Scott

The small town of Scott is close enough to North Little Rock that it could possibly be considered a suburb now, but it still retains a lot of its small-town charm and history. And a lot of that history revolves around agriculture, which is reflected in the large number of old farming buildings there.





It's a place that I find myself returning to often to take pictures, because there are so many things there to take pictures of (it also helps that it isn't all that far from home).



Just down the road was this neat old barn...





Which was very photogenic so I took a bunch of pictures of it (my apologies to anyone who doesn't like old barn pictures).











As you drive south from Scott, the road is lined with many tall and stately pecan trees. The trees were planted over a century ago on the grounds of an old plantation.





I headed east and passed by this old abandoned store. This was probably once the company store for the Jones Colony, which was an agricultural resettlement area. There used to be a sign here that once read "Hamiter-Little Estate 1879," but the sign may have been knocked down when the front overhang collapsed. The store was partially burned a few years ago, but it still standing.

Downtown

It went from either a drizzle to a light rain as I drove downtown for a few pictures. I first went to North Little Rock, and walked out onto the long ramp that connects the new Broadway Bridge to Riverfront Park. I set up the tripod and used an umbrella to shield the camera, and got this panoramic view of the Arkansas River and the Little Rock skyline. There were even a few geese sitting on the grass in the park - I wonder if any of them know Sir Goosealot!



I headed across the river, and ended up climbing the steps of a parking deck along Main Street. It provided this view, which includes an office building in the foreground that is home to a state agency. It was night, and the building was empty, but all the lights were on and running. Our state tax dollars at work, I guess...



And on the other side of the parking deck was this view. Here you can see the First Presbyterian Church, which was built in 1921.



I headed down Main Street to another parking deck, which was mostly empty on this rainy night. But the deck had a nice view of the intersection of Main and Third Streets. A storm was moving through, and I hoped to get some lightning pictures from here. I didn't have any luck with the lightning, since it was more to the north. Oh well.

But I wasn't as diligent with protecting the camera from the rain, and some moisture managed to sneak in. My camera is now considered to be geriatric by current technology standards, and it starts to act wonky when it gets water in it like this. But I was able to get this shot before calling it a night and heading home to go put the camera in a bag of rice (which worked! Happy to report that the camera is back to normal now).

Petit Jean

Jonah joined Cub Scouts, and last weekend was the first big campout that he's done with his pack. It was at Petit Jean Mountain, which is always a great choice for hiking and camping.

We got up there Saturday morning and did a hike along the Cedar Creek Trail, which is one of my favorites at the park. Like its name suggests, it runs along a scenic section of the creek above Cedar Falls.



We stopped and took a break next to a large bluff. Water was dripping off of the bluff into a large puddle, and the sun was hitting the ripples in the water and making a reflection back onto the bluff.



We camped overnight at the Group Campsite at Petit Jean, which might just be the best camping site in the state. It sits along Lake Bailey, so you can sit in your tent and watch the light change on the lake. We went to sleep that night listening to the sounds of a waterfall.



It also has an actual restroom (which is always appreciated), and electricity and water.







But we did have company at the campsite. We were constantly being watched by a Canadian goose, who would sneak in like a ninja to find any stray bits of food left behind by a wayward scout. While dinner was being cooked on Saturday night, it managed to slyly make its way over and steal an entire stick of butter. If any of the kids got too close to it, it would hiss at them like a cat. Despite that, they lovingly named it "Sir Goosealot."

The Eclipse

Yesterday was the solar eclipse, the celestial event that had been hyped for the past five years. And did it live up to all that hype? Yes, it did. It was amazing.

We went to watch the eclipse at Riverfront Park in North Little Rock, which was being promoted as the "Total Eclipse in the Park." We got there a few hours before totality, and were surprised to see that there weren't that many people around. Which was odd, because we had heard repeatedly that there was going to be a massive influx of visitors to Arkansas for the eclipse. The state predicted 1.5 million people would be traveling here. Grocery stores and gas stations would be overrun and empty. All the major roads and freeways would be snarled with bumper-to-bumper traffic. The governor declared a state of emergency...

And now it seems like all those dire forecasts kept a lot of people at home during the eclipse, in order to avoid all the crowds that didn't show up. But I guess I can't complain because we were able to claim a shady spot on the Riverfront Park lawn, and didn't have to deal with any traffic at all.

As it got closer to totality, you could see the changes in the light as it grew gradually dimmer. It was also at this time that our strong-willed toddler, Elliott, saw a bunch of boats in the river. Like so many small kids, he is completely obsessed with fire trucks, police cars and ambulances. And right before totality, there were a few boats from the police and sheriff's office in the water. This must have been a mind-blowing experience for him. He wanted me to hold him, so that he could better see the boats in the river. He didn't want to be held by any of three other adults there, just me. Which made for setting up the camera a bit tricky.

I held him in one arm, and then tried to make sure the camera was set correctly with the other hand. It was getting so close to totality. Street lights turned on. The sky turned a darker blue, like at dusk. The temperature dropped a few degrees. A sheriff's office boat headed downriver playing "Total Eclipse of the Heart," much to Elliott's enjoyment. And then it happened - totality. The sun was obscured by the moon, and it was a truly amazing thing to see in person. I can totally understand now why people travel across the country to see this. People around us clapped and cheered, all of us sharing the communal experience of the "cosmic ballet" together.

So here is my picture of the total solar eclipse over the downtown Little Rock skyline, taken during totality. It was also taken while holding a squirming toddler, who kept saying "police boat Dada!" in my ear.

Transylvania

Spring Break was ending and it was time to head home. We packed up the car, loaded up the kids, and started the long drive back to Arkansas. Before leaving, I took one last photo of the beach.



We were making the drive back home all in one trip, so it kinda cut down on the amount of stops along the way. But I was able to stop once for a picture, in the small and amusingly-named town of Transylvania, Louisiana. I wasn't attacked by any bats or vampires when I stopped to get a picture of the old elementary school, which has been abandoned for about 20 years.