2025

It's the end of the year as we know it. 2025 was a pretty chaotic year (not just because we have a pandemic baby running around our house). There was a lot of crazy and negative news during 2025, so it was good to find some positive things out in the world. We were able to do some traveling, and managed to visit four different National Parks. And in between parenting, working and napping, I found the time to take a few pictures. So here's a countdown of my favorite photos from 2025:

#25:

June 2: Cairo, Illinois.
Cairo sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and was once a prominent town. But it has been struggling for several decades now, and the historic downtown area is a sea of grass-covered lots. But a few old buildings are still stubbornly holding on, including the old Cairo Board of Trade Building (built 1912).

#24:

August 12: Little Rock, Arkansas.
The original plan that night was to get some pictures of lightning over downtown Little Rock, but the storm clouds fizzled out and drifted away. Clear skies were left, which provided a good opportunity to instead get a shot of the moon rising by the capitol dome.

#23:

April 26: Broadwater Hollow, Buffalo National River, Arkansas.
2025 was a particularly good year for waterfalls in the Ozark Mountains. And Paige Falls at Broadwater Hollow was looking really nice in the Spring. It's a great waterfall to visit - especially because it's a really short and easy hike to get there.

#22:

March 24: The Sinks, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee.
It was just after sunrise when I made it to The Sinks, a dramatic waterfall along the Little River. It was a cold and rainy morning, and I had to hide the camera under an umbrella. When we went back there later on during the trip, the sun was out and the parking lot was completely full.

#21:

January 18: Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

And also:

October 18: Near Hamilton, Arkansas.
My five-year old son Elliott is still obsessed with all things cars (including trucks, trains, fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, helicopters, excavators, school busses, and also just the movie Cars). So for him, here are pictures of two old cars I found while out driving through eastern Arkansas. Both have been parked for awhile, gathering dust and rust like a rock gathers moss.

#20:

September 12: Near Stuttgart, Arkansas.
I accidentally arrived too late to this old rice dryer and had to set up the camera in the dark. But I wasn't alone out there, I was greeted by about one billion mosquitoes who were eager to swarm anyone silly enough to be standing out there at night.

#19:

March 27: Tremont, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee.
We went to the Smoky Mountains over Spring Break, but Spring hadn't yet made it to the Smokies. The trees were still bare and devoid of leaves. But you could still catch some great color in the trees, when the sun set low enough to cast the mountains in golden light.

#18:

November 19: The Edge, New York City, New York.
Caroline and I took a little trip up to New York to celebrate our anniversary, and one of the first places we visited was the Edge observation deck at Hudson Yards. The deck, which I assume is named after the guitar player from U2, sits on the 100th floor and is billed as the highest skydeck in the Western Hemisphere. It was a pretty good way to kick off our visit.

#17:

May 25: Marty's Falls, Smith Creek Nature Preserve, Arkansas.
It started pouring rain as we started the short hike to this waterfall, and of course I had forgotten to bring a rain jacket or an umbrella. So I was completely soaked by the time we reached the waterfall. Luckily there was a nice shelter under the bluff, so we could get pictures of the falls without getting drenched again.

#16:

March 24: Little River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee.
This river might be called little, but it ranks large in terms of scenic beauty. Someone was even kind enough to build a road alongside the creek, and it's nearly impossible to not stop at every single pull-off to take a few pictures.

#15:

November 23: Roosevelt Island, New York City, New York.
Roosevelt Island is worth visiting if you are going to New York. It provides great views of Manhattan and of the Queensboro Bridge. And you can also ride across the river in a really fun little tram!

#14:

February 5: Big Dam Bridge, Little Rock, Arkansas.
This was taken on a really foggy night, and the lights on the Murray Lock and Dam seemed to disappear into the misty expanse of the Arkansas River.

#13:

April 26: Big Creek Cave Falls, Ozark National Forest, Arkansas.
This spot, where a 30 foot-tall waterfall drops out of a small cave on the side of a bluff, might easily rank as one of the coolest waterfalls in the state.

#12:

April 27: Hammerschmidt Falls, Buffalo National River, Arkansas.
I was really glad I decided to do this hike, since it ended up combining two of my favorite things to take pictures of (fog and waterfalls).

#11:

November 20: Grand Central Terminal, New York City, New York.
The Main Hall of Grand Central Terminal is so immense that you can't capture the whole thing in one photograph. I carried a fisheye lens with me all the way from Arkansas just so I could try to capture as much of the cavernous space as possible.

#10:

June 26: Chicago, Illinois.
I woke up before dawn and walked over to the Michigan Avenue Bridge to get a few pictures. I had to kinda zoom in some on the buildings from this angle, since there is an ugly and tacky logo on one of the buildings that I was trying to avoid getting in the shot too much.

#9:

October 25: Roark Bluff, Buffalo National River, Arkansas.
I've probably taken hundreds of pictures from this exact spot along the Buffalo River, but I can't resist. It's such a beautiful spot, especially with a little bit of fall color.

#8:

November 21: Manhattan Bridge, New York City, New York.
The Manhattan Bridge is a great place to take pictures. People have cut convenient holes in the fencing that are just large enough for a camera lens to poke through. The only downside are the subway trains that rumble by every few minutes, shaking the bridge like an earthquake and messing up long exposure photos.

#7:

October 25: Buffalo National River, Arkansas.
I was standing in the river to get this photo (and the water was pretty cold). Luckily I didn't drop my camera in the water.

#6:

June 27: Hancock Tower, Chicago, Illinois.
The views from the observation deck at the Hancock Tower are great, but it is incredibly hard to get pictures from there. The windows are covered with a thick coat of smudges and fingerprints. And as it got dark, the glass was so full of reflections that it was like looking in a mirror. But I managed to find a little box by one of the windows, which could be used as a temporary tripod so I could attempt a few long exposure photos.

#5:

November 1: Near the Mulberry River, Ozark Mountains, Arkansas.
This old blacksmith shop sits along a quiet dirt road in the Ozarks. It's a bit of a hassle to get there (the road is muddy and steep), but it's worth the effort.

#4:

April 4: The Old Mill, North Little Rock, Arkansas.
It had stormed that day, and the little waterfall by the mill was roaring. As a native of NLR/Dogtown, I've been to the Old Mill many times, but I've never seen it with this much water.

#3:

November 19: Central Park, New York City, New York.
The view of Midtown Manhattan from the Gapstow Bridge in Central Park is pretty spectacular. But I was a little disappointed that I didn't bump into the Pigeon Lady from Home Alone 2 there.

#2:

June 30: Mt. Baldy, Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana.
Indiana Dunes is often unfairly ranked as one of the worst National Parks in the country. But we had a great visit, and we were treated to an amazing sunset there on the last night of our visit. It's pretty amazing how you can see the Chicago skyline from the park, over 50 miles away on the other side of Lake Michigan.

#1:

November 12: Faulkner County, Arkansas.
Getting to see the Northern Lights in person was one of the most memorable experiences of the year, especially since it’s so rare that they are visible this far  south. And I was extremely grateful to share it with Jonah, and grateful that the pictures were in focus too!

And finally, a big thanks to anyone who is reading this. I truly do appreciate anyone who stumbles on this little blog, which will actually be celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year! Happy New Year, let's hope that 2026 is a good one.

The End Of The Year

We are now in strange time that is the week between Christmas and New Years, where some people are off work but others are working and the kids are all home from school. It's even odder here in Arkansas, with unseasonably warm temperatures (it was 76 degrees outside yesterday). It doesn't seem right to be looking at Christmas lights and seeing people walking around in shorts, but that's global warming for you.

But speaking of weather, it was really foggy out the other night. So, of course, I grabbed the camera and ran out to get a few pictures. And as always, the really cool fog then immediately started to dissipate. But I headed to downtown Little Rock, and ended up at the top of a parking deck by Main Street. This is the view of the Simmons Bank building, next to another building with a bit of brick that looks like it was ripped off like a piece of paper from a book.



And the view from another parking deck, which overlooks the intersection of Main and Third Streets.



And then on Christmas Eve, we took the kids over to the State Capitol to see the decorations inside. It was actually an ideal time to visit - there really weren't that many people inside. I guess the government offices were closed, since there weren't any politicians or staffers around (and I'd much rather bump into the Wet Bandits/Sticky Bandits, Mr. Potter, The Abominable Snowmonster, or the Grinch than bump into most of our elected officials).



It was good that thing the Capitol was empty because Elliott decided to grab onto a flag pole and pull on it, causing it to crash onto the marble floor with a loud crash that seemed to echo across the entire building. Luckily the security guards didn't throw us out after that.



And one last shot from the Capitol - hope everyone reading this had a great holiday and a good end to 2025!

Capitol Fireworks

The state government of Arkansas has made some truly baffling decisions this year (like making AETN disaffiliate from PBS or the whole Charleston prison debacle). But the one good thing that our state government is able to pull off is a pretty decent fireworks show. We set up on a hillside behind the Capitol, which is away from the crowds. The only issue this year was the wind blew all the smoke from the show towards us, so by the end of the show you could hardly even see the fireworks.

New York City - Roosevelt Island

On our last day in New York City we pushed through the chaos of Times Square one last time and made our way to Broadway to see this little-known play called Hamilton. Afterwards we went back to the hotel so I could retrieve my camera gear, and then we headed over to Roosevelt Island. The island sits in the East River between Manhattan and Queens, and can be reached via a tram car. It is a cheap and fun way to cross the river (it's really a shame that we can't commute with trams more in this country).

Roosevelt Island is a rare stretch of land in New York City that hasn't been extensively developed. For most of its history it was home to prisons, asylums and hospitals. Nowadays, a good portion of the island is set aside as parks and greenspace. The views from the island are great, especially of the Queensboro Bridge.





And across the river you can see the United Nations Building, the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.





Walking along the river was a good way to wind down our trip to the Big City. It wasn't busy at all, with just a few other people out strolling along the sidewalk. There were even a few people out there fishing. It was a far cry from the image of New York being a dirty, crime-ridden hellhole made by certain people (and a certain president). I spent a lot of time walking through the city carrying a bag with lots of camera equipment inside, and never once felt unsafe. For the record, I was never attacked by an antifa trying to infect me with the woke mind virus. And since I'm still here writing this, no mobsters put out a hit on me. I wasn't even murdered by one of those crazed serial killers that pops up on all those TV crime procedural dramas that are set here.

New York is a great city, but I might be biased since I'm easily impressed by big cities. I mean I went to college in a small town that practically shut down at night (the only thing open after 8 PM was one gas station, a truck stop and the Waffle House). My family is from an even smaller town in western Arkansas that just recently got its first and only stoplight. So I was absolutely delighted to see things like multiple skyscrapers, decent mass transit and countless places selling pizza by the slice.



Ok sorry for the digression, back to Roosevelt Island. At one point you walk by an old Smallpox Hospital, which was built in 1856. It closed in the 1950s and was abandoned, eventually turning into this really cool ruin that has been left as a reminder of the island's history.



And then one last shot from Roosevelt Island, and from New York City, taken as I walked under the Queensboro Bridge.



And then it was time to head back to the hotel and start packing up our suitcases. We had an early morning flight the next day, so we woke up before dawn and drove through the city in darkness towards the airport. They say that New York is the city that never sleeps, but perhaps at 4:30 that morning it was taking a little catnap. As we drove by Times Square and then Grand Central Terminal, there was hardly any other cars or people about (which was nice, since there was no traffic on the way to LaGuardia). A few hours later we were back in Little Rock, eager to see our two boys (and two dogs) at home.

New York City - Central Park

When we planned this trip to New York City we didn't even think about there still being fall colors up there. So we were pleasantly surprised to arrive and see some great fall color still hanging onto the trees. And the best place to see the colors in the whole city just has to be Central Park.









We walked over to the Gapstow Bridge, which was much busier than when I was here earlier on our visit. Still no sign of the Pigeon Lady though.





There were a lot of people around the bridge, and I'd guess that most of them were tourists (it was a Saturday, after all). Now I know that you hear travel writers and influencers talk about avoiding touristy places like this. But you know what, sometimes it's just nice to be a tourist in a touristy spot. To be around fellow visitors, all excited about seeing something at the same time, to get pictures taken in front of it and to offer to take pictures for a stranger. It's charming in a goofy sort of way that reminds us that we are all people just out here experiencing life together. Things are so crazy and difficult in our world (and especially in this country) right now, and it is honestly refreshing that in these jaded and cynical times people can still get out and find joy in looking at reflections of skyscrapers and fall colors in a pond together.





This is the view from the bridge, looking towards the Plaza Hotel.



And the view, reflected in a small puddle of water on the bridge:



Construction on Central Park started in 1857, and was completed in 1876. It's crazy to think that while other parts of the country were being destroyed during the Civil War, people here were working on features in the park that are still in use today. Nowadays it is one of the most visited urban parks int he country with over 42 million visitors every year. 



This is The Dairy, which was built in 1871 as a restaurant. It's now used as a visitors center.



Central Park is one of the most filmed locations in the world, appearing in over 500 movies (like Elf, Home Alone 2, Die Hard With A Vengeance and When Harry Met Sally).





We stopped at the Turtle Pond, which had some great fall colors:





And then we walked over to Belvedere Castle, which was built in 1869. I'm assuming it was named after the old Mr. Belvedere TV show from the 1980s.



You can go inside (it's now used as a small visitor center and gift shop). This is the view looking out the windows:



And the views from the top:





After that we rambled through The Ramble, a series of winding paths through a forested area. As busy as the park was that day, it was quiet and peaceful there.









After that we headed back to our hotel to get changed, since we had tickets to see play later that evening (Oh, Mary!). But before we left I stuck the camera out the window of our room and got a shot of this view of the Empire State Building off in the distance.