Ozarks « 365 days of 2011

Gary Fishing , James River, Springfield, Missouri

And all I caught was a load of leaves.

Today looked like being the last warm day for a while so we took Lanie out fishing on the James River. It was a wonderfully warm and a very pleasant afternoon. Not that either Lanie or I caught anything apart from leaves and trees.

Gary Fishing. James River, Springfield, Missouri

My best catch of the afternoon

James River, Springfield, near the Crighton access point.

Ginger and Lanie near the Crighton access point on the James River

November 13, 2011 | Categories: Around Springfield, Day out, Outdoors, Remote Shutter Release, Tripod | Tags: 365 Days, Gary Allman, James River, Nikon D7000, Ozarks, Photography, Self Portrait, Springfield Missouri | Leave A Comment »

Ginger, Gary and Lanie stopped for Lunch on the Sac River Trail

Lanie enjoyed yesterday’s hike so much she wanted to go on another today.

So we went on a short hike on the Sac River trail

Ginger, Gary and Lanie stopped for Lunch on the Sac River Trail

Do I detect dissension in the ranks?

Lanie on the Sac River Trail

November 12, 2011 | Categories: Around Springfield, Hiking, Outdoors, Remote Shutter Release, Tripod, Wilderness and trails | Tags: 365 Days, Color, Gary Allman, Gary and Ginger, Hiking, Nikon D7000, Ozarks, Photography, Sac River Trail, Self Portrait, Springfield Missouri | Leave A Comment »

Gary by Piney Creek, Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri

Armistice Day, and the kids have the day off school

We took the Girls with us on a scouting trip down to Piney Creek Wilderness. The wilderness has access from Table Rock lake, so we’re planning on Kayaking in here sometime, camping and hiking the wilderness. It should make a good 3-4 day excursion. We wanted to get down here now because the deer hunting season start tomorrow, and for a while it won’t be a good idea to go hiking in the wilderness.

Our plan was to get right down to the lake shore, but we didn’t quite make it. We had to be back in Springfield early in the evening, because Katie is playing in the orchestra for the schools presentation of ‘You’re a good man Charlie Brown’ this week. So we decided to stop for lunch just short of our planned destination. The girls did really well. we hiked around five miles and climbed over a thousand feet.

I couldn’t watch katie play last night because it was my EfM tutorial night, so we went along tonight, and it was a great show. Afterwards, to celebrate we treated Katie and ourselves to an ice cream at Braums.

Piney Creek, Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri

Cooking lunch at Piney Creek, Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri

Ginger, Lanie and Katie at Piney Creek

Lanie finds a tree bark mask

Trail back to the Tower trail head at Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri

Look out tower at the Piney Creek Wilderness Tower trail head

November 11, 2011 | Categories: Arm's Length Self Portrait, Day out, Hiking, Outdoors, Wilderness and trails | Tags: Gary Allman, Hiking, Missouri, Ozarks, Photography, Piney Creek Wilderness, Self Portrait | Leave A Comment »

Gary and Ginger stopped for lunch on Camp Creek, Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area

The fall colour at Busiek was stunning

We hiked the Yellow and Silver trails at Busiek today – a little over 4 miles and around 624 feet of elevation climbed. Now we’ve started getting out again, we’ve just got to keep it up and get out a couple of times a week. This coming weekend we’re planning on going camping. It’s really good to be getting out again.

The the colour of the trees on the trail by the Carter Cemetery were breathtaking. I took this picture when we stopped for lunch by Camp Creek. We finished the hike in plently of time to visit one of the Flea Markets in Ozark before collecting the big kids from school.

Fall color at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, Missouri

Autumn color on the road to the South trail head at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area

Camp Creek crossing, Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area

Camp Creek Crossing

Possumhaw berries on the Yellow Trail at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area

Fall color at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, Missouri

November 1, 2011 | Categories: Day out, Hiking, Remote Shutter Release, Tripod, Wilderness and trails | Tags: 365 Days, Autumn, Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, Fall Color, Gary Allman, Gary and Ginger, Hiking, Leaves, Missouri, Nikon D7000, Ozarks, Photography, Self Portrait, Trees | Leave A Comment »

Gary on Hawksbill Crag (Whittaker Point), Arkansas

Today I had an easy day’s hiking in Arkansas with a couple of friends.

Bluffs on the Buffalo river near Ponca, Arkansas

We started off with a hike up the ‘Lost Valley’, I’ll have to return when the creek is in spate – today it was completely dry; so we hiked up the creek bed instead of the trail. We crawled on hands and knees into a cave (I found out afterwards on YouTube that there is supposed to be an upright route in), which has a large chamber about 150′ in. Normally there is a waterfall there, but not this time. We took a second hike along the Buffalo river and finished the day backpacking to a superb camping spot near Hawksbill Crag (aka Whittaker point) – a rocky shelf suspended some 200 feet up on a bluff overlooking Whittaker creek. The bluffs and crag providing magnificent views across the valley. It really is a wonderful place, and it’s not surprising it is one of the most photographed features in the Buffalo River area.

I left my pedometer behind, but a rough guess is that we hiked just under 7 miles altogether.

Campsite near Hawksbill Crag, Arkansas

Our campsite was under a huge rock ledge, that is normally fronted by a waterfall. However, after the long dry summer it was dry. There were a few drips of water to be collected nearby, which was lucky, otherwise we’d have been thirsty, as the six litres of water I packed in very quickly started to dwindle. The space under the ledge was big enough for several tents, so we had plenty of room with just two.

After dark we were interrupted by the arrival of a party of students who were hoping to spend the night under the ledge. They were very polite, and fortunately had a better knowledge of the area than we did, as they spent the night under a smaller overhang, that we didn’t know existed, a hundred yards further along the bluff.

Just to finish off the day we revisited the crag around midnight to enjoy the scene in the moonlight. Given the huge drop offs perhaps that wasn’t the most prudent of ventures – especially as my headlamp batteries decided to go into terminal decline on the way back.

Gary on Hawksbill Crag (Whittaker Point), Arkansas

Steve, Gary and Kirby on Hawksbill Crag (Whittaker Point), Arkansas

Our campsite near Hawksbill Crag, Arkansas

Bluffs on the Buffalo river near Ponca, Arkansas

October 14, 2011 | Categories: Arm's Length Self Portrait, Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Outdoors, Wilderness and trails | Tags: 365 Days, Arkansas, Buffalo River, Colour, Fuji FinePix F30, Gary Allman, Hawksbill Crag, Ozarks, Photography, Self Portrait, Whittaker Point | Leave A Comment »

Gary, Lanie and Ginger (hiding at the back) too

For what seems like the first time in over three months the temperature dropped below 90°F,

so we had a celebratory hike. A nice short 4 miles on the white trail and Busiek. We took along Lanie, Katie and Katie’s friend. My camera is far too heavy for an arm’s length self portrait, and it took me a few attempts to get the flash level right.

We should have tried for a better shot in which all of Ginger’s face was visible, but we wanted to get on our way as we had an appointment with some burgers at Tom and Rebbie’s to keep. Very nice they were too.

Tonight we’ve had to close up the house. Not because it’s too hot – but because it is too cold!

September 5, 2011 | Categories: Arm's Length Self Portrait, Around Springfield, Day out, Hiking, Out and about, Wilderness and trails | Tags: 365 Days, Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, Colour, Gary Allman, Hiking, Ozarks, Photography, Self Portrait | Leave A Comment »

On the flight from Dallas Fort Worth to Springfield

Pic

UK June 2011 – Day 31. It was a long day.

We were tired and travel weary by the time I took this picture and it shows. The total door to door travel time was twenty-one hours which wasn’t bad. It helped that the taxi arrived on time and we avoided any traffic delays on the way to Heathrow. The flights were uneventful and on time. One can ask for nothing better on a trans-Atlantic flight. On our final leg from Dallas to Springfield we were treated to some wonderful cloudscapes as the sun went down. We also got to see a rainbow, (a circle when you are flying), complete with the shadow of the ‘plane at its center. Rebbie was waiting at Springfield airport to collect us, and we finally arrived at home around ten pm.

Unfortunately our day wasn’t over. I’d like to say we got home, had a light meal and went to bed. The truth is that our decision to leave the Boy and Getzger in charge of the house wasn’t a good one. The place was an absolute tip and there was no food or milk, not even enough for breakfast, to be found (“I deliberately let it run out.”). While Ginger chewed the Boy a new one, I put air in the tyres of the van and coaxed it into life after its month’s sojourn in the garage. So, after being up nearly twenty-four hours we went out to dinner and then on to buy some essential groceries.

This is bad news. Bad news because we had planned to leave the Boy and Cat in charge again later in the summer and go camping. It looks like that won’t be happening.

Today’s alternate shot

Feet up during our layover at Dallas Fort Worth

July 15, 2011 | Categories: Arm's Length Self Portrait, Around Springfield, Vacation | Tags: 365 Days, Airplane, Available Light, Colour, Gary Allman, Gary and Ginger, Nikon D7000, Ozarks, Photography, Self Portrait, Springfield Missouri, Trans-Atlantic flight, UK June 2011 | Leave A Comment »

Just before I stuck my head in the falls behind me

Invigorating was one word for it,

I don’t have a picture taken after my encounter with the falls; I am trying to be a bit more careful with the camera around water nowadays. Especially as we currently only have one working camera between us.

Despite our best efforts we lazed around over our morning coffee and breakfast and didn’t get going until gone ten.

Our efforts to lighten our packs have paid off. Ginger’s weighed in at 27lbs and mine at 29lbs both including food and water. We took Pole Hollow trail down to Long Creek. The trail started easily enough in glades but the lower end was very dense with vegetation and some fallen trees were blocking the trail. The trail, in common with most of the trails we walked (with the exception of the popular long creek trail) didn’t appear to have been walked much recently. Away from long creek, the trails seemed almost deserted, we saw four people on horseback on our first day and that was it.

We both picked up loads of ticks along the way. This set the scene for the entire trip. We lost count of the number of ticks we removed, both attached and running free. There were small seed ticks, deer ticks and the aptly named lone star ticks. Deet didn’t seem to discourage them much. We were both wearing shorts which at least made it easy to spot the darned things before they could go too far.

Poison ivy was also prevalent along the trails, mainly in forested areas in patches where the cover had been cleared. Hiking in bare feet and shorts I worked on honing my poison ivy spotting skills. Though primarily I avoid contact with any triple leaved green thing. I must be doing something right as over the weekend we bushwhacked a fair way, and encountered a lot of poison ivy, and I didn’t get afflicted by it.

The lower end of Pole Hollow Trail has moved a few hundred yards to the west of the route shown on the trail head maps.

Once on Long Creek Trail we headed west to the falls. About a mile from the falls we spotted a campsite just off the trail, which we noted for future use, knowing that the falls area is very popular and tends to get more than a bit gross. With all the recent rain Long creek was running well, and has to be crossed several times. With all the new growth in some places it was quite tricky to spot where the trail picked up on the opposite side of the creek. At the falls both camp sites at the falls were occupied, our plan was only to stop for lunch so we sat out by the falls which were running quite well. I used the wood burner to boil water for lunch (slow but successful), and took advantage of the deeper pools to bathe. Gosh it was cold! And that was where today’s picture was taken.

We filled up with a massive (and heavy at over 12lbs) 6 litres of water as we were headed North behind the Upper and Lower Pilot knobs for the night and we weren’t sure if we’d find water there.

After lunch we rearranged our packs so I wasn’t carrying too much weight, headed back along Long Creek Trail and then up Cedar Trail, which was quite rocky going, the recent rain has cleared out any loose material on the trail. It was a nice hike uphill through a fairly densly wooded area. Once back up on Pilot trail we headed West, finally camping well off trail to the North near the junction with West Devils Den trail.

After dinner I tried using the wood burner as a campfire with mixed results. We decided not to set the fly, spending the night under the open sky.

Today’s alternate shots & extras

Gary boiling water for lunch on the wood burner

Cairn at North end of Pole Hollow trail - Hercules Glades

13 year periodic cicada

Ginger Crossing Long Creek - Hercules Glades

Creek crossing, Long Creek, Hercules Glades

Rock shelf by a creek crossing on Long Creek, Hercules Glades

Typical Hercules Glades trail

Long Creek falls, Hercules Glades

Ginger filtering water at Long Creek falls

May 28, 2011 | Categories: Arm's Length Self Portrait, Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Outdoors, Wilderness and trails | Tags: 365 Days, Backpacking, Fuji FinePix F30, Gary Allman, Hercules Glades Wilderness, Hiking, Missouri, Ozarks, Photography, Self Portrait | Leave A Comment »

Silliness on the Sac River Trail

The real picture’s in the background.

Ginger, Katie and I put in a four mile hike on the Sac River trail today. I was expecting the trail to be very muddy but it turned out to be surprisingly dry. During a brief stop I thought I’d grab a quick safety shot. I had an idea in mind. So it seems did Ginger and Katie. I could have gone with the more serious shot, but this one’s more fun. Ginger said she looks stupid – well that’s what you get for messing with my self portraits. Katie’s comment was along the lines of “D’oh, you can’t see me licking mom’s hair – it was kewl.” Oh well, I’d wanted them out of focus in the background, little knowing the stunt they were going to pull once my back was turned, so tough!

We decided to stop for lunch at the old barn, where Ginger and I ate lunch on our last visit on March 28, We were surprised to find the building had collapsed, leaving just a pile of rubble where we had been sitting. The recent storms must have done for it, though checking the timbers there was a lot of termite damage which I’m sure escalated its demise.

After the hike we returned to Springfield via Braum’s where we each had a double dip cone. The calories in the ice cream cones probably exceeded the number of calories we consumed on the hike, but they were very yummy.

This afternoon I tried out my latest Backpacking wood burning stove again, unfortunately with no more luck. It burns well once lit, wood gas is being generated and it burns well too, but the stove is not producing enough heat to boil a litre of water in a reasonable time, or without adding more fuel. I sat and thought about it for a while; I’ve now got another design in mind, which is not based on any of the designs I’ve seen, but uses what I’ve learned about gassification and wood gas burners in general. Hopefully a I have a more efficient, easier to manage and more consistent configuration. Whatever happens I know I’ll have great fun designing, building and trying it out.

Today’s alternate shots & extras

Hiking the Sac River trail - Springfield Missouri

This would have been today's shot but I prefer the more irreverent picture.

A reward for the day's hiking

The old barn on the Sac River trail has collapsed

The old barn had collapsed since our last visit

The old barn on the Sac River trail had collapsed

Where has the barn gone?

April 30, 2011 | Categories: Arm's Length Self Portrait, Around Springfield, Day out, Hiking, Out and about, Outdoors, Places, Wilderness and trails | Tags: 365 Days, Gary Allman, Nikon D40X, Ozarks, Photography, Sac River Trail, Self Portrait | Leave A Comment »

Lunch break and ‘phone call – day hike at Busiek

Ginger wanted to see the Dogwoods in bloom.

Today we went on a short, three mile hike on the silver trail at Busiek. About half way round we stopped for lunch at a small creek and I decided to try out my new light weight hiking tripod. The tripod has a clever design where one of the legs has a ‘V’ profile which combined with a Velcro strap allows the camera to be strapped to a post, pole, or as in this case an overhanging branch. It was a bit brave for a first test, with the Nikon left dangling over the creek, but it worked fine.

In the midst of setting the shot up I got a call from the UK, which amused us both, knowing that Stephen (the caller) had no idea that we were in the middle of a hike. Busiek is dissected by Highway 65 with cell ‘phone towers on top of the surrounding hills, so getting a signal here isn’t a problem.

After the hike we popped into a flea market in Ozark, hoping to find a suitable saucepan for the wood burner. Unfortunately we couldn’t find anything. Maybe another trip to Bass Pro, or a tour of the local flea markets is called for.

After picking up the kids from school I filled the van with gas – $62! this is getting silly.

Today’s alternate shot & extras

Lunch break and 'phone call - day hike at Busiek

Lunch break - day hike at Busiek

Ultra-pod tripod in use with a Nikon D40X

Ginger and the Dogwoods

Assuming it survives, this tree has had a very lucky escape. It's obviously been struck a glancing blow by lightning.

April 19, 2011 | Categories: Activity, Day out, Hiking, Image Style, Out and about, Outdoors, Places, Remote Shutter Release, Tripod, Wilderness and trails | Tags: 365 Days, Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, Colour, Gary Allman, Missouri, Nikon D40X, Ozarks, Photography, Self Portrait | Leave A Comment »

Fishing

Today I went fishing with Tom on Table Rock Lake.

Tom took me out on his boat fishing today, and just for a change, I out-fished him, five fish to four. We put in at Cape Fair (which I prefer to call Cape Fear) and had a very good, sunny and windy day on the lake. Today’s picture is what you get if you try and take a self portrait while being driven at fifty odd miles per hour across a windy lake. I took a video while we were going back and I’ve included it below.

Late in the day I managed to loose my ‘lucky Lure’ – any lure that catches a fish counts as lucky in my book, but one that manages five is extra lucky. In the evening I went down to Bass Pro with Lanie and bought a replacement. I have high hopes for tomorrow, when Tom and I are going out fishing again.

Today’s alternate shot & extras

Gary on Table Rock Lake, Missouri

Inlet on Table Rock Lake, Missouri

April 11, 2011 | Categories: Activity, Arm's Length Self Portrait, Day out, Image Style, Out and about, Outdoors, Places | Tags: 365 Days, Black and White, Fishing, Gary Allman, Nikon D40X, Ozarks, Photography, Self Portrait, Table Rock Lake | Leave A Comment »

Gary and Ginger on a run ashore

Today we went kayaking on Fellows lake.

There’s an annual fee to use Fellows lake. Last year it was $25 per boat – regardless of the type so our little kayaks cost as much to register as a motor boat. This year the fee’s gone up to $35 per boat, so we’re in the process of deciding if we want to renew. Our registration runs out on the fifteenth so we decided to get some use from the last few days on the current registration.We explored a small winding inlet of the lake, one of just a couple of places we haven’t visited yet. I took this picture of us when we stopped to explore a picnic pavilion at the entrance to the inlet.

In the course of the day we saw a very pretty bird, a Prothonotary Warbler, a few turtles, a deer and a couple of fish, but none on the end of my line. I did try fishing for a little while, but like everyone else we saw I didn’t have any luck.