparked a life long passion.  I still remember anxiously digging along side my mother and the frustration I felt when I didn't find any fossils.  Seeing this, my mother leaned over and, with her hand shovel, broke off a section of earth for me to search in. The teeth and bone pieces I found that day became my treasures. Who would of thought, almost 50 years later, I would come to own a section of that exact area!

  Since 2001, we've attended many digs hosted by the Ernst family and the Buena Vista Museum and have developed a deep appreciation of this very special place.  We feel honored to be the guardians of future fossil finds that will contribute to the story of Sharktooth Hill.

  I am thankful for having a wonderful husband that partakes in this passion and, by doing so, it has become his as well.  His favorite saying is "Thanks for getting me hooked on this, Honey!". With a megalodon tooth in his hand,  I am sure he doesn't mind!

We purchased the quarry and surrounding 85 acres in 2010 from the Ernst family.  The previous owner, Bob Ernst, was a well known fossil collector who personally collected over 2 million fossil specimens from several quarries located within his 350 plus acres. The other 3 remaining quarries still belong to the Ernst family where they now have paid public digs throughout the year.

  Ernst Quarries dig information at:

  http://sharktoothhillproperty.com

   Our intent is to continue discovering all the wonderful specimens contained in this fossil rich area. We are currently working closely with the Buena Vista and LA County Museums.  We have had several paleontologists visit the quarry and plan on continuing an on going relationship with the scientific community.  We feel that if a rare or scientifically significant fossil is found it should be brought to the attention of paleontologists. To date, we are working on preparing 2 plaster jackets containing 40 associated shark vertebrae at the Buena Vista Museum Lab in Bakersfield.  We are hoping to have this display ready for viewing by August 2012.


     Sean & Lisa with jacketed shark vertebra  





                     inside the jackets




 

                   SHARK VERTEBRAE