10/31/11 Late Fall in the Ozarks

Fall Color at Buffalo River Canyon

Sunrise along the top bench, Buffalo River Canyon. Surely there is no more perfect place in the Ozarks. Fall color is where you find it, and when you find it.

This morning was a short break from the elk. I will be backing off a bit during November. During September and October I made about 70 visits to the Boxley Valley chasing elk and driving about 2700 miles.

Elk viewing will be just great until the end of March. The rut is still going on but now we are slowly winding down. Late this month, we will enter the third estrous, and the pace of the rut will slow. About that time, the blend between the rut and post rut will be evident. Slowly the elk herd will split along gender lines. It is at this time that big bull elk fans can get some of the most dramatic pictures of the year. 100% bull elk herds will roam primarily the south half of Boxley Valley. If antlers are your passion, this period until March is prime time.

The Buffalo River Photo Experience

Rutting bulls will be running cows into December, but some will begin the formation of these all-bull herds. The show is far from done. The best bull fight I ever photographed was November 9th. My first river crossing was shot December 6 in 2006.

Fall color is very good now and at peak. I decided to grab some photos this morning with a new friend. After our shoot, he went down to Ponca and got his first elk river crossing. As he put it, "I got my wall hanger". I could not be more pleased. The point of all this writing and the maps is to help all of you get those "wall hangers".  Nothing pleases me more. I get my share, I want you to get yours.

If you plan to visit the valley this evening to see elk, the herd in the first Ponca field is still hanging around and putting on a good show (the north end of the valley just out of Ponca).  Don't forget those fall color landscapes, we are one storm away from losing the leaves. The elk show will continue for 3 months. In some ways, it only gets better from November the end of the year and beyond.