Hello, Mother Nature

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I had to go to Little Rock AR this past weekend on business. Saturday night I went to dinner to the Brave New Restaurant with friends. We ate outside on the balcony, and the weather was perfect.


From where I sat, I could enjoy the downtown Little Rock skyline and its reflection in the Arkansas River.

When I finished on Sunday afternoon, I could have returned home, but I didn't do that. I had plans to spend time at Petit Jean State Park.

Have camera, will travel.

Monday I made a 65-mile drive west (of Little Rock), mostly on I-40. The Arkansas River flows alongside the park:


The Arkansas River is impressive. It begins in the mountains of Colorado and dumps into the Mississippi River about 100 miles south of Memphis. Along the way, it also travels through Kansas and Oklahoma.

There are many trails and overlooks in the park, but the crown jewel is Cedar Falls. The first stop for me was a short hike to see it from above.


This area was under the ocean 300 million years ago. The sand was compressed and made sandstone. Look on the left to see layers of it.

To see the falls from the best vantage point (below the falls), you have to take a two-hour hike. The departure point is Mather Lodge.


The entrance to the lodge frames this shot of the park.


This is the beginning of the Cedar Falls Trail.


There were lots of stone footsteps.


This is another view of the trail.


These are some of the wildflowers I saw on my hike.


Cedar Falls is 90 feet high.


The creek carves and grinds slowly. Mother Nature has time on her side.

An Alfred Hitchcock cameo:


I was taking this shot and some guy jumped in the picture.

After the hike to the falls, I drove to an overlook. Along the way, I saw this beautiful bridge:



As I crossed the bridge, I saw this spillway that was like a mini-waterfall:



That gave me an idea. I parked my car and reached for my camera. As I walked on the side of the bridge opposite the waterfall, it looked like this:



I walked farther, and then I saw this:


W-O-W!

I walked back towards the bridge to take this shot:


It doesn't get much better than this.