Star Search

I saw on the news that there was another solar storm, which meant that there would be another chance to maybe see the northern lights again. Most of the predictions didn't really go as far south as Arkansas, but I thought I might head out just in case.

I decided to drive out to an abandoned church north of Conway. Jonah wanted to tag along, which was surprising since I didn't think standing next to an abandoned church in the dark in the middle of the country was an exciting activity for eight year olds. But we drove out there, and there were no northern lights, of course. But there were lots and lots of stars.



And even just a little bit of the Milky Way too.



Apparently, there was a little bit of Northern Lights in the sky last night, just barely visible in northern Arkansas. We were off by two days in our attempt, oh well. Better luck next time?

Markham Street

It was a rainy night when I headed out to downtown Little Rock to try to take a few pictures. I parked the car and walked along Markham Street, passing by the Pulaski County Courthouse.



The courthouse was built in 1914.



Down the road, I stopped to get a picture of the Old State House reflected in a rain puddle. Luckily I didn't drop the camera in the water...

Tony Hawk

Went outside the other day and was greeted by this hawk hanging out in our front yard. Luckily he(she?) was kind enough to wait around a few minutes for me to go and grab my camera and zoom lens. The hawk had found a squirrel for dinner (I'm guessing its the one that had gotten plump this summer eating all the food from our bird feeder).

Burns Park

I drove through Burns Park the other day, the first time I've been there since the park reopened after last year's tornado. The damage there was immense. The little Funland amusement park was completely destroyed. Many of the park's pavilions were damaged, along with the RV Park and the soccer fields. But the most notable change is the trees - or the lack of them. The tornado took down over 20,000 trees in just Burns Park alone. You can easily trace the path of the tornado through the park, following the long gash where it looks like the forest was mercilessly clear-cut.

But the tornado just narrowly missed a few of the park's most notable landmarks. The old pioneer cabin, built in the 1850s, was just outside the tornado's path.





Luckily a lot of the park's forest remain undamaged:





And the Burns Park covered bridge was undamaged by the storm as well.



Which is good, since all residents of North Little Rock are contractually obligated to get at least one portrait taken at either the Old Mill or the Burns Park covered bridge (I say as a native of Dogtown).





It'll be interesting to see how the park changes, as new growth replaces the lost trees and a new Funland is built.

Star Search

Last week I got a message from a photographer on Instagram (Jason @dream.tones) who was wanting to meet up and get some Milky Way pictures while he was going to be around Little Rock. We decided to visit a few abandoned churches in the Delta area around Scott and Keo. It was a pleasant evening, the heat of the summer had finally broken and it felt like Fall was finally approaching. Plus it was mostly clear, just a few light clouds in the sky.

We eventually ended up at an abandoned church near Keo, one that I've taken lots of pictures at in the past. There were lots of stars overhead, and the Milky Way even made an appearance. There was just a little bit of distant light pollution (from Pine Bluff, I think).



Across the street from the church is a small cemetery, which had this really interesting tree growing in it. So we headed over and tried to get a few shots of the tree with all of the stars above. Luckily the light pollution here (from Little Rock, I think) was kinda helpful, since it helped to silhouette the tree against the dark night sky.