Crater of the Diamonds State Park, AR
The Crater of the Diamonds State Park (COD) has been on my bucket list for a long time, even before we moved to Texas. Spring Break 2026, meant no grandkids duties so we decided to pull the camper down for the week of digging in the dirt.
Day 1 Sunday, we drove half way to our planned stop in Memphis, TN. We were about 1 hour out when the truck blew the front passenger tire. Thank goodness for tire pressure monitoring system. I was able to get it stopped and, on the shoulder, safely. Changing the tire was an adventure. Semis going by at 75 was shaking the entire truck and camper. Sharon called the non-emergency number and a sheriff came out and blocked a lane to move people over. Hardest part was getting the spare tire down from under the truck. Got the tire changed. The entire ordeal took about an hour. Worse part was left the key-fob on the bumper when I drove off. DUH! Got to @Tom Sawyer RV campground on the bank of the mighty Mississippi River. Pretty cool to watch the tug boats moving barges up and down the river. Our plans were to head to downtown Memphis to Beal Street for some blues and BBQ. Instead, I was took the tire to a 24 hour tire repair shop and got it back on the truck and the spare put away.
Day 2 Monday, we drove the remaining distance to Murfreesboro RV Park. It was a really nice little campground, 15 full hookup campsites. It was really clean and the staff was very friendly. At the COD you can rent screens to wash the dirt to find diamonds. This RV Park loans you the wagon, buckets, shovels, and screens for free as long as you bring them back. The campsite was only $30 a night and they gave us more than that in equipment rental. Pretty much camped for free along my line of thought.
Day 3 Tuesday, was at COD when they opened at 8:00. Was like 2 people behind Jack Pearadin. Jack is the guy that found the Million dollar 6.03 carat diamond in February this year. Jack and one of his friends preceded to dig a huge deep hole, near where he found his big one. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do that alone. So, I stuck with my plan to find smaller pockets of colored gravel and dig and scape up that constate. I filled 3 buckets and headed to the wash plant. Day 1, I washed 13 buckets of gravel to get 1 bucket of centers and another bucket of pretty much the rest of the gravel for the grands to play in. That evening I had Sarah, the camp host watch me center gravel and she gave me a few more tips to get better centers. 13 buckets.
Day 4 Wednesday, back at COD. This time skipped the buckets and just filled the wagon. Was washing gravel next to @Joe Ziezuil who was washing all the gravel that he and Jack was pulling out of their huge deep hole. He had found 1 diamond before on his own. I asked him what I was doing wrong and he gave me the final piece of the puzzle. Thumbs up and off the screen when you are vibrating the gravel back down after making the loaf. Bingo, I was finally throwing “centers” like on YouTube. I would let one center dry a little while I was washing the next one. Then a quick look, and put the center in the Orange Home Depot bucks and the gravel around the center, or what I call a heavy center in the Green Menards buckets. You are allowed to take out 1 five gallon bucket per person per day. So, my plan was to bring home 8 buckets of concentrated gravel. 15 Buckets total.
Day 5 Thursday, my 66th birthday. Sharon wanted to go to one of the crystal mines in the area. We went to @Wegner Crystal Mines in Ida AR. They have several different levels of digs. $6, you can dig all day in their Tailings pile, $19 to be taken up to the active mining area for 2 hours or $57 all day at mine site. We went for the 2-hour dig. Once up there I went right to the 15-foot wall they were working with the excavator. I could see large clumps crystal. I used my rock chisel and hammer trying to get it loose for the first hour. NO go, another younger bigger guy took over and he worked it for a good 30-40 minutes and it was still there. Sharon was digging and looking around in the tailing and found several nice clumps. My last 40 minutes I joined her and I found a gem quality crystal point that she is going to wrap in a basket wrap for a necklace. Ran back to camper to let the dogs out. There was a single lady struggling to get his camper backed into her spot. I was happy to help. She was pretty frustrated and I ended up in her truck backing her camper in for her. We headed into town for Sharon to have some retail therapy. Afterwards, Sharon took me out to eat for my birthday at the @feed Bin Café. I had the best Chicken fried Chicken I have ever had. We I got back to the campground, Sarah the camp host asked me if I wanted 2 buckets of gravel that a previous camper had left after they realized they didn’t have screen to process at home for helping the lady get her camper all parked. It takes 9-10 buckets of dirt to get 1 bucket of gravel. So, another 18-20 buckets of dirt. I washed and flipped it at the campsite that evening to get another bucket of centers. The 3 guys from Texas who were staying in the camper next to me decided they weren’t going to take their 3 buckets of gravel home either. 20 buckets camp host. 24 buckets neighbors, 44 buckets total, and I didn’t even go to COD that day.
Day 6 Friday, Sharon she decided she had enough playing in the dirt. She dropped me off at 8, and picked me up at 4:00. I had bought a set of screens at Loyjoy Diamond Screens from Cindy. I noticed that Jack was using 24” screens and I was using 12” screens. Cindy let me trade my screens back in for a custom-made set of 16”. The 16” were perfect for me and I could process 66% more gravel. There was a High School football coach that had 10-12 football players out there. They started digging a huge hole and 3 or 4 of them were washing gravel. They could not get a center. So, I coached them. They were all throwing centers pretty fast. They were so thankful that they filled my wagon with dirt from their hole. I was able to wash 18 buckets that day for a “true” full bucket of centers only. I gave all my remaining gravel to 2 families staying in our campground. 18 buckets
So, with all the help from my new friends, Sarah camp host, neighbors for Texas, and the football team, I processed 86 buckets. Depending on how heavy the centers the gifted buckets were. My goal was 60, 15 buckets a day times 4 days. But ended up only at the COD for 3 days.
We both agreed we will go back; it would be more fun with more people the guys could dig and the girls could shop and play.
Day 7 Saturday, drove halfway back and stopped at Hinton RV Park, Sikeston MO. I chose this stopping point for dinner options. We ate at Lamberts (Home of the throwed Rolls) birthday dinner #2.
Day 8 Sunday, uneventful drive home! 1682 miles driven, truck average 11.4 in the wind and hills, $618 in Diesel, $249 in Camp fees, total vacation under $1,000. I don’t count food as we eat wherever we are at.
I am still processing the gravel at home in my garage diamond processing plant. At the time of writing this I have 4 possible, although I am guessing they ate crystal not diamonds. With 3 buckets left to process. Plus, the treasure buckets for the grands to find their stuff when they are over for Easter.
Another bucket list item scratched off. I’m tired, sore and happy!
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Life is good and I am blessed!
Kent
They start lining people up 30 minutes before they let you board the boats. They check your ticket three different times before you finally get to board. One of the other guys I was traveling with did the tour on Sunday and he was telling me all about the plant life and the succulents that grow on Alcatraz. I always thought San Fran is cold and rainy but there were cactus and succulents everywhere. 
Finally time to board and the tours were running three boats that day. I would guess each boat took 300 people at $38.50 a head every 30 minutes. That is a lot of money. Alcatraz is part of the Golden Gate Bridge National Park.
It was a little foggy but could still see the Golden Gate Bridge on the ride out.
One of the guard towers
One of the park rangers giving the do’s and don’ts and where to get your audio tour headsets.
One of the original cannons from the military fort.
Part of the old mission style fort.
The buildings are showing their age from the weather and salt air. It looks like they had started to repaint the cell block and stopped.
The walk up the hill was not bad, but is comprised of a set of switch back ramps. There is a tram for the handicapped and people who could not make the trek. The tour starts in the cell block building.
The tour starts where the new prisoners would begin, in the showers and then to processing to get their clothes and bedding.
The tour is narrated by four previous correctional officers and inmates.
The incoming inmates were then paraded nude down “Broadway.”
The cells were super small. 7 foot by 9 foot by 7foot.
If inmates were on good behavior they got time in the yard. 
Some of the more famous inmates, include Al Capone and the Bird Man.
Cell block D was for the worst of the worse and also contained the six cells where all light could be shutout. “The Hole”
The prison library,
Guns and Keys were never allowed in the cell block. They were kept on either end of the block called the Gun Gallery. In 1946 inmates distracted a guard and over powered him, and one inmate climbed the gun gallery to the top and used a homemade bar spreader made in the local machine shop to spread the bars, and over took the guard with keys and a gun. They held the prison for 3 days. The photo below in from the explosion of hand grenades that were dropped by the army. Several inmates and 3 guards died during these 3 days.
C/D street
There were only 4 visitation booths.
Guard uniform, the inmates called them red ties.
Great view of San Francisco from the warden house end of the island.
The Golden Gate Bridge from the other end of the island.
The lighthouse
The Administration Building
What is left of the Warden’s house. Only 4 different men served as warden at Alcatraz.
I didn’t take any DSLR equipment on this trip . Everything was shot and documented with my new iPhone XS Max. I am impressed with the portrait settings as used in this selfie.
The escape. Two adjoining cells used spoons from the kitchen to tunnel through the concrete.
They have opened up a panel in the wall to show the space in between the cells where the inmates climbed the pipes to get out.
Not all tours every day do the “Sounds of the Slammer”. I was lucky enough to get to be there during this demo.
So my last post before this was almost 1 year ago. I came close to not renewing my blog this year. I made a promise to myself I would try to get back to doing more photography and posting more. So time will tell.