Well, Carrie and I poured over the maps today once again. NOAA hasn't been
doing a good job of forecasting there severe weather. The severe weather bubble was centered over
Texarkana, AR. I didn't think we'd get anything, but there was the slight
chance of storms firing up again. So we headed into Arkansas.
Diggin' for Diamonds
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First we went to Crater of Diamonds State Park. Ummm, yeah...its a big field
where you go out an dig and get dirty looking for tiny diamonds. I'm a rock hound, so I've been wanting to check it out. Didn't do much for me, but
I do have a bucket to examine when I get home. Will I visit again? Ya
know...it would be great for kids. It would get them out and muddy/dirty
searching for rocks, using tools, learning science and then afterwards they
could go back to camp and change into their swimsuit. They have an awesome
kids pool. Complete with waterslide and playground equipment! Too cool. |
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on Diamond Crater with more images |
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NOAA is still putting this area in the severe weather potential so we are
going to continue to stay around here. After checking the weather we hit a rock shop. I love rocks..hehe...Got something to put in
Andrew's and my new apartment we plan to get in the Fall.
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We then drove to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Went to the museum and then walked
up and down Central. It's like a fancy Strand, but with lots of alcohol.
Many bars in many locations. We found a small Mexican place for a nice meal.
Until that point we had had snacks all day. I sit here now with the 'to go'
ice tea they gave me. :) |
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Then we went to the tower. This was my favorite part of the day. We stayed
up there for an hour and watched the sunset in a myriad of reds and oranges
as little lights came on across the hilly landscape twinkling like little
stars as we looked down on them. For more images and more details of the
Tower visit Hot
Springs Tower Page.
We saw storm clouds try to power up, but they quickly fell apart. So the
severe weather risk for this area ended with clear skies all day and partly
cloudy in the evening. Then as we left the tower we were treated to a tiny lightshow as the road
was dotted with fireflies all the way down to Hwy7 making it magical.
I talked briefly to Andrew, who was at work today. It was good...I was
pretty tired and it perked me up a bit. :)
On TV I see a nice cell that popped up and crossed into Austin, Tx. Now that
cell would have been good to chase, but I sure didn't wanna do the drive.
We just got out of work too late this year. I may have to take off one of
these years to chase when the storm chasing is at its peak.
Tomorrow we may do some heavy driving again to go to a cave. I'm not sure,
we will see how we feel tomorrow. We should start heading back soon...Carrie
has a class Monday and I'm tired and eager to see Andrew. :)
