Nobody can accuse me of not having any hobbies… I have too many to count. Recently, I added rockhounding to my list. I research and learn, and stare at the ground everywhere I walk. I discovered that a geode is the Iowa state rock; and Keokuk, Iowa, is the geode capital. So, of course, I needed to go geode hunting.
I never shy away from digging in the dirt, and I was even more excited to purchase a pickaxe! Armed with my gloves, tools, and a bucket, I headed for Vicker’s Geodes in Hamilton, IL. (Just across the river from Keokuk.) I chose this place because I didn’t want to risk wandering onto private land. At Vickers, you can mine a bucket of geodes for a $25 entry free to the property.
My good friend, Joni Lindle, heard about my adventure, and decided it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. How often do you get to go geode hunting? Armed with a few YouTube videos and dressed in our grubby shoes and baseball caps, we grabbed coffees for the road and headed south.
Vicker’s Geodes is a property with geode-finding options. There’s a shale wall to carve into, a creek to explore the shoreline, and piles of freshly overturned dirt to dig through. We called the owner, a very pleasant gentleman, and he gave us recommendations as to where to dig. We dropped our money in a lock box, and grabbed our tools.
We headed up the hill. After swinging a pickaxe at stone for ten minutes, I quickly lost a layer of clothes and my arm was feeling the strain. Hmmm. We would chip away and uncover the edge of a geode, but the other end was wedged into the shale. We moved to the dirt piles and walked the creek. Easier digging, and more enjoyable.
A geode is typically round or round-ish and has a smooth contour with lumps (like cauliflower.) The rock is lighter than expected because of a center cavity and it will sound hollow if you knock on it with your tool. If you’re lucky, you can shake it and hear loose crystals inside.
We collected a lot of rocks, but were never sure if it was a geode until we broke it open. Incidentally, there are a LOT of smooth, cauliflowery rocks. When we finally saw the inside of an actual geode, one we had mined ourselves, it was a glorious moment!
We wandered down the banks of the creek and decided we’d bring boots next time. Cracking open a geode is an experience. We tried many different methods, but decided on the smash and shatter method.
After getting my bucket of rocks home, I decided to break a few more open. At least half of them were nothing but smooth round limestone and solid all the way through! Oh well. I discovered how to clean up the geodes to remove the dirt, iron, and calcite deposits by soaking them in a bucket of Iron Out and water.
My geodes shine!
Joni and I didn’t always know what we were doing, but we had a great day. I highly recommend geode hunting to soak up some fresh air and to swing a pickaxe. Next stop – the Great Lakes for agate hunting.
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