Latest Shoot: Crater of Diamonds

It was time to head east for our latest couple of shoots.  It's been awhile since we've shot footage in Arkansas.  We covered quartz crystal digging in Mount Ida for "RockHounds: The Movie" and have stopped by the Natural State to get some shots here and there in from time to time.  But now was the chance to "dig in" and get something we've had on our "Want List" for awhile now.

Crater of Diamonds is one of the most popular state parks in Arkansas.  Visitors can dig for actual diamonds and keep what they find.  According to the park, they average about 2 diamond finds per day.  Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

Since many people might not have any diamond mining experience, the park offers demonstrations.  Park Interpreter Waymon Cox not only gave us a great interview, he let us shoot footage of him doing one of the demos.  The process is easy enough that first time visitors should be able to get it fairly quickly and then get on with the business of digging for diamonds.

We also interviewed park regular Dave Rhodes about his experiences digging.  Over four years of digging, he's found 33 diamonds although he said it took him about nine months to find his first one.  He gave us some great tips for digging and took us through the process.

Even though we didn't find any diamonds that day, Dave brought some of the specimens he had found earlier at the park.  So luckily we didn't have to leave without actual diamond footage. 

We got a ton of great shots out there so be on the lookout for it in upcoming EveryDay Earth missions!