We’ve been puttering around Mt. Ida for a couple days now and I just can’t say enough good things about this town. One of my favorite stops today was Jay’s Bonanza – the best (and most friendly) quartz crystal shop in Mt. Ida.
Jay sells more than Arkansas quartz crystal. In fact, he has rocks and gems from all over the world! Jay’s is included in my Favorite Things to Do in Mt. Ida!
Here’s what happened…
We headed down Hwy 270 toward Mt. Ida proper, passed by a little rock shop and found Bob’s Food City.
We pulled into the parking lot at Bob’s Food City for a resupply. We were running low on everything and if you’ve ever traveled with a minivan full of kids, you know that things like that have to be resolved quickly.
Bananas, cheese, bread, peanut butter, apples, vegetables…we needed it all.
I was about to park the van but we couldn’t get that little rock shop out of our heads. We HAD to check it out and we figured it was better to do it before we bought groceries.
So, off we went to check out that rock shop and would come back to Bob’s after.
We pulled up to Jay’s Bonanza and found tables and tables of quartz crystals out front. We walked inside not knowing what to expect. There was a guy sitting behind the counter and I said, “Are you Jay?” He said, “I sure am!”
That turned into nearly 2 hours of us asking him question after question about his quartz and other rocks and gems. We probably drove him nuts but he never acted like it.
Jay knows everything about rocks and gems. Literally everything.
I felt like I was back in college Geology except this time the professor was super cool and easy going.
Jay has beautiful Arkansas quartz crystal as well as rocks and gems from all other the world. He travels the country digging, attending trade shows, etc.
The best part? He’s not pretentious about his prices.
He has rocks and gems in every price range.
Each of our kids spent some of their own money at Jay’s. (Their grandparents give them money for their birthdays but they never can figure out what to spend it on.)
They bought arrowheads, quartz, petrified wood and much more!
Jay was able to tell them where each one came from AND how they are formed!
He’s a cool guy.
My husband and I also bought beautiful quartz and a pink stone that I wish I could remember the name of.
If you want Arkansas quartz crystals and don’t want to dig it yourself, Jay is your man.
If there is any other rock or gem that you like, he probably has it too.
You can find Jay’s Bonanza here
Address: 1024 Hwy 270 E, Mt Ida, AR 71957
You’ll love it!
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