Collecting site:
The Vulcan Materials Company, Parsons Facility - Located in Parsons County near Parsons, TN.
This field trip is open to all members of associated clubs of the DMC program of the SFMS Field Trip Committee and to all members of SFMS member clubs who have provided their membership with SFMS liability insurance.  Because of insurance requirements, members of the GENERAL PUBLIC are NOT invited on this or any DMC program field trips!" 
 
Collecting is free at this site. 
 
Specimens:
Marine invertebrate fossils such as corals, crinoids, brachiopods, sponges and trilobites. These specimens may be found in gray limestone and shale.
 
Release, wavier:
The Vulcan Materials Company requires each person to sign a Release, Wavier and Indemnity Agreement form before entering the facility. These forms will available at our meeting place or online on our website at www.memphisgeology.org.
 
Description of site:
The Vulcan Materials Company, Parsons Facility is a working mine where the exposure is from the early Devonian Period (about 400 million years ago, or about 50 million years after the fossils you find in the Nashville Basin. Fossils are most common in the lower Devonian Ross Formation. During the early Devonian Period, what is now North America was still largely under water and close to the equator.  However, the continents which were to form Pangea at the end of the Paleozoic Era were much closer.
 
Meeting Time/Place:
Saturday, 7:30 am, The Deerfield Inn parking lot. MAGS will have a sign-in sheet and Wavier and Indemnity Agreement forms signed and collected. We will convoy to the Vulcan facility promptly at 7:45 am. Follow AFMS Field Trip Convoy Guidelines.
 
Safety Note:
While at this sites, all safety rules must be followed. All children and junior members must be supervised by an adult member at all times. Please be advised that there is always a possibility for injury. Follow AFMS safety rules, code of ethics and collect courtesy code.
 
Rock Swap:
Saturday afternoon there will be a rock swap in the parking lot of the Deerfield Inn with the group and members of Memphis Archaeological and Geological Society (MAGS) and Dixie Mineral Council. Bring your materials and let’s trade or sell.
 
Driving Directions:
To Deerfield Inn located at 863 Tennessee Ave N, Parsons, TN 38363 (731) 847-4700. From Memphis take I-40 East towards Nashville, or from Nashville take I-40 West towards Memphis. Take the TN-69/US-641 East exit number 126, towards Camden/Paris/Parsons. Turn right onto TN-69/US-641, travel 14 miles to Parsons to the Deerfield Inn will be on the right. 
 
Accommodations:
If you are plan to stay in the area Friday night or Saturday night, rooms are available first-come-first-serve bases. Group rates are available for all DMC and MAGS members and their guest at the following motels: 

Deerfield Inn
863 Tennessee Ave N
Parsons, TN 38363
(731) 847-4700
 
Jake's Motor Lodge
3946 Hwy. 412 E.
Parsons, TN 38363
(731) 847-6387

Please make your reservations ASAP!
NO DO STAY AT ANY HOTELS LOCATED NEAR THE HWY 69/I-40 INTERCHANGE.
 
Tools:
Bring rock pick, hammer, chisel, pry bar, screwdriver, etc. Leather gloves are a good idea, also safety glasses. Newspapers for wrapping specimens, collecting containers such as bucket or clothe bags.
 
Difficulty Level:
5 to 7 on a scale of 1 (easy) to 10 (hard).
 
Field Trip Agenda:
Saturday, September 18th, 2004

·         8:00 am – 11:00 am--     Enter the Vulcan Materials Company, Parsons Facility.
We will make a brief stop at the weigh scale office building to turn in our wavier forms and then we’ll be escorted to the collecting site.
 
·         11:00 am – 11:30 am-    We will have a short break for lunch. Please bring a sack or picnic lunch and drinks, as we will not be allowed to re-enter the facility once we leave.
 
·         11:30 am – 2:00 pm--     Continue collecting.
 
·         2:00 pm----------------     leave the Vulcan Materials Company, Parsons Facility. We’ll be escorted out of the collecting site to the gate near the weigh scale office building.
 
·         2:30 pm – 5:00 pm---     Rock swap in the parking lot of Deerfield Inn.