Petit Jean In The Fog

It had been a quiet little Saturday morning, we got up and took Jonah to get donuts for breakfast. Then we took him to the library for a bit. It had been cloudy, but when we left the library a thick fog had descended over the city. It was perfect picture taking weather! So I hurried home and grabbed the camera and then quickly drove over to Petit Jean Mountain to try to get a few pictures.

I followed the twisty road that switchbacks up the mountain and stopped first at the overlook at Stout's Point. Of course there wasn't much of a view at the overlook, everything was shrouded in fog. And while you couldn't see them, you could still hear cows mooing from the fields far below the mountain.









Luckily there weren't that many people out, so traffic wasn't that bad up there.





After that I headed into the park and then followed a trail that ran alongside Cedar Creek. The creek was running well after some recent rains, and the woods were hidden by the thick fog.









At one point the trail runs underneath a boulder that is somehow propped up against the bluff, and then runs beneath these jagged shards of moss-covered rock sticking straight out.



This was a very scenic stretch of the creek, where it tumbled and rushed past several huge boulders.



The State Parks people were actually kind enough to construct a bridge right in this spot, which provides some great views of the creek.





From there I turned around and started walking back to the car, but I passed by a few more neat spots along Cedar Creek.



I followed the creek to where it passes under the old Davies Bridge, which was built by the CCC in 1934. The old stone bridge sits by a small waterfall created by a dam on the creek.



The fog was steadily getting thicker and thicker.



Just upstream is another old stone dam, which also has a few neat waterfalls on it. There were a few people fishing in the waters of the lake nearby, but otherwise this area of the park was fairly quiet.



The nearby playground was empty, and with the fog had a bit of a melancholy feel to it.







I then drove over to the Cedar Falls Overlook, and was shocked to see that the falls were just barely visible to through the thick fog. I wish that I had more time, so I could have done the hike into the canyon to see the falls (but it was about 30 minutes before sunset, so daylight was running short). I hurried to get a few more pictures, stopping at the old water tower that sits near the lodge. The tower was built by the CCC in the 1930s, and looks like a castle tower.



And I did make sure to look both ways before quickly stepping to the road for this shot.



I had just enough time to make one more stop before it got dark, and drove over to the Bear Cave trail. The short little trail passes underneath massive sandstone stones and boulders. It's a neat little area, especially with a nice coating of fog. I grabbed a few pictures and then headed back home as night fell and the fog began to dissipate.