Returning to Avant FIsher Mountain – Quartz Mining in Arkansas

Disclaimer: While this post may sound like a lot of whining, I had a great time on Fisher Mountain and look forward to returning.

Trip One – Mistakes Have Been Made

This summer, I have visited the Avant Mining Fisher Mountain location twice. The first trip of the summer was intended to be a trip to Twin Creek, but thanks to bad Google Maps navigating, I ended up quite lost and annoyed. I entered another address I found on Facebook for Twin Creek, but ended up realizing that I was passing Judy’s Crystals, the storefront for the Avant Mine on Fisher Mountain.

I pulled in to the parking lot around 8:30, and despite the empty parking lot double checked their hours on Google. 8am. Good to go. Right? I approached the door, but there were no lights on or hours posted visibly. In a move that is incredibly uncharacteristic, I decided to just head up to the public dig area. Surely there were employees up there and maybe just hadn’t made it down to the shop yet? I had $25 at the ready to pay my daily fee and began the 3 mile drive to the public dig area.

After you continue down the blacktop from Judy’s, you see a small white sign indicating the gravel road that ascends the mountain. They had certainly done a lot of work since the first time I visited in July of 2020. The road was steep, but well taken care of and even had culverts installed at strategic points. On my way up, I did indeed come across an employee that informed me that they in fact opened at 9am. I apologized profusely and for my shame received a gorgeous little cluster of quartz. The employee informed me that they had just brought up fresh tailings and that things looked excellent. My ego thoroughly bruised and feeling a bit like a jackass, I carried on my merry way to the digging area.

While I was pretty sure I could continue driving all the way to the digging area, I chose to park in the marked parking areas further away so that I could unload my car in peace and assemble my thoughts and strategy for the day. This was a decent idea because there was definitely still a dozer at work organizing the new tailings.

The beginning of the morning went decently enough. I met the Crystal Cowboy (@thecrystalcowboy1976 on TikTok) who graciously gifted to me a pretty good sized cluster that I pointed out by his feet. As with most rock people I meet, he was more than willing to share his knowledge and show me some good areas. I had spent the better part of the first hour of my day working what I believed to be a promising spot and not really turning up much of anything.

After a while, a large group arrived. I mention them only to say that I could not believe that a Tesla sedan was able to drive up to the mine, so if you’re curious about if your car can make the rocky trip….it probably can!

The rest of the day involved more embarrassment, multiple falls thanks to my ill-fitting new hiking boots, and more blood than I would have liked. Thankfully I had my small first aid kit with me and under the watchful eyes of some helpful fellow miners, I cleaned my wounds and applied a generous coat of liquid bandage.

After I had made a less than graceful exit from that unfortunate situation, I made my way down the road behind the public dig site to lick my emotional wounds in peace and pick up some ground finds while my liquid bandage dried. I explored some of the small, 2 inch veins of quartz all the way down at the end of the road, next to a barbed wire fence. While none of the crystals I found were large by any stretch of the imagination, it was a wonderful place to sneak off and eat a snack in the shade.

By 2pm, I returned to the main dig area to do a few rounds walking on top of the tailings looking for easy finds. I got a couple good pieces this way and was more than satisfied with my haul.

Trip Two – Wait, How Did This Get Worse?

It’s two weeks later. My heart is aching for the feel of sweet, sweet clay under my nails. (ewwww) The errors of my last trip have faded into memory, replaced only by the joy of cleaning my finds and doing gollum impressions in my garage.

This time, I am prepared! I pack up my new 1990 Dodge pickup, currently in need of a name, with an assortment of tools, a cooler of snacks, a thermos of soup, and my travel companion Ein. At the time, my truck was missing a radio so I began my travel audiobook, Witches Abroad by the wonderful Sir Terry Pratchett on a bluetooth speaker balanced precariously on my dash.

The drive is surprisingly decent, I slowly begin to learn how to gauge where I am on the road and definitely don’t stick my foot through the hole in the floor after getting gas. Twice. I arrive at Judy’s where I’m happy to see a few cars in the parking lot. My last trip, I was one of only two people digging that were not with a large group. I pay my $25, sign the waiver, and receive my permit to put in my dash. Here we go!

At the top of the mountain, I discover that I can’t open my passenger side door from the inside and I’ve parked too close to the edge of the main parking area to want to get out and try in the bushes. So, like a Grade A Goober, I begin digging through my truck for my camera and the tools I left in the floorboard of the passenger side. I’m a little confused to see that a large black truck has parked next to me. As I am the first car in the line of parked cars, I think he wants to squeeze in front of me, between me and the official mine gate. but his window is up so I return to my excavation attempt. Upon finishing my dig, he rolls down his window to ask, “do y’all have a permit?”

Y’all who? Me and Ein? Yes of course! I say yes. He wants to know where. I say my dash. Can he see it? ……..suuuuuuure?

And there it is. I have been reduced to the emotional fragility of a toddler. Am I parked in an okay place? I’m sorry my dash is flat, let me prop it up on my speaker. Do you want me to move?

Yes, yes of course it makes sense to ask people if they have a permit, if they’ve signed the waiver, especially after some jackhole drove up to the mine two weeks ago without stopping at the office. But man did that kick my rust bucket driving ass in the guts. He assures me that I’m fine and drives off through the gate. I didn’t even think he was employee at first, just a dude staring at my ass while I laid across the bench seat.

A heavy sigh is had, and I slink towards the public dig site. Everything looks very dry and flat today. I think I got too lucky with my first trip this year to show up on a day with fresh tailings. I’m a little disheartened after seeing all of the beautiful pieces found by the Crystal Cowboy and thinking that this may be the same dirt. I pick a spot where I see a lot of glitter and just start moving dirt.

I discovered while gathering my tools that while my dad was installing new shocks on my truck, he had sneakily put a short handled shovel and mortar hoe behind the seat. That mortar hoe was my best friend this day. I was able to move so much dirt and sift through it with shocking efficiency. I was definitely on the prowl for small points, so I was making a killing on my little dirt pile.

After I while, I return to my truck to have elevenses, an apple with peanut butter, and maybe a cheeky hunk of brownie. At this point, I talk to a couple I had seen earlier and talk about the days take. They had been quartz mining before and were not particularly impressed with what they were seeing. We decide to take a meander through the woods in search of more fertile hunting grounds.

I spy a promising location and dig in, having only brought my Estwing pry bar not thinking I would be gone for long. Little did I know, I would end up trekking back to my truck for heartier tools and returning to this spot for a good couple of hours. Somehow with my untrained eye, I had stumbled across a wonderful little area heavy with sandstone and after some digging some pretty impressive points and clusters.

Needless to say, it was a fruitful day and after a long trudge back to my truck, I was back on the road. I will spare you the details of that journey, but I did indeed make it home that evening, perhaps in a different car, and definitely with a whole lot of stress. The journey to have a dependable rock-mobile continues but at least I installed I have a radio now!

Author: Celeste

Rocks!