Blanchard Springs

Last weekend, I made a quick visit to the Ozarks with my nephew Isaac so we could take a few senior portraits. We decided to drive over to Blanchard Springs, which is an incredibly scenic area that would hopefully make for some nice pictures. There were a few flaws in the plan, unfortunately. Most of the recreation area at Blanchard was closed because of flood damage. And it was also really cold and windy that day.

A good chunk of the area around Blanchard was indeed closed, and the road to the campground area was gated shut. But we did end up walking around the gate for a just a few steps, because the closed road actually ended up being a nice little background for some pictures. Because there hadn't been any traffic, there was a nice collection of fallen leaves along both sides of the pavement.



Luckily the trail to the springs was still open, so we headed over there next. 



It was past peak color there at Blanchard, and a lot of trees had already lost their leaves. The wind that day was also blowing a lot of the leaves away.







One of the great things about Blanchard Springs is that it's one of the few places in Arkansas where you can find waterfalls running year-round. We headed below the old stone dam, which was designed so that it has a waterfall running down below it at all times.





Nearby are the ruins of an old mill (which was built in 1900). It's a great backdrop for portraits and landscape photos, with the creek flowing right past the stone walls. We got a few more pictures before it was time to retreat back to the warm car and head back home.