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Buffalo National River Park -- NW Arkansas

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River

Buffalo National River -- Elk Herd Preparing to Cross

Post Sat Nov 17, 2007 2:31 pm


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Elk herd preparing to cross Highway 43 near Ponca.
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River

Buffalo National River -- Local Travel Information

Post Sat Nov 17, 2007 2:53 pm


My goal in posting these pictures is to let photographers know about the Buffalo National River park. I knew nothing about it before moving here from the Saint Louis metro area so I assume this is true for most people. I am constantly amazed by this remarkable national treasure. In the interest of disclosure, let me say I am not involved in the tourism industry in any way. I am a professional nature photographer who is willing to share information.

If you are interested in finding out more about visiting the area, I recommend you contact two local resources:
Jasper Newton County Chamber of Commerce 800-670-7792
Ponca Elk Education Center 870-861-2432

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I would stay fairly close to Ponca. There are many choices of campgrounds, each with its own assets. In the Boxley Valley is the Lost Valley Campground which is very popular. You will be impressed as I was with how nice local people are. We first fell in love with the people, then all the natural surroundings.

You will find this a very affordable place to visit. Many cabins around here with great nightly rates averaging roughly around $140.

Ponca is Northwest Arkansas roughly 25 miles south of Harrison, Arkansas. Harrison is the nearest large town (12,500)(yep, that's large here) and it is on Highway 65 about a hundred miles south of Springfield, Missouri. I think Ponca has a population of about 100. (I live miles north of Ponca in the suburbs of Compton, a town of 30, on the Ponca Wilderness).

I am in Boxley Valley often. I am the old fat guy with the camo hat on backwards shooting the elk. (That describes a lot of people, so I have to add that my black jeep wrangler is astonishly dirty with Arkansas dust.) Other times, I am ponding the trails and many haunts around here.

Hope you can check this out. Its a short drive for many and a very feasible long weekend visit.

Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
Last edited by compton_photographer on Fri Nov 23, 2007 11:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River

Bald Eagle in Boxley Valley -- Buffalo National River

Post Tue Nov 20, 2007 11:32 am


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One of the best things about the Buffalo River park is seeing the wildlife. This bald eagle was in Boxley Valley and easily photographed from a vantage point beside my car.
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River

Buffalo National River -- Turkey Vulture

Post Wed Nov 21, 2007 11:14 am


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In the Buffalo National River park, there are something like 258 different species of birds. Turkey vultures are pretty common. In the mornings, you can catch them sunning as they wake and warm up for the day. I caught this one along the river, just has he took off from his perch.
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River


Post Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:39 pm


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This was taken in a farm field adjacent to the Ponca Wilderness. Often one only needs to drive along the country roads to find very interesting subjects. This part of Arkansas is fairly wild, and there are large populations of wild animals including elk, deer, bear, coyotes, fox, beaver, woverines, skunk, possums, armadillos, coons, and mountain lions. Arkansas Game and Fish will tell you there are no mountain lions, but locals see them often.
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River


Post Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:21 pm


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This is the view from a top bluff of the Buffalo River canyon.

Not a bad vantage point. Somebody's got to do it. Great vistas.
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River

Buffalo National River -- Pruit Fault & November Update

Post Thu Nov 22, 2007 12:03 pm


We have finally crossed over into fall weather. Last week's 70's have given way to 40's, and the nightly lows are getting down there at and below freezing. This is a bit colder than normal, and the winter likely won't be much colder. Certainly, it is well within comfortable camping range for just about anyone.

The fall leaves are pretty much gone. Unlike many places, that is not the end of visual interest, it is the beginning of the geology season. Karst formations become more visible than before, and the vistas really change. This is the season of duotones, color minimalism, and black and white. It is the season of spectacular hikes along the river and bluff trails. No chiggers, no mosquitos, and no ticks.

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Above is the what I call the Pruit Fault. I have heard it referred to as the center of the universe because the area is so unusual. Here the bluff line along the river rises, and apparently it split as it did so. The result is this interesting formation. Note how the striations break, and the center line break angles strongly upward. Until I saw this, I had never seen such a fault line. I think it is visually interesting, and one that you could shoot for hours. I think it will make killer black and whites.

You can drive to this and many destinations by car, but better by truck, jeep or SUV that have better ground clearance. You can get to more than enough destinations by car to justify the trip, probably 80%. Some destinations are a bit more remote. You can drive a car to the vast majority of the trail heads.

More later,
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River

Buffalo National River -- Boxley Valley Elk.

Post Thu Nov 22, 2007 4:00 pm


This picture is from the late fall/winter weather pattern. As the rut ends over the next few weeks, the bulls lose interest in the cows and begin to pool in the south Boxley Valley area. They begin to form bachelor herds and this is a great time to get pictures of many bulls at once.

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These two elk were shot from the road through thick brush near the Boxley Church on Highway 21 (the south end). I have found it helpful to use a bushhawk camera stock because it permits me to be nimble in these conditions, i.e., work high or low and find openings in the brush and shoot quickly with pretty good results. (Again, I get nothing from Bushhawk, but if you are interested in one, check them out at http://www.bushhawk.com. I think they are worthwhile for wildlife photographers.)
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River

Elk at Lost Valley Campground -- December 2006

Post Thu Nov 22, 2007 8:29 pm


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This was shot in early December last year. It is proof that the elk herds remain active, long after many have gone home. Lost Valley is a great place to camp, and occasionally, it serves up a treat like this.

In December you can anticipate being able to photograph elk from the road, but generally the bull fights are done. Still, it is a great time to get
good photos. When the big bulls herd up, you can really get a lot of them.
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River

Buffalo National River -- Elk Safety in Boxley Valley

Post Fri Nov 23, 2007 12:04 pm


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Boxley Valley elk cross the road often. If you see them pooled up along a fence line they are probably preparing to cross. If they are standing between the fence and the road, a crossing is underway. This is a picture of a crossing elk herd panicked by an approaching truck.

If an elk herd is separated during a crossing, the trailing elk will become very nervous and erratic. You can depend on them to jump in front of your car to rejoin the herd. Remember, the biggest elk weigh over 800 pounds. Hitting them with your car could kill you.

Looking at this positively, why not just drive up and down the valley at a maximum speed of 40 MPH. You will see more and notice many more photo opportunities. If you see elk next to the road, and you must drive by, creep by. I am talking 5 MPH, not 25. Better yet, stop your car, get out, and take some excellent closeups of elk jumping fences and crossing the road. Visitors don't often see crossings, so if you see one, you are blessed.

Also, remember that the elk are also very active at night. Everthing I have said above applies to driving at night. The elk are concentrated in a 4 mile stretch of the valley. Going slowly will cost you only 2 or 3 minutes.
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River

Buffalo Naitonal River -- Old Cedars

Post Sat Nov 24, 2007 12:00 pm


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Along the bluffline of the river are many very old cedar trees. The wind and harsh climate of the river bluff has twisted them into natural Bonsai. Speaking for myself at least, these are spectacular black and white subjects.

This is my favorite bluff cedar bonsai photo to date. This particular tree is part of a small grove of old cedars atop Goat Bluff. There are a couple of other old cedars that are worth shooting. I also shot butterflies in this location that were riding the wind along the bluffline. The rock formations along the trail are also very nice with the occasional prickly pear cactus.

Goat Bluff is near the Cecil Cove Trailhead in old Erbie. It is a slightly rolling one mile hike to this very cool destination from the trailhead. The Buffalo River has a horseshoe bend at this point and the Goat Bluff overlook sits on the outside of this bend with a view up the river both directions. Personally I much prefer this destination to the much touted Hawksbill Craig (Whitaker Point). It is also closer in, and a much easier hike in.

You could easily combine a hike into Goat Bluff with a visit to Cove Spring, (discussed elsewhere in this blog). The two destinations are about three miles apart at most. Both are in the old Erbie area near the Old Erbie Church.

I live about 4 miles west of this area on old Erbie Road. Unless you have a true 4wd vehicle with good ground clearance you can't come in from the west. I recommend that you go to this old Erbie area from the east off of Highway 7. Take the entrance to the Erbie campground off 7 and follow it straight across the Buffalo River. Eventually you will see the Old Erbie Church and just straight ahead the Cecil Cove Trailhead about an quarter of a mile further up the road.
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

compton_photographer
 
Posts: 69
Location: Ponca, Arkansas, Buffalo National River

Buffalo National River -- Come On Down!!

Post Sun Nov 25, 2007 1:46 pm


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I took a picture of this photographer. He never saw me. He is only about two miles from a paved road about a half mile off the Buffalo River Trail.

I am a resident of this paradise (fairly recent really) and I consider it a visual treasure. My wife and I fell in love with it the first time we saw it and we dropped everything and moved here. I genuinely believe is it one of the USA's undiscovered natural treasures. It is absolutely the mother lode for photographers in every season of the year. The area is great for hiking, caving, horse riding, photography, rock climbing, and camping.

My wife and I knew nothing about this place even though we lived in St. Louis. In fact, we knew nothing about Arkansas. I still don't think the assets of this state are very well publicized. I would hope other photographers will join me down here to take it all in.

People living in Little Rock and Fayetteville know about this place, and next in line seems to be folks from Springfield MO, and the SW corner of MO. The awareness falls off fairly rapidly after that.

Here is the bottom line about the Buffalo National River area. It is fairly nearby and it is very inexpensive to visit here. It is like the clock has been turned back 50 years. There are very few permanent residents and that just makes it better. My home backs up to the river park, adjacent to a 12,000 acre designated federal wilderness. I believe the park itself is 125 miles long, and there are many more federal and state parks and attractions nearby. There is also land owned by the Nature Conservency.
But wait, there's more. Not too far away are additional federal and state parks, the state is covered with them. Its unbelievable.

Enough said. This is not why I am posting, but I wanted to point out that my BNR postings are different. The truth is you can get here from anywhere. A cheap flight to Fayetteville and a hundred mile drive and you are here. We are relatively close to Memphis, St. Louis, and Tulsa. If you like primitive camping you can do that for free.

We thought this place was so special we moved here. This is the last place we will live, and live we will, in a paradise of unexpected natural beauty all around us.
Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas
http://www.arkansasnaturephotography.com
NW Arkansas Nature Photography

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