Down To The River

We headed down the mountain into Boxley Valley. I resisted the urge to stop at every old barn to get pictures, since I was just here a few weeks ago. But we did make one quick stop at the old springhouse, which had a bit of water tumbling down beside it.



And then we headed to the Steele Creek access along the Buffalo. After really heavy rains, there are two waterfalls that pour over Roark Bluff. They are about 200 feet tall, and are among the tallest waterfalls in the state (when they're going). I tried to get a few pictures, but the polarizing filter was wet. I took it off the lens to try to dry it, but my shirt was still completely soaked after our hike that I accomplished nothing but just smearing the water around on the glass. As I was fumbling with the filter, it slipped from my fingers and dropped with a little *plonk* into the muddy and murky waters of the river. Whoops.

Steele Creek

I really didn't think there would be good fall colors this year. There hadn't been a significant rain in two months. The rivers and creeks had all dried up, waterfalls were all a distant memory. Burn bans blanketed the region. But lo and behold, it turns out there were was some good fall colors in the Ozark Mountains this year. Somehow.

So we decided to make a weekend out of it and head up to the hills to see the fall colors. We booked a cabin near Jasper, and loaded up the kids (and the dogs) into the car like the Beverly Hillbillies. We arrived late Friday night, well after dark. But the next morning I woke up early, and snuck out without hopefully waking anyone up. I met up with my friend Zack, and we drove off to take pictures along the Buffalo River.

We went to the Steele Creek access, which is arguably the most scenic spot on the river. And while the water level was low, there was some really good fall color along the river.



I don't think I had ever seen the river this low before.







We arrived shortly before sunrise, and gradually we started to hear people at the nearby campground start to awaken. But it was a little surprising that there weren't more people there. Usually campgrounds are booked solid around the peak of fall color on the Buffalo, but there were several vacant spots there. We had no issue finding a cabin on short notice.









I forgot to bring the charger for the infrared camera, so the battery was almost dead. But I did get one shot from this spot:



It was crazy to think that just a few months ago people were floating canoes through here.







Later that day, I returned to the river with the rest of the family. Jonah was excited to try to skip stones in the small pools of water. Elliott, being a typical four year-old, was excited about being able to throw rocks in the water. As we were leaving, I stopped to get this picture of the trees set against Roark Bluff.

Fall In The Ozarks - Part 2

We woke up around sunrise the next morning and then headed right back to the beautiful Buffalo River at Steele Creek. We headed to the base of the 200 foot-tall Roark Bluff, and got a few pictures. It was surprisingly quiet out there (since the campground was full, I expected to see more people out).











The water was low on the river, since there had hardly been any rain in the weeks before. But there was enough water to create this nice little pool, which had some nice reflections in it.





And one last shot of Roark Bluff, before we headed into Jasper to get breakfast at the Ozark Cafe.



After filling up on pancakes and caffeine, we headed back to the car and drove towards Boxley Valley. Boxley is one of the prettiest places in Arkansas, filled with all sorts of old barns and other buildings.



This great old barn dates back to 1915.







Further down the road was this old barn, partially hidden behind overgrown grasses.









The barn was near the old Boxley Mill. The first mill in Boxley Valley was built in 1840 and was actually the site of a small Civil War fight. The current mill was built in 1870 and operated until the 1960s.





We took a slight detour and headed up Cave Mountain road to visit the overlook at Hedge's Pouroff, where an old cedar tree sits perched right on the edge of the 110-foot tall bluff line.



That tree has a commanding view, looking far into the upper waters of the Buffalo River.



We headed back down hill (which is incredibly easy since it Cave Mountain Road is so steep), and made one last stop in Boxley. This old barn is one of my favorite barns in Boxley, and sits at the edge of the valley.



The barn was built in the 1920s, and sits by a spring that the locals still use for drinking water.

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).