Fall In The Ozarks - Part 1

A few weeks back I made a trip to the Ozarks with my nephew J.T. He wanted to get some senior portraits done, and being the smart kid that he is, decided to have them taken in one of the most photogenic places in the state. So we drove up into the mountains, stopping at a few favorite spots. The first was Haw Creek Falls, which was just a sad trickle since we've barely had any rain for awhile. But we managed to get a few portraits done along the creek, and headed over to the old Fort Douglas school. The school was built in 1946 and sits along the Ozark Highlands Trail.



Just down the road is the old Hwy. 123 bridge over Big Piney Creek. The narrow one-lane bridge was built in 1931.



From there we followed a nice little dirt road that runs alongside the Big Piney. It was sunny, so I tried a few shots with the infrared camera:





We got back on the paved roads but soon made a quick stop by this field, which had some fall colors and interesting clouds.





From there we followed Hwy. 123, which might just be one of the curviest roads in the state. The curves and switchbacks are the most notable around Sam's Throne, a great overlook deep in the Ozark National Forest. It is a great spot, and was unusually crowded that day. I know it was a Saturday and people were out to look at fall colors, but I had never before seen that many people there.







One of the reasons that it was crowded was because a couple decided to get married right there at the overlook. It is a beautiful spot, and definitely provided a wonderful backdrop to their nuptials. The only downside was that it was incredibly windy that day. The gusts were so strong that it seemed like they could easily push someone over the edge of the bluff. Luckily neither the bridge or groom were blown away during their wedding. This shot was taken while all the other hikers and rock climbers politely stood off to the side, so as to not disturb the wedding.



Sam's Throne was actually named after someone named Sam Davis. According to legend, back in the 1820s Sam claimed that his sister had been kidnapped. In his anger, he would climb out onto this rocky outcrop and give fiery sermons to all his neighbors within earshot. Legend also states that Sam also buried some gold on Sam's Throne, although nothing has ever been found in the years since (that we know of).



We got back in the car and headed towards the Buffalo River. Along the way I stopped to get pictures of this old and rusty structure. I'm guessing it was once a chicken house?



We drove through Jasper and then headed towards Erbie. Along the way we stopped again to get a picture of a neat old barn.



In contrast to the crowds at Sam's Throne, there weren't very many people at Erbie. Just a handful of people were at the campground, which sits above the Buffalo River.



Erbie is home to the Parker-Hickman Farmstead, a collection of old buildings that has been preserved by the National Park Service. The old house here is actually the oldest structure still standing within the boundaries of the Buffalo National River. It was built sometime between 1847 and 1849. The lean-to on the side was added in the 1920s and served as a country store. The home was occupied until 1978.





From there we crossed the Buffalo River at the Erbie low-water bridge, and then headed to our campsite. After getting tents and hammocks set up, we headed back to the Buffalo River for a few more pictures. We went to the Steele Creek put-in, and then started the hike to an overlook atop Roark Bluff. I've done this hike a few times before, and it is somewhat short but steep in places. But this was the first big hike I've taken since I caught Covid a few months ago. I haven't completely recovered, and still have some long-Covid symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath and chest pains. It was rough, I'm sad to admit. I had to make many stops to rest as we headed uphill (my nephew, bless him, was kind and patient as I had to stop and constantly catch my breath).

It didn't help that we ended up missing the overlook and hiked way up the hillside. We had to backtrack and finally made it to the overlook just after sunset. There was just barely enough light to get a few pictures. I managed to get a few portraits of J.T. (which thankfully turned out and were in focus!) and then got a few pictures of the view before we lost all the light. After this, we hiked back to the car in the dark (luckily we did have flashlights with us).