ETSI, p. 55

John C. Fremont, October 5, 1843

"In about nine miles the road brought us to a group of smoking hot springs, with a temperature of 164 [degrees]. There were a few helianthi in bloom, with some other low plants, and the place was green round about; the ground warm, and the air pleasant, with a summer atmosphere that was very grateful in a day of high and cold searching wind. The rocks were covered with a white and red incrustation; and the water has on the tongue the same unpleasant effect as that of the Basin spring on Bear river. They form several branches, and bubble up with force enough to raise the small pebbles several inches.

"These springs are near the foot of the ridge, (a dark and rugged looking mountain,) in which some of the nearer rocks have a reddish appearance, and probably consist of a reddish-brown trap, fragments of which were scattered along the road after leaving the spring."

Ruins of a bathhouse at base of Teapot Dome, 1999. North Alternate and Oregon Trail come together on the horizon.

Reverend Edward Evans Parrish, 1844

"Started at seven o'clock and nooned on the branch of the Hot or Boiling Spring. This spring is one of the curiosities of nature. The water boils out of the ground in five or more places boiling hot and makes a branch large enough to run an overshot mill. Camped on a small branch four miles west of the Hot Spring [Rattlesnake Creek]."

A Guide to the Oregon Trail is Southwest Idaho. BLM Cultural Resource Information Series #2, p. 49.

James Field, August 16, 1845

"About five miles from our camp we passed a hot spring near the foot of the same ridge, the water of which was nearly at a boiling temperature, so that one could not hold his finger in it, and a dog carelessly stepping across it put one foot in and ran off yelping and whining noisily."

Bathhouse ruins frame Teapot Dome, 1999

Directions: Exit off of I-84 at second Mountain Home exit and travel north on Hwy 20

Must See: Historic highway marker on west side of Hwy 20. (Bathouse is fenced off on private land.)

Current Observations/Journal Entry:

"This site was at the junction of the Rocky Bar Road and the Oregon Trail route. The stage stop moved to another location after a disagreement. When the railroad came through, Rattlesnake Station essentially disappeared and Mountain Home became the key location. As I study the highway sign and the terrain, trying to capture the site with a historical perspective, I am shocked back into the present by the sound of an 18-wheeler roaring past, its tailwind kicking up dust. Sage, rock, and lichens surround us. There is a haze in the air, on the horizon—range fire? Teapot Dome is visible to the east." It looks more like a turtle to me!