Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Best of 2008 - Part 2

And now part 2 of the best of 2008:

June:
I finally had a chance to explore the new Junction Bridge, and got this view looking toward the downtown skyline:
Dusk from the Junction Bridge

Little Rock

And another view of the bridge...
Junction Bridge

The Old Mill in North Little Rock (the mill's roof was damaged by a fire a few weeks ago, the police are still looking for the people who caused it).
The Old Mill

And from a trip to Hot Springs, one of my favorite cities in the state:
Bathhouse Row

Old Medical Arts Building

America's Favorite, only 10 cents...

Central Avenue

The Arlington

And finally, one quick shot from Burns Park in NLR:
Burns Park

July:
I drove out to the swamps of eastern Arkansas and tried to find the Ivory Billed woodpecker, but got these shots instead:
Apple Lake

Hickson Lake

And a dusk shot of the capitol building:
Capitolized

August:
The Big Dam Bridge and a big dam puddle:
Big Dam Puddle

And night settling in over the Junction Bridge:
Junction Bridge

We took a short road trip to Kansas City for a soccer game, and found that it is a really cool city. This is the view of downtown form the Liberty Memorial Tower:
Kansas City

September:
Hurricane Gustav made its way over Arkansas, and then sat for a few days. We were drenched with rain, which managed to get waterfalls back up and running. This is Little Rock under Gustav:
Little Rock and Gustav

A few days later I made a trip back up to Falling Water Falls which was running nicely from all that rain from Gustav:
Still water at Falling Water

Part of Falling Water Falls

This creek runs into Falling Water Creek just downstream from the falls:
By Falling Water Creek

I made another trip up to Collins Creek, which is by far one of my favorite places in the state:
Collins Creek

Collins Creek

Collins Creek

October:
Big Dam Bridge in an early morning fog:
Sunday Foggy Sunday

This month was spent waiting for the fall colors to develop. We spent the day in the Ozarks trying to find color, exploring Pedestal Rocks and Falling Water Falls (again).
Below Kings Bluff

Kings Bluff

Fall at Falling Water Falls

Falling Water Falls

Fall at Falling Water Falls

I took some time off from work and made a trip back up to the Ozarks, going to Gunner Pool and Blanchard Springs:
Gunner Pool

Under the dam

Blanchard Springs

I headed back up to the Ozarks in search of fall color, heading back up to the Buffalo National River. This was taken along the way to Hawksbill Crag:
Fall at Hawksbill Crag

After leaving the Crag, we went over and got a few shots of the Buffalo River at Steele Creek. The reflections were awesome.
Buffalo River

November:
The fall colors finally kicked in, and I made a trip over to Flatside Pinnacle in the Ouachita National Forest for some shots (much to my cousin Jonathon's displeasure).
Ouachitas

Flatside Pinnacle

Ouachitas

Trailside at Flatside

The leaves were pretty much gone after that, though I did try to find something to get pictures of:
Lorance Creek

MacArthur Park

Second Street

I made one last trip to Collins Creek, when all the autumn leaves had just about fallen from the trees.
Collins Creek

Fall at Collins Creek

And in my truly fair and unbiased opinion, I think this might be my best shot of the year:
All That You Can't Leave Behind

December:
The start of the month saw this rare sight up in the skies:
Intergalactic Planetary

I made sure I was out at the state capitol when the turned on the building Christmas lights, and then set off fireworks:
Capitol Fireworks

And then went out the next night to get this shot of the capitol at dusk:
So This is Christmas

Then one of my cousins made it to the state high school football championship game, so I made sure I was out there with a camera. I'm amazed I got these shots, especially since it catches him scoring a touchdown. My cousin is set for facebook profile pictures for months and months.
Touchdown!

Victory!

And a few shots from Benton:
Benton

Saline County Courthouse

From the fog a few weeks ago:
Little Rock

Junction Bridge

Foggle Rock

And Charleston:
Franklin County Courthouse

Well thanks for sticking with me and this post for all this time. I never really thought people would care that much about my pictures, or care to read my wacky stories or anything. But thanks for stopping by the blog this year, I've appreciated all your views and comments. Hopefully next year will be great, with a lot more trips into the Ozarks and Ouachitas (and possible the Smokies). No doubt there will be many encounters with a few more crazy people - stay tuned!