Is Mount Ida too far from Crater of Diamonds?

My family (Mom, Dad, and kids 5 and 11) is planing a trip to Branson in July and will be spending a couple of nights in Arkansas along the way. We are going to stop at Crater of Diamonds and spend part of a day there.

We are going to arrive in that area after about 8 hours driving from southeastern Louisiana and will spend the night, hit the park the next day for the diamond fields and water park, and spend another night before going on to Branson. After looking at several web listings for things of interest to us we are thinking of spending some time around Mount Ida browsing the crystal shops and maybe digging for quartz.

Reading the reviews, it seems that the motels in Murfreesboro don%26#39;t consistently rate very well and the lodging near Mount Ida seems to be much better and even a bit less expensive.

Any advice on staying in Mount Ida both nights and driving down to Crater of Diamonds for the day and then back to Mount Ida for a second night before leaving the next day? Good idea or bad?

PS: My wife (and I am as well) is a nut for natural gemstone jewelry. So far she is missing anything quartz.

Is Mount Ida too far from Crater of Diamonds?

It%26#39;s only about 50 miles from Mt Ida to Murfreesboro on 2 lane highways. I%26#39;d think it would take you an hour to an hour and a half to make the drive,