Well, it's not quite summer yet, but we decided it was as good a time as any for a weekend adventure. We went camping and treasure hunting in Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. Our party included Cass, Makaela, Aaron, Jennifer, Angela and us-Andi and Jeff. Between the 7 of us we drove up to Arkansas in three Honda Elements. Being a geek at heart, I couldn't resist bringing out the Periodic Table of Elements so we could drive up in our "Periodic Table of Honda Elements." Angela and I rode in Zn (Zinc), Aaron and Jennifer in Ti (Titanium) and Cass, Jeff and Makaela in Kr (Krypton). We marked atomic number, weight, abbreviation and name on our back windows in car chalk.
We camped just outside of the diamond mine. In the wee morning hours a horrible thunderstorm came through and it was like trying to sleep in a can of marbles with all the booms and crashing rain. In the morning we ate breakfast at the cheap, friendly Campbell Family Cafe. Then it was off to the Diamond Mine to search for some bling.
The mine is just a big plowed field dotted with muddy holes. Mud was plentiful and diamonds scarce but it was still fun looking. Makaela came with me and lost a shoe in the mud. As I was retrieving it, I got stuck. I freed myself and re-shod the kid who promptly lost the other shoe. Right about that time, Aaron and Jennifer came over to see why we were laughing and rolling in the mud. Aaron picked up Makaela while I tried to get the shoe out of the mud. Finally I had to stick my hands under it and pull. We decided Makaela was better off without her shoes and socks. The other diamond mining children were roaming the field in barefoot packs, wallowing happily in the mud. It was a holiday from cleanliness.
Saturday night we tried for several hours to start a fire with the dry wood we bought from the park before finally getting the fire going with the rained on wood we'd bought in town. We roasted hot dogs, smores and played a few rounds of Catchphrase.
None of us found any diamonds, but we did have fun.
