The Bridge to Nowhere

After work on Friday night, I drove home in another thick fog. With really nothing better to do, I grabbed the camera and made one more photo trip out into the void. This time I ended up at the Big Dam Bridge, which was nearly obscured by the fog.




I went back to one certain spot that I think provides the best view of the bridge. But of course as I got there I met a friendly skunk. He was standing right where I wanted to be taking pictures. Now I've seen that skunk out there before, so he must have a little home somewhere near that part of the bridge. Not really wanting to be sprayed (what a way to start the New Year), I moved back to a different spot nearby. I was nervous the whole time, expecting to turn around and see that damn skunk right next to me.


I survived the shoot without any skunk incidents, and made a quick hike up the bridge. The fog had grown thicker and it was hard to see much of anything on the bridge.


From there I decided to cruise around town looking for something to shoot, but never really found anything that turned out. Granted, there really isn't all that much in this part of town (I even drove through the Walmart Supercenter parking lot looking for inspiration). I decided to drive over to the city park at Lake Willastein in Maumelle, but got lost twice. I wasn't sure of the way there in the first place, and got completely disoriented while driving in the fog. Finally I made it there, but none of the shots really turned out after all. Oh well.

Stay tuned, coming up will be some shots taken Saturday while down in Hot Springs...

New Year's Eve

It was cold on New Year's Eve, about 36 degrees out, when I went out to try to get a shot of the last sunset of the year. I decided to hit the Junction Bridge again, and hoped that the cold air might keep the crazy people at home. Luckily there were all being crazy somewhere else, in fact only one person talked to me while out on the bridge, and he just asked if I had any cigarettes.

So here it is, the last sunset of 2008:




Venus was hanging around near the moon, so I tried to get a few shots of it with the skyline. Here is another view of the skyline, while also looking back down the Junction Bridge:


And one last shot from the bridge and of the year, looking back through the bridge towards downtown:

Best of 2008 - Part 2

And now part 2 of the best of 2008:

June:
I finally had a chance to explore the new Junction Bridge, and got this view looking toward the downtown skyline:




And another view of the bridge...


The Old Mill in North Little Rock (the mill's roof was damaged by a fire a few weeks ago, the police are still looking for the people who caused it).


And from a trip to Hot Springs, one of my favorite cities in the state:










And finally, one quick shot from Burns Park in NLR:


July:
I drove out to the swamps of eastern Arkansas and tried to find the Ivory Billed woodpecker, but got these shots instead:




And a dusk shot of the capitol building:


August:
The Big Dam Bridge and a big dam puddle:


And night settling in over the Junction Bridge:


We took a short road trip to Kansas City for a soccer game, and found that it is a really cool city. This is the view of downtown form the Liberty Memorial Tower:


September:
Hurricane Gustav made its way over Arkansas, and then sat for a few days. We were drenched with rain, which managed to get waterfalls back up and running. This is Little Rock under Gustav:


A few days later I made a trip back up to Falling Water Falls which was running nicely from all that rain from Gustav:




This creek runs into Falling Water Creek just downstream from the falls:


I made another trip up to Collins Creek, which is by far one of my favorite places in the state:






October:
Big Dam Bridge in an early morning fog:


This month was spent waiting for the fall colors to develop. We spent the day in the Ozarks trying to find color, exploring Pedestal Rocks and Falling Water Falls (again).










I took some time off from work and made a trip back up to the Ozarks, going to Gunner Pool and Blanchard Springs:






I headed back up to the Ozarks in search of fall color, heading back up to the Buffalo National River. This was taken along the way to Hawksbill Crag:


After leaving the Crag, we went over and got a few shots of the Buffalo River at Steele Creek. The reflections were awesome.


November:
The fall colors finally kicked in, and I made a trip over to Flatside Pinnacle in the Ouachita National Forest for some shots (much to my cousin Jonathon's displeasure).








The leaves were pretty much gone after that, though I did try to find something to get pictures of:






I made one last trip to Collins Creek, when all the autumn leaves had just about fallen from the trees.




And in my truly fair and unbiased opinion, I think this might be my best shot of the year:


December:
The start of the month saw this rare sight up in the skies:


I made sure I was out at the state capitol when the turned on the building Christmas lights, and then set off fireworks:


And then went out the next night to get this shot of the capitol at dusk:


Then one of my cousins made it to the state high school football championship game, so I made sure I was out there with a camera. I'm amazed I got these shots, especially since it catches him scoring a touchdown. My cousin is set for facebook profile pictures for months and months.




And a few shots from Benton:




From the fog a few weeks ago:






And Charleston:


Well thanks for sticking with me and this post for all this time. I never really thought people would care that much about my pictures, or care to read my wacky stories or anything. But thanks for stopping by the blog this year, I've appreciated all your views and comments. Hopefully next year will be great, with a lot more trips into the Ozarks and Ouachitas (and possible the Smokies). No doubt there will be many encounters with a few more crazy people - stay tuned!