SEDONA AZ TO THE SOUTH RIM! VIA GRAND CANYON RAILWAY-WILLIAMS, AZ-EP44

Tour of the NEW Crater Of Diamonds Search Field with Diamond Miner Ivins...

I have likely posted this video a few months ago.  I am posting it now as a way to do a bit of "homework", should I get a chance to revisit the Crater of Diamonds while on our short vacation.

Liberty Gold and the Yellowstone Hotspot

Orogenic Gold Deposits

By intensely studying these Australian Gold Deposits, we may learn more about Alaskan deposits.

What Will Happen When Earth's North And South Pole Flip?

The Stawell Goldfield

A Day of Exploration Turns Into INSANE Fossil Seashell Hunting & Mudlark...

How to Find and Pan for Diamonds

Though this is about Australia, principles, concepts, and practices can apply to other areas.  For instance, scattered diamonds have been found in the Georgia Blue Ridge Province and rumored to have been found in the Piedmont Province, so it doesn't hurt to be more observant. 

Most of them reported from placer gold mining operations.  But I have seen references of tiny diamonds found in heavy mineral samples collected and analyzed by the Georgia Geologic Survey some years ago (even a few from the Coastal Plain).  The specific reference has been lost/forgotten and the only locality I remember is the Sautee-Nacoochee Valley, south (downstream) from Helen. GA.  A pertinent question might be, were they upstream of the confluence of Dukes Creek and the Chattahoochee River, or not?  (I am certain that Dukes Creek dumps a fair amount of gold into the Chattahoochee River and who knows what else.) 

And in the Ohio River Valley, primarily north of the Ohio River, glacial till has yielded both gold and diamonds, having been "scraped" off the Canadian Shield and brought south.

So, in either spot, showings of "heavy minerals" in your pan or sluice box are ways of telling you that "you are on the right track".

As my wife and I may be visiting Arkansas soon, here is some useful info.

Apprehensively Easing into a Bold New Phase

A couple of Sundays ago, my wife Mary Alice and I picked up this low-mileage 1993 Ford Econoline van.  The goal is to engage in some travel camping at some point in the future.  In the short term, we hope to make a "shakedown" run next month, with a couple of possible planned routes.  Her original dream was to get a larger van to eventually do some semi-back country camping, but recent medical expenditures and health issues necessitated the budgetary downsizing and mobility reconsiderations.

This is my first van ownership experience (or co-ownership) and certainly, my first travel/camping experience, though I did some light camping years ago with a 1976 4x4 Jeep pickup and a 1981 Datsun pickup (both with camper shells.)  I did use the Jeep for living while doing a couple of geology-related summer jobs in NM and TX in 1978 and 1979.

Proposed Plan A includes a short trip to Vicksburg (we are both History Buffs) and some other southern mid-continent sites.  And if the Texas Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) are in bloom, perhaps a foray into western Louisiana or east Texas.  During the 14 years I lived in El Paso (1977-1991), during my numerous traverses between my native Georgia and El Paso, it was never during Bluebonnet season.  

This being the case, seeing and photographing Bluebonnets has been a "Bucket List" item for some time.  The "normal" Bluebonnet season is generally March and April, though the wicked winter weather in Texas may have delayed it a bit, this year.  Another nature photo consideration is that I would like to photograph the small, green flowers of "Spanish Moss" and my chances will be better in Vicksburg, than to the Northeast.   

I don't know if I can talk her into spending a half-day at the Crater of Diamonds or not.  We will just have to see.  She likes taking part in my hobbies, but because of balance issues, she has to use a walker.  The primary question will be if she is willing to self-entertain for half a day, while I play in the "diamond fields".  

Proposed Plan B, early in its planning begins with a visit to Kings Mountain Battlefield Park, south and west of Charlotte, NC.  The first generation of my ancestors settled in the Lincoln Co., NC area after arriving in Philadelphia, reportedly in 1748.  Intense research by a distant relative suggests that my grandfather (x 7 generations) took part in the Revolutionary War Battle of Kings Mountain, as part of the Lincoln County volunteers.  Earlier studies of the battle suggest that he lost a father-in-law and a brother-in-law in the battle.

What else we might do in Plan B remains to be considered, with some pandemic restrictions possibly still in place.  A further northward journey to Antietam Battlefield Park, to follow up on our mid-2019 Gettysburg visit is one consideration if it fits within our 6-day window. 

[On a side issue: Can anyone recommend a modestly-priced dashcam/back-up camera combo?  (Not quite sure about how to mount a screen on the dashboard.)]

Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico

Though my prior visits to the area of Bandelier National Monument were in 1977 and 1978, the area is still "in the back of my mind" for future travels, circumstances permitting.

How to Identify a Tree By Leaf, Bark and Fruit | Wood and Lumber Identif...

Identifying Trees By Leaves And Bark

Common Ground 707 - Identifying Trees of Northern Minnesota

Though this area is not within my current "stomping grounds", it is likely that some of these trees are present in a wider area than the "Great White North" of Northern Minnesota.

Edge of Survival | Georgia Outdoors

Top Trees of the Pennsylvania Forests

Once you become familiar with your "home" trees, e.g., those of your "home biome" (in my case, Temperate Deciduous Forest), becoming generally familiarized with trees mentioned in these random videos might start to give you a "feel" for the "geographic spread" of certain species.

This Tree LOVES FIRE (Longleaf Pine) - #TeamTrees Behind the Scenes

Man Spends 30 Years Turning Degraded Land into Massive Forest – Fools & ...

Tree of the Week: Shortleaf Pine

Tom Wessels: The Ecology of Coevolved Species

Simply Complex Systems | Tom Wessels | TEDxWindham

Tom Wessels: Reading the Forested Landscape, Part 3

Tom Wessels: Reading the Forested Landscape, Part 2

Tom Wessels: Reading the Forested Landscape, Part 1

Alder - Plant Identification, Uses and Folklore

Identification and Ecology of Common Northeastern Hardwood Trees