***I am FINALLY getting back to my blog game after 9 crazy months off. This is picking up on the tail end of our trip we took in early March of 2020…BCV (before corona virus) 😉 ***

Our departure from Lake Catherine Sunday morning was delayed about 30 minutes when one of the support poles for the canopy popped lose during take down. Thanks to Handy Hubby for a stashed tool kit and Ashlyn’s 10 yr old strength, we got it repaired and salvaged our last night of camping!

On our way back to Texas, we stopped at Crater of Diamonds State Park outside of Murfreesboro, AR. I had read about numerous places throughout Arkansas where you could “mine” for your own gemstones and stumbled across this state park that touted the ability to find diamonds. As the result of a 95 million year old volcanic pipe, lamproite diamonds were deposited and can now be found on the surface of a 37.5 acre frequently plowed field. AND, apparently, is the world’s only public access mining site! We were excited!

But as it turns out, we aren’t built to be diamond miners. Haha! It was probably the mixture of ill preparedness and too high of expectations that set us up for failure. But after approximately 20 minutes of stabbing the hard black gumbo soil with spades a gentleman was kind enough to pass off to us as we were coming and they were going, the boys decided dirt clod throwing was more fun and Sally wanted a walk. As we walked, I noticed parties with SIGNIFICANT mining equipment that appeared to be camped out for the long haul. And after an hour, on our way out, I found out their reason! There is a finders board posted and it seems, a genuine diamond is only found about once a month and usually 2-3mm in size. Lol! And by the crowd we saw in just 1 hour in one day, the mining suddenly seemed more a feat of luck than work. 😉

After a picnic lunch, we loaded back up and made our way back into the great state of Texas via the city of Texarkana.

Another hour on the road and we arrived at Atlanta State Park for our final night of the trip. We had an awesome pull through site surrounded by towering pines with a short walk down a trail through the woods to the bathhouse. The sites were significantly spaced out and even though the park was filling up by the minute with folks getting their spring break started, it was incredibly quiet and you could hear the trees creaking in the breeze. What a peaceful end to our camping adventure!

Once the task of setting up camp and enjoying a simple hot dog dinner was through, we drove to the other end of the park and onto the point that pokes out into Wright Patman Lake to enjoy the sunset. The reservoir is completely surrounded by parks for lake access, so the shoreline is entirely natural and not a single residence to be seen. Again, SO peaceful!

The next morning, after a lovely night’s rest, we broke down camp and found a brief, interesting trail to hit before we headed home. The trail was actually an over one hundred year old road that led to the ferry crossing at the Sulphur River before it was dammed to create the reservoir. The kids got a kick out of it and thought it was crazy that it just came to an end at the lake’s edge, technically continuing under the surface.

Satisfied with our sight seeing, we hitched up to Wanda, headed out and made it to Tyler in time to have lunch with Nathan!

What an amazing time we had! I came off this trip all gung-ho to plan the next one! Go farther! Longer! But, within 4 days of our return, corona virus began it’s global attack and everything went into lock down. Typing this post 9 months after ALL of what 2020 ended up having in store for us is bittersweet. I am SO grateful we had that trip just in the knick of time. I know so many that had to cancel so much. We also haven’t gone anywhere with Wanda since this trip and looking through the pictures makes me miss her and what she enables us to do so much. Looking forward to that again. And soon.

-Lindsay