Breaking Barriers: Fossil Hunting with My Family in Oregon

When I traveled to Oregon recently, I had the joy of visiting a dear family member of mine. She’s a remarkable person who uses mobility aids, and while I was excited to see her, I didn’t expect she’d be able to join me in fossil hunting. I thought long walks on beaches might be too challenging. Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Armed with her cane and her adventurous spirit, she not only joined me but managed to walk four miles on different beaches in one day. At first, I found myself hesitating, worried about pushing her too hard. Then I realized my hesitation wasn’t concern—it was my own ableism sneaking in. She had promised to let me know when she reached her limit, and I had to trust her. And sure enough, she was fully capable of keeping up, as long as we didn’t venture into the most inaccessible places.

Unfortunately, there was one beach—our best fossil hunting site—that we couldn’t reach together because the entrance wasn’t designed with accessibility in mind. It was frustrating because I knew that once on the beach, she would have been fine. The barrier wasn’t her body—it was the oversight of able-bodied people who didn’t consider how a small change could make the beach accessible. It was disheartening to find such rich fossils in a place she couldn’t experience for herself.

Still, I made sure she was a part of the discovery. I brought her a beautiful fossil specimen, still encased in its matrix, and shared all the photos I had taken of our finds. But the disappointment lingered, knowing that something so easily fixable had kept her from fully joining me.

The trip taught me something vital: when it comes to accessibility, people are capable of more than we often give them credit for, and the real limitations come from the environments we create. Watching her thrive on those beaches made me realize how important our mission at Maryland Fossil Finders is. By making fossil sites more accessible, we aren’t just improving experiences—we’re changing lives. Everyone deserves the chance to feel the wonder of holding something millions of years old, no matter their mobility needs.

I’m grateful that most of the beaches we visited were manageable, and even more grateful that I got to share this experience with someone so dear to me. She proved that she can go anywhere with me, and we’ll keep pushing for a world where everyone can do the same.