Old Miner still looking for rare rocks in Eagle Foothills

EAGLE, Idaho — Idaho is known as the Gem State for good reason — miners have been coming here for centuries to stake a claim for gold, silver, and other minerals, and that has not changed one bit.

Up a very dusty road and around a canyon, we come across Larry Ridley's open pit mine.

"When I started rock hounding, they thought I lost my marbles," Ridley said.

That was back in 1983 when a friend said he needed more exercise and told him of an old man who had a lease with the BLM for mining rocks.

"So, he brings me out here and nobody's around," Ridley said. "After a couple of trips, we better find out who has this, or we might get shot for claim jumping."

Ridley gets the claim from the B.L.M and convinces his adult son to join him. "So, I told him this isn't a job, it's every little boy's dream to play with equipment and move dirt."

What the Ridleys are looking for is not gold or silver but what's known as Willow Creek Jasper — it's a semi-precious gemstone. Once it's buffed and shined, Willow Creek Jasper is very popular with rock collectors because of its unique colors and patterns.

With a backhoe and excavator, the Ridleys pound and smash what's known as "eggs" — eggs that Ridley says were pushed up through time in a volcanic chimney. Ridley says maybe one out of ten eggs you'll get the Jasper. The mine just closed for the season and now Larry will schedule road trips to rock and minerals shows to help pay for his hobby, turned job.

Now in his 80's, Larry Ridley says he'll keep coming to this spot in the Eagle Foothills until he can't. Ridley's collection will be on full display in February at the Idaho Gem and Mineral Show at Expo Idaho.