Fall Colors

A Walk Along Indian Creek

I had not planned to go anywhere on Friday but after dropping Daphne off at school I just did not feel like going home. I headed up Hwy 7 to see how the fall colors were progressing up north of Russellville. I turned west onto Hwy 123 and was thinking of going to Pam's Grotto but decided instead to take Indian Creek Rd back toward the south. I stopped many times along the way to take photos of a few areas with some color.





I came to a spot in the road where something along the creek caught my eye. I parked the truck and grabbed my camera and tripod and headed down to the creek. What had caught my eye was a bend in the creek that had a nice little overhang that had been cut into the bank. I spent the next 45 minutes taking photos along that bend in the creek and some other spots just downstream that had some nice color.



Another couple of miles down the road I noticed an old rock fence leading away from the road and decided I needed to stretch my legs some more so off I went. The old stone wall went down by the edge of the creek and made a right turn and followed Indian Creek downstream. This is one of many stone walls left by the early pioneers who called these areas home way back in the 1800's. They built these walls with rocks they had cleared from their fields. When you look at the old walls it is amazing to think of how much work it took to build it placing stone on top of stone. And it was all done by hand with no modern machinery. The determination and work ethic of these early pioneers always amazes me. I followed this wall downstream at least a half mile and it was still going when I turned back. I plan to come back in a few weeks to use my gps to measure it and see just how far it goes.

It was a beautiful day to be out enjoying the forest. The pictures turned out great but just cannot even begin to show the true beauty of what you experience being there yourself. There is so much more than what the eyes see. God gave us all the other senses so we could enjoy his creation to the fullest extent. The sounds of the wind blowing through the trees or the water rushing over stones in the creek. The feel of the bark on the trees or the soft touch of the moss that grows in the shaded areas and on the damp rocks. The smell of fall in the air, an aroma like no other. The taste of the wild plums that I found still on a tree left untouched by the animals that inhabit this area. I only wish I would never have to leave places such as this. I feel more at home here than in any town or city I could ever visit.

I'm still here!!

In a previous post I said that I needed to post more here and again I neglected to do so. Well the last few months have been very busy with work and all the other great things that I love to do and it is just so hard to find the time to sit down and do this. But, also one of my favorite things is to share my photos with family and friends so here are few photos from the last few months.

Seven Hollows hike

Tuesday I hiked the Seven Hollows Trail at Petit Jean State Park with some geocaching friends.

This is a great trail with lots of nice rock formations along the trail. There is one really large natural bridge and there is a small one over on the other side. The trail is a 4 1/2 mile hike. So if you are going to do this one bring some snacks and plenty of water and allow yourself plenty of time. Possibly 4 hours if you take your time and check out everything along the way. At about the halfway point there is a trail that will take you back into an area called The Grotto where there is a nice large overhang and a small waterfall. This is a great spot to stop and eat lunch or take a break before finishing the last half of the trail. I have heard that there are some Indian drawings in this area but I have never been able to find them. In August of 2000 a wildfire swept through most of the trail area. The area has recovered really well although some areas are more overgrown with brush now than it was before. I have posted some pics below.


If you look closely at the natural bridge from this view it looks like some kind of animal. Daphne says it looks like a cat. What do you think??

It's been a while...

It has been a while since I have posted anything to this site. I have been on many adventures since my last post and just never got around to posting anything. My geocaching has really kept me from going hiking as much as I should but it has also taken me to lots of new places I would have never been otherwise. I have been up on Mt Nebo many times since last spring and taken quite a few nice photos. The picture to the left is a bridge along the Summit Park Trail. This is a great trail for a good workout but it also has some beautiful things to see along the way. The trail is only 1 mile long but there is a lot of elevation gain on the way back up. I have also hiked the Rim Trail several times this year and took my new gps on my last trip and saved a track log. I will be posting the track log and some photos and trip notes on everytrail.com in the next few weeks. My intention is to post as many of our Arkansas trails as possible on the site to bring in more folks from out of state to enjoy what Arkansas has to offer.




I finally made it back down to get a few shots of the waterfall down by the river behind the house. I had been here several times since last Spring but the falls were never running enough. On this day I hiked out through almost a foot of snow to get some pictures. The waterfall was running nicely but man was it cold. I had to work that day so I was unable to follow the bottom of the bluffline around to the other two larger falls. Maybe someday I will be able to be there at the right time to get some shots of them.









Back In February I was geocaching up north of Russellville along Indian Creek and after I got up to Highway 123 I decided to make a side trip back into Pam's Grotto to get a few shots of the waterfall there. This is one of the most beautiful places in the state of Arkansas and it does not get visited very often.

I have posted a few different photos and one has myself in it to give you an idea of the height of the waterfall and overall size of the whole place.

This is just one of those magical places that photos just cannot do it justice. You really should go there in preson and enjoy the full beauty of the place.