Going to crater of diamonds state park

[whitewave]

Since the dad/daughter duo found the diamond in the last week or so, I discovered the crater is only a few hours from me!

I have a girls trip planned in a few days. Of course it would be nice to find a fancy yellow diamond (or any diamond or gem!), but we are going for the point of unplugging and getting away from all the bad news and this stupid election. I also want to check out the RV campground since I hear its one of the nicest in the country.

Has anyone been? I read a thread about it from 2006 and the one from the poster who found the 3 ct fancy yellow.

Wish us luck! I'll let you all know next week about it.

 

[denverappraiser]

The crater is a wonderful experience and this is a terrific time to go. It gets pretty hot in the summer. Good luck on your hunt.

 

[tyty333]

Good luck!!! Have fun!!!

Dont forget to report back and your findings!

 

[DAF]

I've read that the average carat weight of a diamond found there is .25. Here's wishing you luck in finding one that is at least 10 times bigger!

 

[daintyG]

It's a great time of year to go! I just checked the weather and it's 77 there now. Tomorrow the high will be 88.

I live a couple of hours from the park, also, and have made about 4 trips. If you have shovels and 5 gallon buckets at home, bring them with you unless you'd rather pay to rent theirs (their shovels are little). They also rent out the sifting screens. I didn't think much about this, but you may want to consider packing a lunch, although they have a restaurant at the park, too. Consider bringing a change of clothes and shoes and wet wipes in case you have plans for after you leave the park.

One of my favorite parts is the visitor's center (where you pay to get in) and it has a slideshow on a big TV showing the Famous Finds. It tells when and where the diamond was found. I also like the Strawn-Wagner diamond they have on display nearby. I can literally see the arrows in the diamond--so cool! Last time I went, I wished that I had paid more attention to the Famous Finds slideshow BEFORE I went out looking in the fields because it seems that there is a pattern of where the diamonds were found. Mostly in drainage ditches. Many were found by surface searching. I cannot remember which cardinal direction, but when you're walking up to the field, take an immediate left by that drain. That seems to be where more of the Famous Finds were from.

Have a great time tomorrow!

 

[whitewave]

Thanks, DA. One of the ladies I am going with is a hospice worker, so we always try to find low key, calming, symbolic activities to do to refresh her mind. Fresh air, sunshine and the earth with its mysteries sound really good to us right now.

TYTY! I surely will report back, but it might not be till next monday.

I'm so exicted about this! I have all of my gardening supplies, knee mat, garden claw, beach wagon, umbrellas, etc. We almost didn't get a motel room (which would have been ok-- would have made it one long day).

 

[whitewave]

DAF, I hear people find a lot of quartz and jasper. That's fine with me.

DG, a cool front is coming through so it is supposed to be i think mid 70s for a high. Thanks for your list-- I think we are going to bring a picnic lunch and go straight to the crater and then check in to the motel later. I'm also going to bring advil--i'm sure I'll be sore!!

Yes, I cannot wait to see a 0/0/0 diamond!

And I love how you can brings dogs!! Mine have short snouts, so they can't go, but I'll love to see dogs out there!


I also want to scope it out to bring my teens. We have a German exchange student in the group, and I think it would be fantastic to bring him there-- only place in the world where the public can search for diamonds!

 

[whitewave]

It's a great time of year to go! I just checked the weather and it's 77 there now. Tomorrow the high will be 88.

I live a couple of hours from the park, also, and have made about 4 trips. If you have shovels and 5 gallon buckets at home, bring them with you unless you'd rather pay to rent theirs (their shovels are little). They also rent out the sifting screens. I didn't think much about this, but you may want to consider packing a lunch, although they have a restaurant at the park, too. Consider bringing a change of clothes and shoes and wet wipes in case you have plans for after you leave the park.

One of my favorite parts is the visitor's center (where you pay to get in) and it has a slideshow on a big TV showing the Famous Finds. It tells when and where the diamond was found. I also like the Strawn-Wagner diamond they have on display nearby. I can literally see the arrows in the diamond--so cool! Last time I went, I wished that I had paid more attention to the Famous Finds slideshow BEFORE I went out looking in the fields because it seems that there is a pattern of where the diamonds were found. Mostly in drainage ditches. Many were found by surface searching. I cannot remember which cardinal direction, but when you're walking up to the field, take an immediate left by that drain. That seems to be where more of the Famous Finds were from.

Have a great time tomorrow!

I've been gathering my things; what is the 5 gallon bucket for? Thanks.

 

[daintyG]

It's a great time of year to go! I just checked the weather and it's 77 there now. Tomorrow the high will be 88.

I live a couple of hours from the park, also, and have made about 4 trips. If you have shovels and 5 gallon buckets at home, bring them with you unless you'd rather pay to rent theirs (their shovels are little). They also rent out the sifting screens. I didn't think much about this, but you may want to consider packing a lunch, although they have a restaurant at the park, too. Consider bringing a change of clothes and shoes and wet wipes in case you have plans for after you leave the park.

One of my favorite parts is the visitor's center (where you pay to get in) and it has a slideshow on a big TV showing the Famous Finds. It tells when and where the diamond was found. I also like the Strawn-Wagner diamond they have on display nearby. I can literally see the arrows in the diamond--so cool! Last time I went, I wished that I had paid more attention to the Famous Finds slideshow BEFORE I went out looking in the fields because it seems that there is a pattern of where the diamonds were found. Mostly in drainage ditches. Many were found by surface searching. I cannot remember which cardinal direction, but when you're walking up to the field, take an immediate left by that drain. That seems to be where more of the Famous Finds were from.

Have a great time tomorrow!

I've been gathering my things; what is the 5 gallon bucket for? Thanks.

If you want to wet sift the dirt, you'll have to dig up the dirt you want to sift, and then carry it to the sifting area (it's a little pavillion with troughs of water). Depending on where you choose to work, you'll have to walk up to a few hundred yards to get the dirt into the wet sifting area.

Also, you are also allowed to take some of the dirt home with you to sift through later. Lol. Each person is allowed to take home a bucket-full if they wish.

 

[whitewave]

Ah, gotcha, thanks.

 

[Rockinruby]

Sounds great! Have fun and let us know what you find!

 

[whitewave]

I will.

The best time to go is the first day after a hard rain. In looking from
September until now, it's hardly rained at all there! So I expect the ground to be hard and perhaps it will be dusty. I bought a big mask because I have asthma.

I'm not expecting much from this trip, but I hope this will be the first trip of many.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

Do come back and let us know how it went!

 

[VRBeauty]

Do come back and let us know how it went!

Ditto! Crater of the Diamonds State Park is on my bucket list - it would be sort of a PS pilgrimage, I suppose. Please do report back!

 

[whitewave]

We have had a slight change of plans-- we are going sat/sun instead of Wed/thurs.

I want to post some things here since I read the archive posts about crater of diamonds. I think i have read everything that exists on the internet on how to search for diamonds

Some people say dig a 2-4 foot hole to get to the gravel level because that is where the diaminds are.

Some people say don't dig a hole because that is a waste of time and effort just scrape off the top 2-4 inches of the surface.

75% of diamonds are found wet sifting. However, I have not found what percentage wet sift, and I suspect its 75%. (Like my state lottery, 50% of tickets are quick pick and 50% are chosen numbers and the winning statistics match that exactly).

10% of diamonds are found by surface searching.

15% of diamonds are found dry sifting.

I have read most pros dry sift. I have read most pros wet sift.

Apparently, plenty of people find diamonds at a later date when going through the gravel they took home.

Wet sifting is hard work and takes a lot of time, so it is recommended to only do that if you have at least 2 hours. Also, if you want to dry sift, you obviously can't dry sift in wet mud (though I did see a you tube video of a guy doing that). Dry sifting should be done before you decide to wet sift because once the box and screens get wet, dry sifting is unproductive.

There are not many motels around, but there is an old west town style place, a place with teepees on the river and some 70s style strip motels. Last night, I discovered there are a few homesto rent in the area. Lodging is around 69-100, 125 and 250-275 for a camp on the river.

When looking for diamonds, find the gravel. They say to look in washed out areas where water has flowed, but that wherever you find gravel, stop and look.

I'll post more things when I get back.

 

[whitewave]

We had a very good time! The crater has good energy; digging and sifting were both very enjoyable and my cares floated away. The experienced diggers told me to dry sift through the sift set (rented at the park) and then take home a 5 gallon bucket of oar home each day to wet sift later. This way, you get more buckets of material, which gives you a better chance of getting a diamond. (The park allows you to take home one five gallon bucket of sifted dirt home a day per person).

Now that I am home, I am washing the material and getting the volcanic dirt separated from the gravel. Since this is my first time and I am amazed at the different rocks, I am baking the gravel in the oven at 200 degrees to dry it (everything looks glossy when wet).

So did I find a diamond? I don't know yet! The odds are I did not find a diamond, but I have a lot of material to go through.

I'll definitely go back! One note: the last two hours we passed no gas stations or anywhere to stop and use the bathroom, so if you go... keep that in mind.

 

[kenny]

What if the diamond is too large to fit in the 5-gallon bucket?

 

[whitewave]

Right!

There is miner lore that states the diamonds people find are chips off the "mother diamond"....

 

[whitewave]

I found no diamonds, but a lady I'm on an internet group with found this one yesterday (her name and the info will be on the website, so I think its ok to post it here)