Kings River Falls

All good things have to come to an end, so my long three months of paid parental leave finally ended. So now I've started having to go back into the office again, which is a bit of an adjustment. It will take awhile to get used to waking up to an alarm clock in the morning (instead of a crying baby). I do miss the days off spent with Jonah, and it's almost tempting to go through this all over again with another kid so I can get another three months off (not sure if my wife agrees with that idea though).

Before I went back to work, I did a quick drive up to the Ozarks to try to get some waterfall pictures. It had rained heavily a few days before, and the creeks and streams in the mountains were running high. So I headed up in the afternoon and drove towards Kings River Falls. I got there about an hour before sunset, and started the short hike to the falls.

Kings River was glowing, thanks to the reflected sunlight hitting the trees along the riverbanks.





The hike to the waterfall is short and easy, so it didn't take too long to get to the falls. Kings River Falls is only about ten feet, but it is a spectacular little waterfall. I've been here a few times before, but I wasn't really happy with any pictures I'd taken before. So I took a bunch while the light shined through the trees along the creek.



I headed to the top of the falls and found this small puddle, which reflected the light hitting the trees.



Just above Kings River Falls, there is a small stream that flows down the hill and then into the the river. There are a few waterfalls on it, so I headed up the hill to try to get a few pictures.



Further up the hill is another waterfall, which is probably about twenty feet tall.



And the view from behind the waterfall:



It was starting to get dark, so I hurried back down the hill to get a few more pictures of Kings River Falls. I went downstream a ways from the falls and found this view, with the creek rushing over some rocks in the foreground.



And one last shot of the falls, taken with just a little bit of light left.



I needed a flashlight to finish the hike back to the parking area, and I was again happy that the hike was short and easy. I made it to the car and started the drive back home, but made one last quick stop at the old schoolhouse in the small community of Boston. The school was built in 1909, and there was a sea of bright stars shining overhead. I'm going to need to come back through here and so some star trails.