4/12/13 Elk Viewing Good, Wildflower Bloom Strong

Wood Bentony Lost Valley

Elk viewing remains strong at both ends of Boxley Valley. The antler drop is now almost complete except for young bulls. The most viewable herd is closest to Ponca about a half mile south from the intersection of 43 and 74.

Wildflowers are the big story now. After many cold snaps, the spring show is on. Most early species are blooming well. Flowering trees are also in bloom with the dogwoods lagging just a bit.

Waterfalls are running well and popular with photographers and hikers.

Floating conditions in all areas of the river. Visit the Buffalo River Chamber website for our list of floating outfitters and current river conditions.

This is prime time for hiking and horseback riding.

It is time to visit the Buffalo National River and its many natural attractions.

5/4/12 Elk Watching Very Good -- Before 7:30AM

Morning Light, Fog & Clouds in Boxley Valley

Elk watching has shifted solidly to a summer viewing pattern. Before 7AM today I saw 4 herds grazing in Boxley Valley fields. By 7:45 they were starting to migrate to their bedding areas. This is the summer elk viewing experience.

Is it worth it to get up so early to see elk?  Absolutely yes. The elk are grazing in foggy fields. You can get photos of elk in the fog, around the edges of it, and fully emerged in the same photo. This makes ordinary field shots special if conditions are right. 

Besides seeing the elk, Boxley Valley on foggy mornings is just stunning.  If you are a photographer it is a great time to take moody landscape photos that exploit the fog as it lifts and animates the fields and buildings. Speaking personally, these are the summer landscapes that interest me besides the pooled-up river. This weather is wall-hanger weather if you can get your exposure correct. Perhaps it is a good time to learn HDR techniques to incorporate in your images. 

Hummingbird Moth at Ponca Elk Education Center

Roadside wildflowers are now blooming heavily. These are great places to get pictures of butterflies too. Make sure you pull off the road and be alert to traffic. There are many places you can prospect for roadside flowers along country roads. This is all day shooting. Butterflies like heat so you can shoot elk and landscapes early, then look for butterflies and roadside wildflowers later.

A great place for butterflies is the grounds of the Ponca Elk Education Center. There you park and be safe out of traffic. Any of the river access points are a good bet too. Remember that butterflies like to "puddle" along the edges of the river and creeks. 

The elk today were in southern pattern. Most of the elk are from the Highway 43/21 intersection and points south. There was one herd near Ponca.  I did see bulls in early velvet in another group. See the  brand new May map below. 

I have edited the wildflower list, although it is possible in some hollers a random specimen might show up of the early species, most are done. 

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.

Important Benefit Concert Friday Night at Arkansas House in Jasper

Kids Injured While Playing on Rocks
Could Require Immediate Help

Friday night, October 21st at 7PM, the Arkansas House will host a benefit concert to support continued pay phone service at Steel Creek and Kyles Landing. Maintaining these pay phones has been identified as a priority safety issue by the Buffalo River Chamber of Commerce.

The pay phones were recently defunded by the National Park Service as it has attempted to cope with deep federal funding cuts. The Chamber is working to preserve these essential communication links for visitor safety through other means of financial support.

These pay phones are essential to visitor safety. Both Steel Creek and Kyles Landing are cell phone dead zones. Both are popular destinations for floaters, hikers, horsemen and campers. Without these pay phones, park visitors could not report emergencies to rescue teams in a timely manner because there is no cell service to these areas.

Each year Arkansas House does a benefit concert and designates 50% of the proceeds to a local charity. This year Arkansas House chose this worthy Buffalo River Chamber of Commerce safety initiative.

A Fall Can Lead to Life Threatening
Injuries in the BNR Near Steel Creek

Tickets for the benefit concert are $10 and may be purchased in advance at the Boardwalk Cafe, or on the day of the event. Arkansas House is located just north of the square in Jasper, AR. For more information call them at 870-446-5900. For directions and more information about Arkansas House, visit their website at http://arkansashouse.net.

Please come to the concert and support this important project.

2010 Arkansas Elk Show Continues, Eagles Arriving Soon

I spend a lot of time in Boxley Valley, the unrivaled hot spot for elk viewing and photography in Arkansas. It ranks right up there in the US as an elk viewing destination because of its ideal habitat.  The geology of Boxley Valley pushes elk herds into the open, and close to roads for viewing and photography. Quite often when someone discovers Boxley Valley elk for the first time, they will mention to me that they had been going to Colorado to see elk, and likely would not do it again.

Whitetail Doe Crossing the Buffalo River

The reasons they cite for preferring Boxley Valley elk viewing are many. First, it is nearby and therefore very affordable. Second, few places in the US offer so many other free venues to explore and enjoy nature in the heart of the day when the elk are bedded down. Third, compared to more famous venues, visitors to this area do not fight crowds. Fourth, if they rent a room or cabin, it is very affordable. Fifth, the people they meet in Arkansas are welcoming and share old time values about civility and community. Visiting here is pleasant, and people will treat you right, mostly because they treat everyone right. It is a way of life.

But what to do now that the peak of the annual elk rut has passed? Well, actually elk viewing will be very good for months yet. Many of my very best elk photographs are from after the peak rut until the April 1 antler drop.  Generally I have the valley to myself during this period because everyone assumes that the best is over, there is no reason to visit. This is simply not true.

 Post-Rut Sparring Can Be a Good Show

Today was a pretty good example of post-peak rut photography. My shoot began with taking pictures of a very good sparring match between two medium sized bulls. They put on quite a show for about 10 minutes and provided some great action shots. After that I checked one of my favorite spots and caught the end of an elk crossing of the Buffalo River.  These late rutting animals are not as energetic as they seem during the peak rut, but any elk shot in the river will be pretty good. During that crossing, a whitetail doe decided to cross the river right in front of me, moving slowly across a reflecting pool illuminated by fall color along the river. When the crossing was over I had 400+ shots and was quite satified with the day. Driving out of Ponca I noticed two trumpeter swans on the Ponca Mill Pond and got some decent shots in filtered light.

Late Rut Still Provides Dramatic Photos

All the above happened in less than 2 hours. At the end of the day I had nearly 800 shots. Truly if I were not so busy now on other projects, I would have taken a couple of hundred more pictures before noon. There are too many good pictures to get right now. It is hard to make choices.

There is not a better time to be here. It is perfect hiking weather. Wildlife and elk viewing will be excellent for months. Later this month the bald eagles will arrive from the north to overwinter adding to the show. The river is quite low, but this means that it is easy to hike. Fall color shots in the reflecting pools of the Buffalo River are often quite dramatic. There is no shortage of choices for nature lovers.

18% of the population of the US live within two tanks of gas of this national treasure. The Buffalo National River was voted on the the top ten least known national parks that everyone should see. This is a great time to see it. There is literally plenty to see and do in every season. This time of year is prime time.