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Snakeskin agate is abundant on the smooth hills in this region. Take a gunny sack...
Between Jordan Valley and Burns Junction is the small stop of Rome. From this point one can follow some exceptionally dusty roads for 20 plus miles towards the Owyhee River. Here there are some wonderful vistas of eroded volcanic tuff and persistent obelisks of basalt. The hillsides are places where one can find an abundant supply of snakeskin agates and the rocky outcrops have some unusual jaspers formed in twisted nodules.
This is side-by-side territory for the last few miles as the paths can be rocky with sharp edges that can puncture a sidewall. There is plenty to explore in this area, but it is remote, remote, remote. Taking a least two vehicles is recommended as you will likely see no one else while you are in this region.
Steve can't get enough of this stuff!
The blue spot indicates where this area and surrounds are and the red marker is Rome. There are just a few road access points to the interior of this territory, so get a good map and explore.
The rocks are variable, but very hard jasper. Nodules are heavy and don't look like much. Look for rounded edges on lumps to find jasper. This 30 pound lump didn't look like much on the outside, but on cutting it is full of inclusions and has a very rare pink color. No two pieces look alike as these rocks are chaotic mixes of silicas and mineral inclusions.
A few "learned" hounds have asserted that some of these nodules are coprolites. They are certainly odd looking rocks!
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