Fall at the Crater and “Ask an Interpreter”
By Margi Jenks
As I walked through the park to work at the DDC this morning the signs of Fall were everywhere. Last Saturday we all “fell” off of Daylight Savings time, so it was a little later in terms of the sun this morning. It was high enough in the sky to light the tops of the trees and make the Fall foliage glow. Another sign of Fall is the smell in the morning as I walk out my front door—a sort of ripe, plumy smell coming from the leaves that have recently fallen. But, the most noticeable change is how quiet the woods have become. In the spring the mornings are filled with birdsong. In the summer the evenings are raucous with crickets, katydids, and frogs. But, in the Fall the woods are quiet as the birds migrate south and the frogs and insects get ready to hibernate.
Life on the mine search area is also slowing down. It would usually be a little more busy, but the rains of October were amazing this year. Here at the Park for October we measured 15.6 inches of rain. Some weather forecasters are talking about a long, cool, and damp winter, but all of us who work here are already tired of the mud and rain. Our present hours of business for the Diamond Discovery Center are from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. However, until December 1st the mine search area is open until 6:00 PM for our visitors to search without our rental equipment. So, if you are thinking about visiting us on these hopefully bright sunny days of November, be sure that you throw in an extra pair of shoes and socks. The search area takes 3 or 4 days to dry to the point that boots are no longer a necessity.
Finally, this Fall the Park Interpreters have been offering a new program called “Ask An Interpreter”. One or two times a day we head out for the sluicing wash pavilions to answer questions, look at the rocks that have been found, and generally offer a little one-on-one diamond search advice. It occurred to me that I can include this e-newsletter in this program. So, have you ever wondered about some of the history of the commercial mining ventures back in the 20’s, or the back stories of our most recent finds which didn’t make it into the news articles , or even why those diamonds are so darn elusive? E-mail your questions to me at margaret.jenks@arkansas.gov, and I will be happy to dig up and report the answers in this newsletter.
Search area last plowed: October 21, 2009, Total diamonds so far in 2009 - 827
Diamond finds for October 26th to November 1st (100 pts. = 1 carat):
October 29 - David Hinzie, White Bear Lake, MN, 51 pt. yellow; Jayne Beezley, Amarillo, TX, 33 pt. white
October 30 - David Hinzie, White Bear Lake, MN, 66 pt. yellow