Snow Day

I didn't really believe the predictions that we'd get much snow last week. I guess I have residual trauma from when I was a kid and winter storms would hit other parts of the state and somehow miss us. It was painful to get up early to watch the local news to see the long list of closed schools scroll across the bottom of the screen, only to see your school name sitting next to the word "OPEN."

So I woke up Friday morning and was a little surprised to see a thick blanket of snow covering our front yard. This is our birdbath, with about 10 inches of snow on it.



And the tall oak trees in the neighbor's yard, coated with snow:



We live in a hilly area, and our street always turns a bit treacherous during winter storms. So usually we try to avoid driving anywhere if we can, but I did get out early that morning and walked through the neighborhood to look at the snow before it got all trampled.

Walked by this fire hydrant, which hadn't had any yellow snow added to it yet by any passing dogs.



A few cars had gotten out, this is the view along Breckenridge Road.



And then I headed down to the neighborhood park, with its old playground equipment. It was kinda funny how the snow decided to take a slide down the slide.









And the diving board at the pool. Will have to remember this photo in a few months when it's a 103 degrees outside.



And I was probably being watched closely by the CCTVs (or the IcyTVs).







And then one last photo, of a small creek that flows through the neighborhood. The snow makes it look a lot prettier than it does the rest of the year:



While the hills make it hard to drive, they do make for some good sledding. The rest of the day was spent watching the kids sled, making an attempt at building a snowman, and then sitting inside in the heat (luckily it wasn't an ice storm and the power didn't go out).

2024

The passage of time still seems so elastic and pliable ever since Covid. It's hard to believe now that it's been almost five years since lockdowns started. And at the same time, the days seem to drag on and it hardly seems like any time has passed since 2020.

But here we are, at the end of another year. 2024 had its fair share of good moments and bad moments (hopefully for anyone reading this, the good far outnumbered the bad). We were lucky enough to do a bit of traveling last year, including visits to three National Parks. I'm still humbled and grateful that I had one of my photos selected to tour the state with the Small Works on Paper exhibition, and had a solo exhibition of my work at the Laman Library in North Little Rock. And I am fortunate that I had the opportunity to take lots of pictures last year. So here, looking back, are some of my favorite images from the last twelve months:

#25:

March 17: Pensacola Beach, Florida
We loaded up both kids in the car and made a road trip to Florida for Spring Break. It stormed on us as we went through Alabama and then finally into Florida, but as soon as we arrived at our rental place in Pensacola, the clouds broke and we were treated with a great sunset. Not a bad way to start a vacation.

#24:

July 2: Tucumcari, New Mexico
In the summer we made another road trip, this time to Colorado. On the way home we followed along Route 66 for a bit. The Mother Road has, sadly, changed a lot in recent years. A good number of the historic structures are gone. And many others are now covered with graffiti and marred by vandalism. But one spot that remains unchanged is the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari. We spent the night there, and it was quaint and charming. And it was great to be able to just walk out of our room and be able to get pictures of the motel's iconic sign at dusk.

#23:

June 30: Alta, Colorado
Alta was established as a mining town, high up in the San Juan Mountains. It must have been incredibly hard to live there back in the olden days. When the mines closed, the buildings were left abandoned and Alta became a ghost town. But with views like this, it's hard to think why people would ever want to leave this place.

#22:

December 15: Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock
It was a good time to test out the weatherproofing on the new camera, since it was pretty much sitting directly in this rain puddle. The Capitol looks great around Christmas, which definitely makes up for all the foolishness that the legislature and governor get up to in the other months.

#21:

January 23: Lower Longpool Falls, Ozark National Forest, Arkansas
This was taken a few days after a winter storm hit the Ozarks, and there were still massive icicles hanging from the bluffs at Longpool. There was also still some slick ice along the trail (I only slipped and fell once).

#20:

April 20: Keo, Arkansas
This small oxbow lake is filled with tupelo trees, and also a large amount of duckweed. This was taken after a heavy rain, and the duckweed (which isn't algae but is a tiny aquatic plant) was caught on a slight current in the water.

#19:

June 30: Colorado
The exact location of the Dancing Aspens has been a closely-guarded secret, although there were enough clues out there that it wasn't impossible for us to find them. After visiting the site, I can see why people are so protective. The trees are still pristine. No one has carved their initials into the aspen's bark. The ground around them isn't trampled and worn down from a never-ending onslaught of people. In an age where people find it acceptable to vandalize and destroy things, it's refreshing to see these trees have largely been left alone. I hope it stays that way.

#18:

December 4: Baring Cross Bridge, Downtown Little Rock, Arkansas
When I drove up to the parking lot, I saw that the train was just about to start crossing the bridge. I grabbed the camera and tripod and quickly ran over to try to get a shot. Of course, the center column of the tripod decided that this would be a grand time to slide out and fall to the ground. I reassembled the tripod, set the camera up, and got a shot composed and focused just as the train crossed over the bridge.

#17:

April 20: Scott, Arkansas
Scott is a small town, but there is never a lack of things to photograph there. The town is full of neat old buildings, including this old barn. This was taken on a rainy day in the Spring, the barn standing under dark gray clouds that threatened to storm at any second.

#16:

October 26: Jasper, Arkansas
It was a dry summer here - like no rain in two months kinda dry. So I thought that there weren't going to be good fall colors and the trees would just turn sad and brown. But 2024 was nothing but unpredictable. Despite the lack of rain, there was actually some really good fall color in the Ozarks.

#15:

December 4: Downtown Little Rock, Arkansas
A train heading to Union Station, which was barely visible through the thick fog that night. After getting the picture of the train at Picture #18, I ran across the street and set up this shot. I was only able to get three long-exposures before the end of the train passed below.

#14:

April 26: Fuzzybutt Falls, Ozark National Forest, Arkansas
I met up with my friend Zack and we hiked to Fuzzybutt Falls, which just might be one of the most uniquely named waterfalls in the state. We arrived as it started to storm, but the canyon walls made a great shelter from the rain. After taking pictures of the falls from just about every angle, eventually we just stopped at watch the rain. It was a great and peaceful moment to be out in the woods, even if neither of us decided to do a Tim Ernst-style photo of ourselves at waterfall.

#13:

April 27: Stepp Creek Falls, Ozark National Forest, Arkansas
Stepp Creek has several waterfalls, but this one was the tallest at 25 feet. It was a foggy and misty morning, which helped to saturate the bright green of the Spring growth in the forest.

#12:

June 26: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado
The sand dunes here are really great. And you can't really appreciate their size until you try to hurry up the side of them before sunset. We tried to make it to the top of the tallest dune but didn't quite make it. But we were treated to a great view and a nice sunset over the vast sea of dunes below.

#11:

December 28: Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas
Fog drifting through the tree and bluffs from the lodge at Petit Jean Mountain. Below the fog is Cedar Creek, which was full of rain and was audible from the overlook. I took a bunch of pictures here (while standing under an umbrella), and the fog was different in each shot. It moved silently through the trees, covering and revealing the landscape like a magician.

#10:

April 20: Scott, Arkansas
These pecan trees were planted over a century ago. They are massive things, lining the road like dutiful sentries. Their limbs have spread out and over the road, creating a sort of tunnel. But they are surprisingly fragile. Strong storms knock off limbs, or worse take down entire trees. Large gaps have appeared in the long line of trees, like the smile of an eight year old who is losing his baby teeth. As sturdy as the trees look, there's no telling how long they will all be standing.

#9:

October 26: Steele Creek, Buffalo National River, Arkansas
The lack of rain this summer left the Buffalo River running low, where it almost looked like a small creek in places. But the Buffalo is still a beautiful place to visit, even when the river is low. Oddly enough, a storm would later dump massive amounts of rain in the Ozarks, causing massive flooding along the river.

#8:

April 27: Ozark National Forest, Arkansas
We were heading down this dirt road towards a waterfall, but I had to make several stops to get pictures of the road and the fog. Which probably isn't the best conditions for driving but it does make for some nice pictures.

#7:

June 30: Trout Lake, San Juan Mountains, Colorado
Colorado is a beautiful state. And it was views like this that made me wonder what all it would take to move there. Which seemed like a good idea until I saw how much houses cost there, and I remembered how bad I am at driving in ice and snow. 

#6:

July 2: Tucumcari, New Mexico
Tucumcari is known for its many vintage neon signs, dating back to the Route 66 era. Most of those signs are for motels or restaurants that no longer exist, and they stand as rusty and silent tributes to that bygone time. One of those signs is for the Ranch House Cafe, which opened in 1952. I stopped to get pictures here as it started to rain, so I retreated back to the car. But then I saw a rainbow form in the sky so I rushed out of the car to get a few pictures.

#5:

June 27: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
We arrived at Black Canyon at about the same time as a pretty big storm. Dark and ominous clouds drifted overhead as we quickly made our way to the visitor center to get our National Park passport stamped and to get a few souvenirs. And we only had made it to just two overlooks before it started to pour rain and lightning. It rained almost the entire time we were there, but then it stopped right at sunset. Which was nice because I was able to get a few pictures from this overlook of the Painted Wall without having to worry about the camera getting soaked.

#4:

March 16: Mississippi
The house was built in 1892, in the late Victorian Queen Anne style. The house was occupied until the 1990s, but sadly it has been left empty and abandoned. But even in its advanced state of decay, you can see so many architectural charms. There are the numerous stained glass windows. There are the wooden gingerbread embellishments. There are the remains of the delicate decorations around the front porch. Compare this to the cookie-cutter McMansions you see in the sprawling suburbs of today. They definitely don't make them like this anymore.

#3:

June 26: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado
I woke up before dawn and headed out to get pictures of the sunrise over the sand dunes. But I wasn't alone. A massive swarm of mosquitoes was also there. It turns out we were there at the height of mosquito season in the park, when the creek that flows by the dunes is low enough to create stagnant pools of still water. I tried to set up the camera and take a few pictures while under constant attack by mosquitoes, who hovered over me like the dustcloud that trails after the character Pigpen in Peanuts. The only way to keep them away was to be in constant motion, so I had to walk in circles along the overlook and the road. After being breakfast for countless mosquitoes, I retreated back to our camper, which was in a campground just outside the park boundary. A few hours later I looked out the window of the camper and saw some great light on the dunes, which cast soft shadows across the sand. So I went out and took a few pictures, where luckily the mosquitoes weren't so bad. It's kinda funny to think that I could have just slept in and just taken pictures from the camper instead.

#2:

February 19: Keo, Arkansas
This was my third attempt at taking star trail pictures at this abandoned church. The lens fogged up during my first attempt. On the second attempt the external shutter release broke while I was out there. On this night I got there in time to get the camera all set up. I put a hard-warmer inside a sock, and wrapped it around the lens (which is a crude, but effective way to prevent the lens from fogging up). The replacement shutter release was working, and finally I was able to get some pictures. The star trails were taken over the course of about two and a half hours.

#1:

April 8: Riverfront Park, North Little Rock, Arkansas
This year we were lucky enough to live in the path of totality for a solar eclipse. And after witnessing it in person, I can understand why people travel across the country to see them. We went to a park to watch the eclipse over downtown Little Rock. It was along the river, where a few boats from the police and sheriff's office were going by. Elliott, like most three year old boys, is completely obsessed with fire trucks, police cars and ambulances. And when he saw that police boats actually existed, his young mind was blown. He wanted me to hold him during the entire length of totality, because all he wanted to see were the boats in the water (which were playing "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" on their speakers). So I tried my best to get a few pictures of the eclipse, all while holding a squirming toddler who was yelling "police boat Dada!!" in my ear the whole time.


And finally, I would like to thank anyone who is reading this little photo blog. I know we live in an incredibly fast-paced and distracted world, where there doesn't seem much time to do things like look at blog posts. I'm grateful for and happy that anyone stumbles by here. This will be this little blog's 19th year in existence, and I hope to keep it going for awhile longer. Thank you again, and hope you all have a kind and happy new year.

Petit Jean

It was rainy and foggy last Saturday, which just happens to be some optimal conditions for waterfall photography. So as soon as I able to get away, I drove off towards Petit Jean Mountain. After driving through the pouring rain on the freeway, I finally made it to the park. The first stop was the Stout's Point Overlook, which was concealed under a thick blanket of fog.



Usually there is a nice view of the Arkansas River from here, but it was hidden by the fog. But I did get a few pictures of this old CCC building, which was built back in the 1930s.



And the view looking out the windows:



The side of the road was still lined with fallen leaves, which added a bit of color to the foggy landscape.



From there I headed over to the lodge, which was also built by the CCC in the 1930s. I ran in to use bathroom and was surprised at how cozy it was in there. There was a fire going in the lobby fireplace, and a large bar offering tempting drinks. If I wasn't planning on hiking, I would have moseyed up to the bar and had a few drinks while watching the fog through the windows. Instead I headed out into the cold rain to an overlook and took pictures of the fog as it drifted and danced through the trees and bluffs.







And then I started the hike to Cedar Falls. The trail switchbacks down alongside a small stream, which was full of water thanks to the steady rainfall that day.





And it was still steadily raining, but I had brought an umbrella with me to at least make an attempt at keeping the camera dry. It was mostly successful, I was able to get a few pictures without raindrops on the lens.





The trail follows a few switchbacks and then reaches the bottom of the canyon, where it then runs alongside Cedar Creek.









At one point along the hike I realized that I was missing something - the umbrella. I had stopped to tie my shoelaces and had set the umbrella down, and must have forgotten it when I started hiking. I debated whether or not I should go back for it. I was almost to the falls, and I hadn't seen anyone else out along the trail. Surely it would be ok until I finished the hike and turned back around?

I stopped again at another spot along the creek and realized I was missing something else. My polarizing filter was missing! It must have slipped off the camera at some point. Since this was a more vital piece of equipment, I decided I had no choice but to turn around and go searching for it. Hopefully it was still at the last place I had stopped to take pictures. So I started to backtrack, hiking back down the trail.

Soon I walked by the umbrella, which was open and sitting along the trail. It probably would have looked odd to see, like Mary Poppins had gone hiking and then got attacked by a bear or something. But I retrieved the umbrella, and then continued on. Eventually I reached the spot where I had last stopped, and thankfully found the filter resting atop a bunch of leaves. It was covered with raindrops, but thankfully it hadn't bounced into the creek when it fell.

And then I continued on the hike and finally made it to Cedar Falls. This is one of the most popular waterfalls in Arkansas, and rightly so. The falls pour into a canyon with a roar that echoes off the canyon walls.





It had taken longer to do this hike than I had expected (backtracking to search for missing filters didn't help), and it was starting to get late. It would soon start getting dark. I rushed over and tried to get a few more pictures of the falls as quickly as possible.





It was just after sunset when I made it back up the lodge after finishing the hike. I was thankful that I made it to the top and hadn't left anything behind again, like an umbrella, filter or car keys.