Day 1: Austin to Murfreesboro, AK

●●● The Drive
Total miles:  453
Hours Driving: 7 hours
State Count: 2 - Texas and Arkansas

Early Friday morning, we packed up the car with three weeks worth of camping gear and began our journey toward Virginia.  The car was full, with hardly an inch to spare... but we managed to fit everything we needed!

I had spent months planning this trip, picking out each and every stop... now I would find out how well I did!


However, before we even left Austin, we made our first stop!  

There was a first-to-find geocache along Mopac, and we decided to stop and get it before we were on our way. 

As it turned out, we were not the first, but the second... but it still was a really fun way to start our trip!  

And the first of many geocaches along the way!

The drive went fairly smoothly, though we did get our one and only police pullover of the entire trip before we left Texas (failure to slow down 20 mph when passing a roadside assistance vehicle).  Fortunately, I was given only a warning and not a ticket!

We passed from Texas into Arkansas in the early afternoon, making far better time than I expected.

We made our first "Welcome to ..." rest stop and geocache find! Bringing the total state count to: TWO!

●●● Crater of Diamonds State Park

Due to scheduling, we were travelling during K's birthday.  As compensation for not having the typical birthday party, he got to choose where he wanted to spend his birthday.  

He decided he wanted to dig for diamonds in the only public diamond mining field in the world!  So, our first stop on the road trip was to visit Crater of Diamonds State park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas!!  We arrived in Murfreesboro, AK around 4pm and quickly found the state park.  

Of all the parks we visited, Crater of Diamonds was probably the most expensive (but hey - you could find a diamond!!)  There was an entrance fee, and then a rental fee for all of the mining gear.  But, if you purchased an entrance pass at 6pm, you can use the pass for the evening and also for the following day.  

So, after arriving around 4pm, we took some time to set up camp for the night and then headed to the main entrance at 6pm.  

We purchased our entrance pass, rented our gear, and headed out to find diamonds.... or not.

To visualize Crater of Diamonds, imagine a huge dirt field, acres wide... 

Then add some hundred degree heat and very little shade!  

It turns out, hitting the place at 6pm in the evening was a good way to do it!

We walked around the rows, looking for anything glittering; we dug and washed and rinsed.

We searched the two hours before closing on Friday night and then for a few hours again on Saturday morning. 

The park provides some helpful guidance on how to find diamonds. And then after you finish, you can bring anything you think might be valuable to the desk.  They help to identify all of your finds.  

While we never did find any diamonds, we did find a lot of quartz, some glass, and some other random stones! Although we were unsuccessful in our quest for carots, we did have a fun time looking :o)

For our first night camping, this evening was our hottest of the whole trip. It was one of those sweltering nights where you just laid in your sweat, and waited for the hours to pass.   But, the hours did pass, and in the wee hours in the morning it cooled off enough for us to catch some zzzzs.