by Donald Wood
Last updated: 4:45 PM ET, Tue April 28, 2015
PHOTO: Susie Clark, with her 3.69-carat diamond discovery. (courtesy Arkansas State Parks)
There are plenty of options when planning a vacation, but one possibility that flies under the radar is searching for diamonds in the fields of the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas.
It may sound outlandish, but this is one of the few places on earth where visitors are not only allowed to search for diamonds, but are also permitted to keep the precious stones when they're discovered.
With just a small entrance fee to pay, talk about a big possible return on your investment.
Now may be the perfect time to visit, as Katia Hetter of CNN.com is reporting a woman named Susie Clark was digging in the 37.5-acre approved search lot when she discovered a 3.69-carat white, teardrop-shaped diamond.
Thus far in 2015, a total of 122 diamonds have been discovered, but Clark's find is the biggest since a 6.19-carat was unearthed on April 16, 2014. While Clark does not plan on selling her stone yet and does not know its value, Hetter is reporting fellow diamond hunter Tara Clymer discovered a 3.85-carat diamond last year which sold for $20,000.
The biggest diamond ever discovered on the property was found in 1924 and was 40.23-carats. Since the first diamond was discovered in 1906, a total of 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed on the property.
Add in the fact that park officials plow the fields often where diamond hunters search, and there is a good chance those who visit the Crater of Diamonds will be on the right track to finding a diamond of their own.
The area is littered with diamonds due to an eruption of a volcano-hence the park's name-that launched the precious stones during its last activity. Now, visitors can find those diamonds scattered across the landscape.
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