Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge

Holla Bend is located south of Dardanelle Arkansas off of highway 155. It was established in 1957 and consists of over 7000 acres. A gravel road provides wildlife viewing from a vehicle and there are a couple of short hiking trails. There wasn't a lot of wildlife activity today but I did get a couple of creatures to cooperate.

Holla Bend provides winter refuge for migrating waterfowl. Habitat like below is why.

This flock of Mallards didn't appreciate our visit.

Nine Banded Armadillo

They don't see very well which allowed me to move in close.

Opossum....North America's only Marsupial.

Unlike the friendly Armadillo...This one was giving me a warning hiss.

A flock of Red-Winged Blackbirds

This is a stretch of the Levee Hiking Trail.

The Toothache Tree. Chewing the bark numbs your mouth...thus the name.

Hunt's Loop

This last Saturday (Jan. 5th), Melissa and I went on our first hike since October. The weather was dreary with rain and fog but the temperature was just right. We hiked Hunt's Loop in the Ouachita National Forest. The trail starts at the Iron Springs Recreation Area which is north of Jessieville Arkansas on highway 7 and travels up Short Mountain. The trail is 4.5 miles long with the first 3/4 of a mile being uphill. That is bad enough but Melissa and I decided to make it more difficult than that. Not on purpose of course. Not long after we started we lost the trail and wandered aound for an hour trying to get back on track. We weren't lost because I had my GPS so getting back to the truck would have been no problem. We just lost the marked trail. When we finally found it again we realized what had happened. The trail made a hard right turn (switchback) but we didn't. We just walked right on by and never saw it. Anyway, once back on the trail we went on to finish the hike, but we paid better attention to the trail this time. The photos below were taken along the trail.

This is the location of the trailhead.The dense fog from the top of Short Mountain.
Moss growing on a Pine
A fungus on an Oak Tree
Melissa pauses on the bridge over a creek.
This spillway is on the Middle Fork of the Saline River.

Blocker Creek Cascade

Today my brother (David) and I decided to set out in search of a waterfall. Yesterday's rain and today's cloudy weather are the perfect combination for such an adventure. Blocker Creek Cascade is located in the Ouachita National Forest. To get there you travel north on highway 7 out of Hot Springs Arkansas and continue on through the town of Jessieville for another 7 miles. From there, you turn left on a forest road and travel approximately 11 miles into the mountains. As we traveled on the forest road, we were surprised to see snow. Neither one of us had any idea that it snowed anywhere in Arkansas yesterday. The wet and snowy dirt road provided some slippery travel through the hills. All was going well until I tried to park the truck off of the side of the road. I was soon stuck. My truck is not a 4 wheel drive and I was at the mercy of a mud hole. After several attempts to rock it out to no avail, we decided to pull out the jack and raise it enough to put rocks under the rear tires. It worked great but we were covered in mud from the whole ordeal. With the truck out and parked safely and securely in another spot we began our advenure to the unknown. The trail to the fall is only 1/2 mile but the last 200 yards is down a very steep and on this day wet and slippery hill. The task of reaching the base of the waterfall involved sliding on our bottoms (not voluntarily) , bushwacking through a vicious briar thicket and praying that the rocks we were bracing on as we descended on would not give way. Unfortunately not all of those prayers were answered.

When we finally reached our destination we were wet, cold, muddy and bleeding but we were in one piece and our cameras had survived the trip. We set up our tripods and went to work. When we finished, we packed up to start the ominous journey back up the same hill we just rolled down. I had the bright idea of trying a short cut through a steep section that had absolutely nothing to use for bracing or leverage. My brother decided to stay put and enjoy the show. After three failed attempts and near tumbles he pointed to a less hazardous route. I tucked my tail in defeat and followed him back up the mountain the long way.

The pictures below are from today's adventure. Luckily David was not in a position to photograph my mishaps but I did catch one of his on the way down.

I was at the base of the fall waiting for David (pictured) to come rolling in.

And roll in he did :)

Blocker Creek Cascade (17' Waterfall)

Fog moved in before we left. These two pines really stood out in the cloud.

The snow. We had no idea it had snowed!

Arkansas State Capital at Christmas

Melissa and I recently visited the state capital to see what the Christmas decor was like. We were both surprised at how popular it was. There were several people there and more on the way when we left. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

This was taken from across the street.

Melissa at one of the two fireplaces in the Governor's reception area.
Melissa on the front steps of the capital building.
A final view from the front of the building.

I decided to take a drive around Maumelle and see what kind of wildlife I could stir up. I was on the east side of town in the industrial district when I came across the Blue Heron below. The recent rains had filled up the drainage ditches and he was taking advantage of the crawdads that had moved in. He hung around long enough for me to take a few shots before voicing his disgust and taking flight.



The deer below were further east at the edge of Maumelle. I was at the end of the road with my camera stuck out the window when up drove the game warden. He was fine when he realized that I was shooting with a camera and not a gun. He told me that they have had trouble with people hunting illegally in that area. The game warden was Ross Spurlock. He was a nice guy (because I wasn't a lawbreaker) and told me some other places to try where he sees deer on a regular basis. I appreciate the wildlife officers and the job they do. I despise people that don't abide by the rules especially when hunting or fishing.

Cedar Falls

This is Cedar Falls at Petit Jean State Park. As you can see, during the winter months and after a good rain, this waterfall is awesome. I took this photo on a tripod with an external shutter release and a 2 second shutter speed. The next two photos are of cedar creek downstream of the fall. It is a one mile hike down to the fall and then a one mile hike back out. The only thing is that the hike back out is mostly up hill. Whew.

Watson Camp Hunting Club

I am finally back in Blogville. Between work, remodeling a bathroom and deer season I have had absolutely no free time for other things. Deer season has been real good this year. We have killed more bucks than normal and there have been some good ones. I have killed a six point and Brack (Stepson) killed a seven point. That was his first buck ever! I came up with the idea three years ago to take a camp photo on the opening day of the gun deer season. The photo below is this year's taken November 10, 2007.