A curious kid, ancient waters, and public land turned a rockhounding trip into a piece of history
Last fall, what began as a simple day of rockhounding on public land in southwest Wyoming turned into an unforgettable brush with deep time.
Eleven-year-old Touren Pope was exploring Bureau of Land Management–managed land with his grandparents, Patti and Tom Patterson, when something unusual caught his eye. Beneath the surface of a landscape shaped by wind and erosion lay the remains of a creature that last swam nearly 48 million years ago.
Long before Wyoming looked the way it does today, the Greater Green River Basin was warm and almost tropical. Rivers and streams braided through a massive floodplain surrounding the remnants of ancient Lake Gosiute. Crocodiles, fish, mammals, and turtles thrived in a watery world that has since vanished.
One of those turtles — a soft-shelled member of the trionychid family — lived out its life, died, and was slowly buried. Over millions of years, pressure and time turned bone into stone. Then, after ages underground, erosion finally brought the shell back into the light.
Touren didn’t walk past it.
Instead, he did exactly what scientists hope visitors will do: he reported the discovery to the Bureau of Land Management. Paleontology staff from the Rock Springs Field Office soon arrived, guided to the site by Touren and his grandparents. Once they confirmed the fossil sat on protected public land, plans were made to save it before the weather could damage it further.
Enter J.P. Cavigelli of the Tate Geological Museum.
In September 2025, Cavigelli and his team returned with Touren and his grandparents to carefully excavate the fossil. What they uncovered was remarkable — nearly the entire shell, beautifully preserved, waiting patiently after 48 million years for human hands.
The fossil was taken to the Tate Geological Museum in Casper, where it will be cleaned, studied, and possibly displayed for the public to admire.
And because Touren followed the rules and respected the process, he earned a rare honor: the right to name the fossil.
From now on, the ancient turtle will forever be known as “Little Timmy.”
Stories like this remind me how powerful curiosity can be when it’s paired with responsibility. Touren didn’t just find a fossil — he protected a piece of Earth’s story for everyone. In a world where shortcuts are tempting, it’s refreshing to see a young explorer do the right thing and be rewarded with a moment that will last a lifetime.
Source:
- https://youtu.be/GLFrLvSolmk?si=Zb_5pTrMBD9tUr2D
- https://www.greenriverstar.com/story/2026/01/22/people/11-year-old-discovers-ancient-turtle-fossil-on-blm-land/13531.html
- https://oilcity.news/wyoming/2026/01/14/11-year-old-wyomingite-discovers-ancient-turtle-fossil/
- https://chatgpt.com/
- https://aistudio.google.com/
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