Cleared the entire area (approx 10m X 2m) yesterday, a half-day sooned than expected.  Unfortunately we weren’t slowed by finding any sloth bones.   Recovered a single turtle bone. It’s a nice find though–our second species of turtle.  Should aid in further defining the mysterious watery environment that left this 4 ft.-thick layer of remarkably homogenous clay.  Ron’s ultra-sound tests gave him some promising data; he collected clay samples to take back to the university for  further tests.   With both the north and south borders of the creek cleared it looks now like we have just a couple of large areas in the middle of the creek left to excavate. We’ve probed for bones there and have confirmed their presence.  We’re thinking about doing some prep work with an excavator in the next couple of weeks, before the ground freezes solid, and returning before  the spring floods to finish digging.   Photos next week. . . . Dave