We left off the last episode with our wandering hero and
his fuzzy sidekick "sleeping" in a car (because, really, how do you
sleep with a cat climbing all over creation?!?). And what happened? I
apparently did not set the alarm. Of all days it could happen, this was
probably the best since I had intended to spend a couple hours digging for
diamonds. Alas, instead I had to spend about 45 minutes as well as do a hike to hide a letterbox. So my schedule for the day was really shot before it even got
started.
Digging for diamonds is interesting; you pay your $8 for
the day and can come and go as much as you want from 8-5. You can look, dig,
dry sift or wet sift depending on your interest. Each "better" type
takes more equipment and takes more time but is also more likely to produce
results. I was lazy and just opted for the "look but also dig with my
trowel since I have one" option. The cat supervised. The instructions are
look for shiny things and then feel free to take them to the ranger on the way
out and they will let you know what you have. They actually have about 1.5
diamonds found per day on average. Most are about the size of match heads.
Alas, no luck for me so sorry Thao, no engagement ring for you since not finding
a diamond is obviously a sign. :) Though in all honesty, I really would like to
go back and spend a half a day, in the cooler weather, looking. So I have put
Hot Springs and Crater of Diamonds on my "to return" list, meaning I
guess I will be taking another trip to Arkansas one day.
Next I drove down through Texarkana Arkansas/Texas and
over to Paris to do a little letterboxing. The temperature was about 98 degrees
and no breeze. Yet while in Paris, it was almost black at about 430pm and it
was VERY windy, but pretty. Based on the look of things, I was right at the
edge of a storm. It was black to the left and clear to the right. The
temperature dropped about 35 degrees in 15 minutes and it rained lightly but
with the 70 mph wind, it stung (what? you thought I was not still outside
letterboxing?!?). The weird thing is that the National Weather Service warning
kept going off on the radio but then they would not say anything. It happened
probably 6 different times. And of course about an hour later it was clear and
lovely out, though much cooler still.
Start:
Stop: Denison, Texas
~250 Miles Driven
~4.8 Miles Walked
7 Letterboxes Found
7 Letterboxes Found
4 Letterboxes Not Found
2 Letterboxes Planted
Pictures will be posted on Facebook in this album (and the link will be included in all future posts for this trip):
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