Customer Reviews

Rockhounding Idaho: A Guide to 99 of the State's Best Rockhounding Sites (Rockhounding Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just received this book as a gift from someone who knows i love rocks and gems. "Rockhounding Idaho" is a basic field guide for promising Idaho locations. Complete with essentials like GPS coordinates, directions to the site, any info on fees or regulations, even what kind of equipment you might need or the kind of vehicle you will need to get there, and what rock materials you may find at each location. I appreciate that each entry is concise and thorough without being lengthy. Since the entry for each location is only 2-3 pages long, it is easy to flip through this book without needing a long time to sit down and read the whole thing. The author includes his personal experiences with said locations in a comprehensible and helpful style, giving the reader a good idea of what to expect upon arrival. Some but not all of the entries include a map. I like how you don't really need fancy equipment for rockhounding (except an ATV and GPS would be helpful); most of what you need is just panning stuff and digging stuff that is not expensive at all. I had the opportunity to pan at the Emerald Creek site where you used to be able to dig for star garnets, and I went home with a couple hundred after a few hours of wading in the mud. It was awesome. Now the site has lost that hard core do-it-yourself charm and converted into a more touristy type place with pre-dug mud and a designated sluicing area (which the author also explains in the book). Having lived in north Idaho for 10+ years I am familiar with many of the places in the book, although I had never thought of them for rockhounding before. My only complaint about this book (which is the reason i can only rate it 4 stars instead of 5) is that all the photos are in BLACK and WHITE! Ugh! The photos are great but how could you ever use the photos to help identify your results when you can't even see what color they are? In light of this I don't think it could be entirely considered a field guide. It was published in 2010, I don't understand how the photos could not be in color. Aside from this glaring issue, the book is great. The appendixes at the end of the book include listings of websites, museums, schools, rock shops, and more which I found very useful.

Not enough pictures in this book to know what you're looking for, and directions can be kind of random. Still there are lots of sites listed

This kind of book is interesting in concept. Like selling 10,000 copies of an authentic map to pirate treasure.
So - Seriously this is an excellent book, with the descriptions of locations, routes there, and the types of rough stone to be found. Put it on your reference shelf, pull it out to plot future gathering trips - ideally in the fall of 2012. I'm going in late summer....!

Great book, in fact a must for anyone wishing to go rock hunting in Idaho! The book even gave GPS coordinates to each rock hunting location. I also received the book in a timely fashion.