On Monday May 26th, 2008 we headed out of Mountain Home towards Jackpot, Nevada for a rockhounding adventure. The day was dreary, rainy and cool but we didn’t let that stop us. We were on our way to find some genuine Idaho thundereggs. Armed with a rake, shovel and a GPS unit we were ready to find our first real “rocks”.
What is a Thunderegg?
A thunderegg is a plum to grapefruit or bigger sized hollow-core rock fill with agate material…or something like that. The only thing you need to know right now is they are quite impressive rocks when broken open.
Watch the Bondyweb.com “Thunderegg Hunting in Idaho” video below.
If you cannot see the video above, see an explanation by clicking here.
The “Old” Rabbit Hot Springs Rest Area
When we found the general area we heard that thundereggs could be found, we parked the truck and stated walking. It took about 10 seconds before we saw signs that we were in the right area. Within 20 feet of our stopping point, we found hundreds or even thousands of broken up thundereggs just laying on the surface. The buried thundereggs are located throughout the area and can be found between 2 and 10 inches under the soil.
Disturbing the Soil
After digging up a small bag of thundereggs we wondered why we really needed to dig up any more of these incredible rocks. After all, there were plenty of broken up “eggs just laying on the surface so we collected the “easy pickin” and called it a day. It just didn’t seem right to disturb the soil in this desert environment. Just something to think about when out in the wilds of Idaho. The decision is purely yours though.
Want to Know Where to Find Thundereggs? Here is a link to the map – https://goo.gl/maps/AGXq8JQwZaxvJFzR8 or coordinates at 42.061678, -114.673662
Details:
Miles from Mountain Home, Idaho: 130 miles or about 2:30 hours drive.
Miles from Twin Falls airport (TWF): 38 miles.
Miles from Boise Airport (BOI): 170 miles.
Ease of Find: Very easy to find the thundereggs
Related Links:
– Wikipedia information about Thundereggs.
– A College website with some info on thundereggs
– The Eureka Rock and Gem Club. Join us on the first Tuesday of every month to see if you’d like to get into rock hounding.