Election Day

Ah, finally it is election day. Even though Arkansas has early voting, I haven't voted yet. I did try last weekend, and went by the main early voting place downtown. The line stretched out the door and snaked along the sidewalk for half a block. I next tried the main library in North Little Rock. I was happy to note that there wasn't a line out the door. But the line just curled and twisted around inside the library instead. I sat in line for about 20 minutes and gave up, opting to go take some fall color pictures instead. I'll try to vote after work, hopefully the line won't be too long.

When I was up in the Ozarks a few weeks ago I did see this yard sign for a local politician.


I don't think I'd vote for him, since Tom Riddle grows up to be Lord Voldermort.

While we have no Tom Riddles here, there are a few cool names on our ballot. Residents in Pulaski County can vote to re-elect sheriff Doc Holladay, who apparently came to Little Rock after leaving the OK Corral. And a sign by my parent's house in NLR was for alderman Tom Jones - which is not unusual, I guess...

Capture Arkansas

The newspaper in Little Rock, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, held a little photography competition a few months ago. You could submit pictures to the contest, and then people would vote on their favorites. They held a release party for the book on Saturday, and I'm happy to say that I had three pictures published. And I even got an award, for the people's choice in the "Institutions" category. The award came with a $25 gift card, which I guess goes to cover the cost of buying the book.

The winning picture is this one, of fireworks over the Arkansas State Capitol:


Also, this shot of an autumn view from Flatside Pinnacle made it in:


And this shot of a foggy Lake Bailey at Petit Jean Mountain State Park:

Tyler Bend

After lunch in Eureka Springs on Sunday, it was time to head home. I had the good timing to hit the Buffalo River again before it got dark, and made a stop at Tyler Bend.


Tyler Bend is another great place along the river. And since its the easiest to access from Little Rock, I've been lucky to have floated this spot along the river a few times. On Sunday I was there just a few minutes too late, most of the light was fading away. I ran along the river to find a good spot to get pictures, eventually standing along a gravel bar with this view of the bluffs.


On my way back I saw this view, and wished I had seen it earlier. It would have looked nice with more light on it...

Steele Creek

It was getting late in the day as we drove out of Boxley Valley. There were already cars parked along the side of the road, where people were setting up to catch a glimpse of the elk. We did see one elk grazing in a field far from the road. But we continued on towards our next destination, Steele Creek.

This is a great place along the Buffalo River, a camping area with access to some of the most spectacular bluffs along the river. As we drove down into the valley, the sun was pouring in and bathing the bluffs with light. The reflection in the river was awesome.




A deer set out and crossed the river across the above view. This was surprising because it was heading towards a lot of people standing along the river. I tried my best to get a shot, but they were all a bit blurry. But it was a cool site to see.

Steele Creek flows into the Buffalo River here, but it was running low enough that you could just jump over it to reach the other side. It is easy to walk along the riverbank, and looking back provided more great views...


A small set of rapids sit where the river bends, and it was hard to not keep taking pictures out there. In fact it was difficult to find a place to point the camera since it was quite scenic all around us.






I would have happily sat there for the rest of the day, but it was time to move on. But not before snapping just a few more shots while the light was good...


This ended our day out at the Buffalo. From there we headed up to Harrison for dinner. But on my way back home the next day I had time for one more stop along the Buffalo River...

Hawksbill Crag

I love the Buffalo River. If I had my druthers I'd move there in a hearbeat, just living in some remote shanty as long as it was close to all the scenic stuff out there. Of course that shanty would need electricity, running water, and nearby access to a good job. So until then, I'll just have to make do with making the long drive up there when I can.

So last Saturday we set out to visit Hawksbill Crag, a neat place in the Ozark National Forest that sits just beyond the boundary to the National River. The crag is a stunning rock outcrop that shoots out 100 feet over the wilderness below. It sits at the end of a 1.5 mile long hike, which is reached via a sometimes very steep dirt road that starts out in Boxley Valley.

We made the drive up there, and found the trailhead parking lot to be packed with cars. Apparently we weren't the only ones with the bright idea of hiking this trail on a nice autumn day. Cars were jammed into any free space along the road, and we eventually found a place to park along the side of the road. We immediately saw where a lot of the cars were from, a large group of maybe 40 people were finishing the hike when we reached the trailhead. But the hike would be packed with people for the rest of the day.

The trail starts out heading downhill, and we passed a registraion station where someone had left some odd graffitti.

We weren't panicking, but thanks for the warning...

The fall colors in this part of the Ozarks were nice, but still not quite at their peak.




The trail evens out and begins to run along the bluffline. Beyond you have miles of wilderness, with few traces of man's impact there.


As with all my other attempts at getting pictures this fall, it was another sunny day. I would have loved some clouds, or fog, but it was a nice day anyways. Eventually the trail reaches a small outcrop with a large tree growing on it. It is a neat tree, growing on the exposed rock with a spectacular mountain view to enjoy. The tree was bent and weathered, and it holds a lot of personality.


And the tree's view, which isn't too shabby:


We managed to have the great timing to be right behind another large group of hikers. Now remember that this trail runs along a very steep bluff that would be easy to stumble off of if you aren't careful. I was a bit surprised to see some of the hikers in this group carrying cans of beer with them. Beer just doesn't seem to be a good combination with a place where a fall would be fatal. But they were carrying their empties out with them, so good for them.

The large group sat out on the crag posing for pictures, so we waited at another overlook for them to finish. I wanted to get some pictures of the bluff without any people on it, so we had to wait for awhile. While we were sitting there, we started talking with another group of photographers only to find out that they are also members of Flickr. It's amazing what a small world it is.

I began to get annoyed with the large group of hikers occupying the crag. They were being a bit obnoxious. But I'd later find out that the group hiked out there in honor of a friend who had recently passed away, since it was his favorite place. They stood out on the crag and yelled out his name in his honor (at the time I was trying to figure out what they were saying). So I can't really get too annoyed with them, they were out there for a good reason.

But when they finally left, the crag was clear of people.


After that an unspoken agreement was made with people out there. Hikers wouldn't set out on the crag while people took a few minutes posing on the rock. I accidently broke it and unknowlingly strolled out onto the rock to take pictures, only to be chastised by my Aunt for getting in the way of someone's picture. Sorry!

But here is another view of Hawksbill Crag, which has been said to be the "most photographed natural feature" in the state of Arkansas. I'm not sure if that's true. I'd bet Pinnacle Mountain or Petit Jean Mountain get more pictures taken, but who's keeping count, anyways?


From there we made the hike back out to the trailhead. After reaching the car we made the drive back down into Boxley Valley and onto the next destination, Steele Creek...