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!

Dig Dug

The 30th Annual World Championship Quartz Crystal Dig in Mount Ida, Arkansas was this weekend.  Diggers come from all over the country to compete to see who can dig up the best quartz crystal point or cluster.  A few years back we shot a portion of our documentary "RockHounds: The Movie" there and this year Devin was one of the guest speakers!

Saturday morning was the Kids' Dig and tons of kids signed up to dig in the dirt to try to discover crystal treasures, have fun and just get dirty.  There's also the possibility that they might learn something...but don't tell them that.

              

Afterward Bill Prior from the Arkansas Geological Survey and Devin spoke to the kids about rocks, science and other fun stuff and the winners of the Kids' Dig were awarded their tophies.

This future scientist won Best Quartz Cluster (3rd grade and under category).  The World Championship Quartz Crystal Dig is a yearly event so if you missed it this year start planning now for next year.  See you at the dig!