I love Arkansas. Let me just say that right out. 🙂 The scenic views, the diamond mine, the crystal mines. Those are just few of the reasons why.
Today though, I would like to share about the fun I had in digging crystals there. Yes, I literally dug crystals out of the ground. Was it tiring? Yes! Respect goes out to our manual laborers. Because this wasn’t easy.
But I had fun. 🙂 Seriously!
The hubby and I drove to Sweet Surrender Mine in Story, Arkansas as part of our vacation last April. The trip going there was very pretty, passing through a lot of picturesque sights.
DRIVE BY PHOTOS:
It was raining when we started the trip from Murfreesboro. Hence the overcast and foggy background on the pictures I took. Despite such though, the place still looked so gorgeous with its quaint little towns, quiet and empty roads, green trees , lakes and rivers.
At Sweet Surrender Mine:
The digging fee is only $20.00 but you can bring whatever you find. 🙂 So you need to come prepared:
1. Wear comfortable clothes. Something that you would not mind getting ruined.
2. Bring tools.
3. Bring food. This is not a park. This is a real mine. So there’s no restaurant there.
With that said, let me show you how fun it was. 🙂
We bought chicken fingers , sandwich , soft drinks and water in town. I can’t work when I’m hungry. haha
I found a big one!
It wasn’t easy, mind you. They look the same as the big rocks there. So you need to listen when the in-charge speaks during the orientation.
Big crystals sticking out…. Remember, whatever you find is yours. 🙂
And this is how they look like, when the rocks got cleaned up!
Beautiful right? 🙂
Okay, like all gems, there is a process on how to clean them up. Initially, we soaked the rocks in clean water. After a day or two, we transferred them in a bucket of muriatic acid as instructed by the in-charge at the mine. Note – do this only if you want to have clear crystals. If you want to keep the yellow or rustic color, don’t use the acid.
So where is Sweet Surrender Crystal Mine? This is located in the beautiful Quachita Mountains, north of Mt. Ida. This area is known for its quartz crystals. And is supposedly, the Quartz Crystals Capital of the World.
You may contact the owners through their Facebook page for a booking. They are open everyday, provided that the weather is good, of course. From 9:30am to 4pm. For more details, check their website – http://www.sweetsurrendercrystals.com/
Here’s the google direction. Note – we came from Murfreesboro , Arkansas. Because we went digging for diamonds too. But that’s for another story. 🙂
I hope you enjoy this activity as much as I did. And yes, include Arkansas in your travel destination. You won’t regret it! 🙂
Actually, I want to go back there again. To get more crystals! ha ha
Lea C. Walker
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