Little Missouri Picnic

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day. We decided to take a picnic and go to Little Missouri Falls. It is quite a long drive over rough gravel roads to get to the Falls.  Although the road was in very bad condition it was a beautiful drive.  This past week there has been a lot of rain. Along the road we came across this small man made dam that we had never noticed before.



At the parking area for the falls there is a very nice picnic area along the banks of the Little Missouri River.  My parents and my sister and her daughters went with us.  We had a very nice picnic even though the wind was blowing briskly.








The Little Missouri River plunges through a cleavage creating a spectacular waterfall during periods of high water. Then it tumbles over a series of natural rock dams 2 to 4 feet high, intermixed with relatively quiet pools. then it continues as a cascade for several hundred more yards.  From the picnic area there is a foot bridge across the river that takes you to a half mile, out-and-back trail with a few steep grades. The trail climbs a series of steep steps to the edge of the cliffs overlooking the river. From here you have a great view of the area above the falls.









There were no dogwoods in bloom yet, but there were some redbuds and wildflowers.







We had a lovely afternoon, a great picnic, and it was good to get to spend time with family.

Arkansas Color

This weekend was beautiful and the fall colors were exquisite.  We made a trip to Little Missouri Falls to look at the fall scenery.  The road out to Shady was lined with glorious colors.  I'm not sure why, but the newest owner of the house my parents owned a number of years ago had made his yard look like a plane crash scene.





At the falls The Little Missouri River plunges through a cleavage creating a spectacular waterfall during periods of high water. Then it tumbles over a series of natural rock dams 2 to 4 feet high, intermixed with relatively quiet pools (natural swimming holes) it continues as a cascade for several hundred more yards.  The falls are beautiful any time of the year, but they are particularly spectacular during the fall color season.






Sunday afternoon we traveled the Talimena Drive up Rich Mountain to Queen Wilhelmina State Park.   The Talimena Drive stretches across the very top of the Ouachita Mountains in Eastern Arkansas and Western Oklahoma.  Normally there are great views from the many vistas along the road, but as we drove up the mountain fog closed in around us.  Visibility was very limited.  We were disappointed because we were looking forward to seeing lots of color.  As we turned on to County Road 100 and started down the side of the mountain we stopped to take photos in the fog.

A friend said, when seeing the pictures, “This is making lemonade out of lemons! I'd just complain because the fog kept me from seeing things not take advantage of it to make great photos".