Tyler Bend

My birthday was last weekend. So in honor of my life slowly spiraling down the drain of being a "30-something," I wanted to do something fun. As the big day approached, I made plans with my cousin for a float trip on the Buffalo River. My Aunt and her friend joined in, and we tried to all meet up at Tyler Bend on Friday.

Since this trip involved three Cormacks, the worst of the family luck bubbled up to the surface. The weekend would turn out to be incredibly hot - with highs in the upper 90s. Perfect camping weather!

I took off work on Friday so I could get up to Tyler Bend early enough to claim a camping spot. Last time I tried to camp along the Buffalo River on this weekend, the campgrounds were all full. I managed to get up to the Buffalo before noon, and luckily there were a few vacant campsites left. But most of the good ones were taken, at least, any campsite with a decent amount of shade. I claimed one, and then languished in the hot temps. Luckily the river was nearby, and the water was cold.

My family arrived in the evening, and we got our collection of tents set up. Things cooled off considerably after the sun went down, and it actually got a bit chilly overnight.

I woke up around 5:30am on Saturday morning, and peered through the tent. A heavy fog had drifted over our campground. What to do? Go back to sleep, or try to get a few pictures? I sleepily hauled myself out of the tent and got the camera. As much as I dislike being awake this early, it was good conditions for pictures.

I walked over to the river, which was still and silent in the early morning fog. The only thing making noise were a few birds, and the crunch of my feet walking along the rocks by the river. I strolled along the river, trying to find a good spot to get a picture of the fog and the bluffs.

There was a good spot ahead. But some people who were floating the river had decided to set up camp right along the gravel bar near where I wanted to get pictures. They had literally set up camp right by their canoes, and looked to be sleeping right on the rocky shore of the river. I tried to silently sneak past them, and set up to take this picture...


Next I walked over to a nearby field, where a few hay bales were sitting amongst the fog.




I headed back to the campsite, walking along this path through the woods...


I made it back to the tent, and was able to take a nice little nap. A few hours later, we were at the canoe outfitters. After waiting for a few bus loads of people to be carted away, we were driven to the put-in for our float - Baker Ford. From there we would float for about six miles to Grinders Ferry.

I wasn't brave enough to take my camera onto the canoe. Instead I bought one of those waterproof disposable cameras (for $8 at Wal-Mart). The camera didn't take many good pictures, and it cost almost $15 for it to get developed. This didn't make me miss using film. The crappy disposable camera only had 27 exposures on it, so I ended up paying about a dollar for picture, and all the shots were grainy.

I will share one of the shots from the crappy disposable camera. This was taken shortly after we started our float, when we had stopped to swim some in the river. A strange river convoy passed by us - it was a guy, laying on a raft next to a canoe. The canoe only had a dog sitting inside it, like it was the captain of the ship. Both the dog and the guy seemed to enjoy the trip:


We took our time and lazily drifted down the river. While it was hot, I didn't seem to feel it while being on the river. Although I ended up getting an awful sunburn, it was a perfect day on the Buffalo River. I was sad when we eventually reached the end of the float (we were out of beer, anyways).

On Sunday we packed up the campsite and parted ways. I headed back home towards Little Rock, but did stop along the way to get a shot of a barn. This was taken right off of Hwy. 65, near Leslie:

Riverfest Fireworks

The largest fireworks display in the state is set off each Memorial Day weekend in downtown Little Rock, marking the end of Riverfest. It's always a great opportunity to get some good pictures, if you don't mind dealing with the thousands upon thousands of people all crowding together downtown.

This was the first Riverfest weekend in recent memory where it didn't storm, or even threaten to rain. So on Sunday, before the fireworks, a massive throng of people were descending on the usually quiet streets of downtown Little Rock. As it started to get close to dusk, just about every single available parking space was taken. But still, long lines of traffic were snaking their way through.

I got there early, and luckily had already snagged a good spot. I had met up with my friend John, who managed to find an awesome spot for us to get some pictures. It was on the top of one of the buildings in downtown, and it did provide a nice view of the Main Street bridge (where the fireworks are shot from).

We got there just at sunset, and were rewarded with some amazing views of the city.

Just look how many cars are packed down there, which made me glad I was safely about 20 floors above the packed streets.

The fireworks finally went up around 9:15, and even though we were a few blocks away, it was still loud enough to make my ears ring.




When the show was over, I tried to get a few more pictures to show off the great view up there. This was taken looking towards the River Market area.

Note the line of traffic still trying to get onto Second Street from the freeway.

And a view looking down towards the Pulaski County Courthouse:


And the view looking west towards the Metropolitan National Bank Building, the Regions Building, and the state capitol off in the background.

Cornelius Falls & Bridal Veil Falls

Last Friday, another big storm passed through Arkansas and dumped several inches of rain. It would be more than enough to get some good waterfalls going, and I thought that it would be criminal to miss out on what might be the last good weekend of Spring to get pictures.

I didn't want to use up too much gas, or put too many miles on my car, so I opted to try to hit a place that was fairly close to home. I finally decided to drive up to Heber Springs and visit Bridal Veil Falls and Cornelius Falls. I knew that there would be plenty of water in the falls, but I just hoped that the sun and clouds would cooperate with me.

When I left Little Rock it was mostly sunny, with a few big fluffy clouds floating around. Since you really need cloudy weather for waterfall pictures, I thought that my day would be spent waiting for clouds to block the sun. I wasn't in a hurry, so I took my time on the drive up there (always being mindful of the speed limit in the town of Guy), and lazily stopped for a few pictures along the way.

This was taken along the side of the road, where a pond sits below a few neat old barns...


When I finally drove into Heber Springs, it was still bright and sunny out. So I went through a few more gallons of gas and lazily drove around the countryside. Along the way, I stopped over and visited Collins Creek. There was a good amount of water coming in from one of the side streams that flows into the creek, which meant that this area did see some heavy rain the previous day. But it was sunny, and I didn't bother trying to take any pictures.

Eventually I decided to just head over to Bridal Veil and Cornelius Falls. And somehow, my timing miraculously worked out. Some clouds drifted over, and I ended up with great light for the remainder of my time there.

As far as I know, both Bridal Veil Falls and Cornelius Falls sit on land owned by the city of Heber Springs. The falls had once been a popular park, but vandalism had led the city to close the park. When I visited there last year, a locked gate blocked access to the parking area. But now the city has apparently been working to open the park back up. There is even a new viewing platform that provides a nice overlook of Cornelius Falls.

And you can tell it's new - in that it's not yet completely covered with graffiti.

From there it's a very short hike down to Cornelius Falls. The trail is steep in parts, but easy to follow. After just a few minutes of hiking, you are right at the base of Cornelius Falls, which is probably about 40 feet tall.


It's a scenic little spot, and really easy to get to as well. I'm glad that the trail here has been opened back up.


There was a lot of water coming over the falls - much more than when I was here in 2010. But with the extra water meant a lot of wind and spray from the falls. I tried to get a shot of the creek just below the falls, but had to battle with drops of water hitting the lens.


A few more shots of Cornelius Falls:




From there I hiked back up the hill and then headed over to Bridal Veil Falls. The trail here wasn't as easy to follow, I don't think Bridal Veil sees as many visitors as it's neighboring waterfall does. I slipped down the hill and crossed the creek, just next to this neat little spot:


After crossing the creek I ended up wading through a thick mess of undergrowth (which was mostly poison ivy). There wasn't much of a trail here, or at least one that I could find. But it didn't matter since the falls were just a few yards away.

Bridal Veil Falls is a pretty little waterfall, and is maybe about 20 feet tall.


The creek runs over these rocks just below Bridal Veil Falls...


And a view of the falls, with a mossy rock...


And one last shot of Bridal Veil Falls.

Carwash Falls

After visiting Sweden Creek Falls, it was sadly time for us to head back home. The conditions were still perfect for waterfall conditions, so we tried to think of a good waterfall that we could visit as we made our way south. Having just hiked over five miles that morning, we both quickly agreed that it would be one that wouldn't involve a lot of walking to reach. So we decided to take the long way home, and visit a waterfall that you not only drive right up to - but actually drive right under.

Carwash Falls isn't very tall, but it is pretty unique. It's where the creek tumbles over a bluff, and lands right along a country dirt road. You can drive your car right under the falls - hence the name. It's a waterfall that I've been wanting to visit ever since seeing a picture of it a few years ago. I really wanted to get an awesome shot of the Vibe under the falls, but would instead have to settle for a picture of Zack's Jeep (which is a shame, my car does need a good carwash).


To get there, we turned onto a forest service road in Deer and headed south. The road passed through miles of forest, before eventually running along the top of a high ridge. It then dropped down and began to run parallel to the Big Piney Creek. Eventually we found Carwash Falls and stopped for a few pictures. From there we continued on south, and then forded Hurricane Creek (which the Vibe would have failed at crossing). There was a family camping right at the spot where the road fords Hurricane Creek. As Zack's Jeep pushed it's way through the water, the entire family headed out and stared at us in disbelief and looked at us like we were crazy.

Sweden Creek Falls

When we got up to the Centerpoint Trailhead, it was cloudy with a light drizzle coming down. In other words, it was perfect conditions for some waterfall photography. There are several amazing waterfalls nearby, but we decided to pay a visit to Sweden Creek Falls, which is located only a few miles north of Boxley Valley.

I had been up at Sweden Creek Falls a few months ago, but it was in the dead of winter and there wasn't much water going over the falls. I was eager to see the falls now that it's spring. And we both hoped that the falls would have a decent amount of water going over them, since it had rained there a few days before.

We parked at the trailhead and began the hike. It's only a 1.8 mile long hike to the falls and back. This was relatively easy compared to the three miles we had just hiked heading back uphill to the Centerpoint Trailhead. Well, it was easy except that my legs were already starting to get sore from the previous hike.

The trail runs downhill along an old road, and passes by an abandoned home. From there the trail drops down and runs along the base of a bluff. Shortly after that, you reach the falls. I think both Zack and I were happy to see that the falls were running quite well.

And the falls are awesome - they are over 80 feet tall. The only problem with this spot is that it is tricky to get a good picture there. Trees line the trail, which makes it hard to get a good unimpeded view of the falls. This shot was taken after crossing the creek and then heading up the side of the bluff, over slick rocks.


After taking a few pictures, I crossed the creek and went back to the trail. This was taken along the opposite bluffline from the previous shot. The area was covered with a thick layer of ferns.


And then we started back towards the trailhead. But first I stopped one last time for a shot of the falls, seen through the dense screen of trees that surround the waterfall.


We made it back up the hill to Zack's Jeep, and started back towards the main road. Along the way we stopped at this old truck, left to rust in the woods.


I have gotten a few different pictures of this particular truck over the years. This was taken at my last visit, on March 13:


And then another visit, back in November of 2007:


From there we opted to visit another waterfall on the way home. This is a waterfall that wouldn't require any long hikes to visit. In fact, it was one that you could actually drive up to (or actually, drive under) the falls.