Rick noted that a road took off behind the piles. He was determined to get me to some real thunder eggs and said we’d give it a go since he’d just found several pieces. This was our best and last chance in the quest! On the map I tried to figure out which notch in the mountain this track went up and I’m fairly sure it was Dry Creek. Yet again I was reading the “X” and “Thundereggs” by it. Yeah,sure,right….At what elevation!?! #!*!#+! Thankfully the ride to the Steens foot wasn’t too bad this time.

The whole place immediately looked better for hounding than the others we’d searched. Eroding outcrops that were Lower! YES! I headed straight across a burn and UP(see X on picture above). Right away I found nubby thunderegg outer parts. Then I found a small fully round egg and it made my day! Then many busted duds got me worried about the bed they’d eroded out of. I’d yelled “EGGS” down the slope to Rick but he was plumb worn out (he told me later) and several hundred yards below and across from me. Then as I hiked my bad back reasserted itself and I set my half full bag down at a “central” spot. Up and zig, up and zag. I was REAL hot and tired and sweaty and dirty when I found a softball size whole thunderegg! It was a beauty, a great example for the area, and I could NOW rest, slurp some canteen water and head back. Ooops! What’s That UP There? I would have turned back, but, wouldn’t you know it, just 15 steep feet above me I saw several rounds! OK, just climb a few more steps. Here were a couple of different varieties of eggs now! Some had a beautiful pastel partly smooth crust, Very different than the oh-so-lumpy ones. There was another big one too and several doubles!

What’s a rockhound to do??? There were now too many to carry without my sack and it was half way down below me! Being practical, I simply took off my tank top and knotted one end and filled my new “sack” with the precious eggs! I didn’t DARE look up higher now. My lower back was hurting like the blazes again every time I tried to bend and I pretty much Dragged the quarter filled shirt, added it to my sack, and DRAGGED the now Full sack all the way down to the truck. I announced that I was DONE, very Done, Finished, Totally, and completely happy too! Rick was greatly relieved he’d accomplished his mission of getting me to thundereggs! He assured me he was happy with what he’d found too but couldn’t hike another step. It was only 3:30 or so but hiking and being rattled half to death on the awful side roads since 7am had us dead on our feet.

My oh my, those hot springs were the Only thing calling us now! We got back to camp and then had the Alvord Hot Springs all to ourselves on a Monday afternoon. It felt glorious. The mineral smell wasn’t real strong and we forgot about it right away. We picked the open instead of walled pool(there are two side by side there) since vehicles driving by were far enough away not to be of concern. Rick drank a brew blissfully after recovering from nearly sliding under with it on the slimey step! The water was bath-tub warm, not real hot, but pipes were there to let in HOT water, if desired, so we took turns relaxing our muscles and joints(especially my back) in the flow before shutting it off again. Thank you Bates Brothers Field Trip Report for giving the “bug” to me to want to experience rockhounding WITH hot springs! What a Terrific way for a rockhound to relax after a long day!

It was only 4:30 or so but the sky was darkening with clouds and a breeze was kicking up. Back at camp we ate, lounged and collapsed early(our norm when camping). I put in foam ear plugs because the two tents were starting to flap a lot in the breeze. Sometime later but still fairly early I awoke startled! The tent flapping was a rapid cacophony and the side of the tent above our heads commenced to lay right down upon us in an alarming smothering manner! HOLY SH---! Rick and I both raised our arms above our heads and met with terrific pressure from a Roaring gale outside! The noise became deafening and even my “happy” sunflower plants were beating us like a drum outside! Our truck has a partial wooden shell Rick built for our dogs protection and we were REALLY glad we’d bedded them in the truck and not the ‘shade’ tent that night! Wowwy Zowwy….talk about a New Experience! It was like an elephant trying to sit on us! We were talking(pretty much Yelling to each other) about the possibility of flying off the whole hilltop in a tornado to Oz but decided the wind was probably ONLY 80 mph or so . Our tent stakes held but the flexibility of the poles had them caved inward on the side above our heads. I looked outside when the racket changed and sure enough our shade tent had collapsed. Then we began wondering if a tent pole or flying tree might skewer us but let the notion pass and simply chatted about how Long this might last! I sat up and let the collapsed side of the tent push on my back . I contemplated the Greek Myth of Atlas holding the world on his shoulders and decided I could relate. At least it was Warm wind! I “rested”, sitting up, for a half hour or so.Then I got the great idea to stack every bit of loose gear we had above our heads in the corners. My pack was heavy and by golly it held the tent off me when I laid back down! What a relief to lay flat again! I told Rick “It works!” and he got the extra bedroll for his corner. Finally we could attempt dozing without the threat of being smothered by the side of the tent and rain fly. The whole deafening howling gale lasted over two hours. In my half dozing I remember listening to it subside with immense relief and falling asleep. In the deep dark of late night with the storm past ,a light flashed across my face and I heard loud music! I couldn’t believe this. What Now!!???!! As I came awake I understood the light had flashed up to our aerie from below and a trucker or youth with a great sound system was parked at the hot springs and wanted their music to reach them from the road as they soaked. So, I got to lay there awake Again and contemplate the universe for another 35 minutes before the engine roared off. What A Night!

Next morn we packed with no problems. Rick took a picture of me with my thundereggs as a reminder of why it was all worth it. Tired lookin ain’t I ?!?!

I didn’t even make coffee because we just wanted to Go. We ate energy bars. Our timing was perfect as the first raindrops started just as Rick tightened down the straps on the trailer. We took off down the road remarking on our “experience”. Pretty wild!

Now heading toward Fields in a new storm we noted the remarkably graded road some more and then passed miles of black ground on both sides,a huge sage burn that turned out to be a wildfire only 3 weeks prior. Then near Andrews we saw huge highway gravel piles and a black top making zone(the gigantic machinery lined up) and awhile later we were cruising on Pavement! This was unexpected and we soon found out from locals that paving the entire route was underway. Their joke was “5 miles per year” but it looked a wee bit more serious than That to us! No wonder the grading was so immaculate. We went into Fields to gas up and it was one cute looking tiny town. There is lots of dendrite Agate all around that wagon and rock with bright chrysocolla viens! Rock maps show the probable locations for those but they weren’t in my “plan” and the desert was no longer fun in the wet wind.

Fields had a real home-cookin café ajoined to the gas station and we ate BIG breakfasts of eggs, toast, hashbrowns, sausage & bacon and I had my coffee!Ahhhhh. Now, in the again howling wind and rain we backtracked to the highway to the Frenchglen turnoff and I called this part of the map “rounding the Horn”. The second half of our journey had begun! All the way to the Hart Mountain gravel road turn off we did not get to See what This side of the Steens looked like cause it was clouded in. It was clearer the direction we’d be turning though and the discussion to go home early ended. We got to Rock Creek Road which was our turn. It was 20 miles of washboard.Ugh.

We had all day and took it easy. Stopping once, there was tuff-ash? rock busted everywhere with wood looking strips in it so I picked up a sample. We passed a turn off where the Gem Trails book said there was agate in a dry lakebed but it was too windy to enjoy seeking it(and Rick wouldn’t take the trailer up an unknown side road anyway). Soon the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge HQ was in sight and 4 miles to the campground! Yay!Plenty of antelope to look at too.

We set up at the camping area nearest the hot springs(there are 3 sets of spaces) where we got the last space #30. Bow Hunters with special deer permits filled the rest this time of year. I walked up the creek with my dog and enjoyed stealthily stalking the holes the trout were lounging in so I could look at them. Still weary from the night before, we went straight to the hot springs! There are two separate ones for folks to use. The natural one was very HOT so we opted for the comfortable not-too-hot and “protected” one. WHAT a nice place!