Bruce,

The area around Hot Springs is quite lovely--but of course, if you're a captive audience to the eastern hardwood forests and the limestone and quartz geologic features it might not hold the same appeal. My favorite place to buy quartz is from a fellow in Mt. Ida, about 30 miles west of Hot Springs. There are lots of places that sell crystals, but this guy owns a mine and has some uncommon types of crystals. I sent one of his "regular" nice ones to catsPHiddle a couple of years ago (for being such a charming Santa's Helper and running the Secret Santa program!)

SRS