Summer in Hot Springs Arkansas and the Crater of Diamonds State Park

My parents and grandparents bought some land in Hot Springs, Arkansas when I was younger. We decided to go up there and stay for a week during the summer when I was ten years old. While there were lots of activities to do, we chose to go to an actual bath house right in Hot Springs. I remember spending the afternoon with my Father and Grandfather. We were told that we should look for quartz crystal on our land by one of the locals. So we found a few empty boxes and headed out for our properties.

We actually got lucky on one of our properties and were able to dig up an entire bankers box full of crystal. I had no idea they come out of the ground so dirty. We were able to get a chemical of some type that you could boil the crystals in and they would clear up. They were beautiful! On the other property, my Grandmother found a treasure that she thought was worth more than crystal. Several huge blackberry bushes were growing wild and were covered with thousands of blackberries. I remember she spent the whole day picking them.

On the way back home to Texas, we decided to stop at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. We went in and found one of the few trees to sit under for some shade. We sat all day and mined for diamonds. We didn't have any luck, although my dad did find a piece of Jasper. I remember the guy at the identification counter having to try will all his might to break it. What a great summer memory.