It felt a little like being in Africa - there were two cats, one at each of my shoulders - leaning down and drinking from the hot tub. And at the opposite side of the hot tub, Aspen and Lucy were both poised for attack. It was a tense moment, and I was caught in the middle. But a few soft and reassuring words from the hippo in the hot water calmed the would-be predators down, and everyone went about their business. Aspen and Lucy took off after a flock of turkeys, and the cats went on drinking. No hangovers here this morning, although I did almost get clawed to death! Just another wonderful Cloudland moment.

1/2/02 BITTER cold. That is all I can say to describe it. The temp was only in the upper teens - not really all THAT cold, but the chill cut right to the bone in a hurry. I spent much of the day in town running errands and trying to catch up. It was well after dark when I returned home. The temp was already 16 degrees, which meant it would probably get a lot colder during the night. While I was unloading the van something felt different. I really can't explain why, but the cold was not all that bad anymore. I took off my down jacket and continued to work outside, gathering wood, messing around with the cats, and foraging around in the dark woods picking up small branches for kindling. All I had on was a sweatshirt, and I really wasn't working all that hard. But I was completely warm and comfortable, even without a hat! So I continued to hang out in the cold, and even wandered a little farther away from the cabin than I really needed to. I decided that the feeling of cold - at least to some degree - is really in your mind. If you WANT to be cold, heck, you'll get a chill at 70 degrees. But if your frame of mine is calm and you are focused on something than your own fragile comfort zone, it can actually be bitter cold out and not feel all that bad. My mind was in the right frame tonight, and I was really enjoying the heck out of being out in the cold. It was crystal clear above, with a million stars out. The moon had not risen yet, so it was pretty dim out. Of course, the warm and toasty glow of the cabin was always right over there...

I must admit that I broke down and fixed up an extra warm bed for the kittys tonight - a heating pad set on low under their bed in the shed. I know they are supposed to be tough outdoor cats - and they seem to be adapting to that very well - but it was just going to be so cold tonight.

1/3/02 10.4 degrees - that was the low on the thermometer this morning, just before the sun popped up over the horizon. That is normally the coldest time of the night - a few minutes before the sun appears. I have often peeked at the thermometer before daylight and watched it drop two or three degrees in that last hour of time before the sunshine. As usual, I walked out into the chilly air and disrobed - REALLY not all that cold! And I lingered there on the back deck for a few moments in that state before sliding into the steaming bubbles because of a noise that caught my attention. Heck, the sound was overwhelming the entire wilderness it seemed. Some critter was probably chasing a flock of wild turkeys - you should have heard the CLUCKING!!! And with the temp so cold and crisp with no wind, sound carries a long way intact. Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck!!! They kept this up the entire time I was in the tub.

Oh yea, and there was a slight dusting of SNOW on the ground this morning! Nothing much really, just the lightest hint of snow. But the sky was clear at first light, so no more would be coming down for awhile. We could use a good snow, although I prefer about a foot of RAIN instead so that I could get on with my waterfalls guidebook pictures!

After my stint in the darkness last night to gather firewood, I built up a big fire in the fireplace, and vowed to keep it going all night so that the heat pump would not have to come on. I was up at 1:20 and at 5:10 to refuel it, and filled i up again at 7:45 when I got out of the tub. This fireplace puts out a great deal of heat, but does have a big appetite!

Lucy sunning herself on the cabin floor

It remained cold all day, although the temp climbed into the high 20's by mid afternoon, which felt pretty good under a blue sky with plenty of sunshine. Pam went out for a multi-mile run, while I headed on down into Dug Hollow to see what the ice was up to in there.

There are a number of waterfalls in this canyon, but the reason there is typically so much ice during long cold spells is that the north-facing walls often have a lot of seepage, which creates many ice formations, and since the sun doesn't hit them, they tend to build up over time and not melt away too fast.

As I made my way down the hillside and into the deep woods a feeling of calm and contentment came over me. The winter woods are quite beautiful right now, and I was passing through a beech forest - there were hundreds of smaller beech trees all around me that still had their leaves on - all of those golden leaves shimmering in the sunlight were great! It felt good to be out in the wilds, and while I was actually bushwhacking (going to a specific location but without following a trail), it felt more like being on a ramble (not going anyplace specific, just wandering through the open forest). I love to ramble through the forest, especially this time of the year when you can pretty much step any place you like without fear of finding a snake or getting into poison ivy. Of course, there is the added concern of ice. But ice is what I was after today, so I moved on through the beech forest and down the steep hillside into Dug Hollow.

There wasn't much noise in the canyon - most of the water was frozen and not making any noise. I dropped down into a winter wonderland of ice formations that went on as far as I could see. The short bluffs were all covered with ice - some flowstone formations, others curtains or simply icicles.

And the creek itself was frozen - the main waterfall was a tower of solid ice with a narrow tube in the middle where some water was dropping through. And the pool below the falls was solid ice, probably a couple inches thick. The surface of the ice was covered with a fine layer of snow and frost granules.

I found a safe way across the frozen creek and made my way downstream, and entered yet another incredible landscape - a lot more ice in the stream and very tall ice curtains on the main bluffline. Yep, it was just about right.

After another creek crossing I made my way behind the main wall of ice, back under a huge overhang that looked out over another frozen waterfall and pool, and upstream to frozen cascades. The curtains covering this overhang were broad, uneven, and multicolored (some of them were blue, others were clear, with whatever color the background was showing through). The rocks underfoot were covered with ice too, so the footing was a bit tricky.

I set up the camera and took a few snapshots, then laid back on some dry rocks and spent nearly an hour just looking around, mystified by this place. It was odd being in a place with so much going on visually, yet it was completely quiet. There certainly are other spots in the wilderness with as much ice today,  but I doubt none as beautiful as this one.

Ice in Dug Hollow (I am standing in the lower left of the picture)

And ice curtain in Dug Hollow

Satisfied that I had at least one good image for the journal, I packed up my gear and headed out. It was a steep climb back up to the truck, but one that went quickly with a minimum of sweat. There was just enough sweat though that the breeze that I met up on top of the hill sent a shiver on down my spine. It was COLD outside!

It is late at night now, and I am in the cabin typing away, sipping on a glass of tea, and about ready to go out into the frigid air and take a dip. There is a big fire in the fireplace, and the cabin is toasty. Amber is off to bed, and Pam is up in the loft reading. This old cabin holds up well in the cold - thanks in no small part to the log splitter that is sitting just outside! The heat pump is able to keep the chill off at this temp, but nothing feels as WARM as a genuine hardwood fire. Makes the cabin smell great too.

1/5/02 A bit of rain and lots of fog and clouds this morning, and the view out into the wilderness changed each minute as the white stuff moved around continuously. It was a lazy sort of day, and the cabin seemed like the best place to be. Pam and I spent the morning working on several different projects - I believe a nap or two was on my list of chores for the day as well. But by early afternoon I was getting a bit of cabin fever - or should I say FOG fever, and was ready to strike off on a hike. The cabin was completely engulfed in fog, and it was a whiteout.

Clearing storm that created a lot of fog

"I'm going to get the mail" I announced, and a minute later stepped outside into a beautiful, muted landscape. I absolutely LOVE to hike in the fog, especially when it was as thick as this stuff was. The temp was in the mid-30's, and it was raining lightly, so it was sort of nasty out, but I bundled up well and didn't mind at all.

My normal mail run is to hike the trail along the top of the bluffline all the way out to the main road (just over two miles), then return by way of the dirt road (just under two miles). That was my goal today as well. Although as soon as I got down onto the level bench, my mind and my feet wandered, and I spent most of the time off of the trail, out in the open woods. I could see left and right across the bench, but not much above nor below it because of the fog.

When the fog is so thick like this individual trees pop out and are much more visually defined than when they are blended in with the rest of the forest. They take on personalities of their own. You can see all of their branches, and really get a feel for the shape of the tree. There were many such trees along my route today that kept me company while I wandered on along.

The forest was quiet, with only the soft hiss of the light rain hitting the ground. Walking made no noise, nor did the two excited dogs romping about all around me. I like to stop and lean my head back and breathe the thick air deep into my lungs, especially when the air is chilled like this. When I was a kid I loved going to the grocery store with my mom - I would run ahead and stick my head into the frozen food compartments and suck in that wonderful iced air. I'm sure others in the store thought I was nuts, but my mom knew better.

Wet conditions usually bring out rich colors, and man those colors were sure out today! In fact I do believe the forest was about as GREEN as I had ever seen it! Moss and ferns and lichens covered many rocks and hillsides, and that rich color was everywhere. Green, green, green! It was truly a delight to hike through this magical forest today.

The trip back from the mailbox took me through several open fields - I could hardly even see to the edge of them because the fog was still so thick. What I could see was my two hiking companions running and springing and playing like there was no tomorrow. I do believe that Aspen and Lucy will be puppies as long as they live (I hope to follow their lead as well).

I was wet and soggy and chilled to the bone when I returned to the cabin, but I was one happy camper after such a wonderful hike. Plus there was a big fire in the fireplace, and a warm wife waiting for me - and a hot cup of Earl Grey tea!

1/6/02 The forest was hushed and covered with a blanket of new fallen snow at first light. We hadn't really been paying attention to the weather forecast, and were a bit surprised to see the 1-2 inches of snow on the ground. It must have been a blowing snow and at just the right temperature because it stuck on the trees and made them all works of art.

As I was standing in the loft looking out the window at it all, the sun appeared all of a sudden and lit up the snowy scene - it nearly blinded us both. The quality of that few moments of light were quite unlike anything that I had ever seen before. I sprinted downstairs and grabbed the camera, only to arrive back up in the loft a few seconds too late - that incredible light had already vanished. Sometimes it is best to simply stay put and enjoy instead of wasting time trying to set up for a picture. I did get one snapshot, but it just wasn't the same.

The sun breaks through and lights up the winter forest

"Let's go on a hike!" I was lacing up my hiking boots even before Pam could put the explanation point on that one.

The forest was beautiful. Simply gorgeous. Pam was in the lead, and I lingered behind just trying to take it all in. It was easy to see which way the storm had come from - the northern sides of the trees were covered with snow, while the rest of the trees were bare. Some of the trees held the snow better than others - ones with rougher bark I guessed would hold more snow. Then I got to wondering if trees have a front and a back - you know, and could face away from an oncoming storm like this one. Of course, if some of them were like me, they would face INTO the wind once in a while, just to feel the full force of it all.

The storm was from the North!

As we hiked along we found many bushes and small trees that still had red berries on them, and the berries were mostly covered with snow. I would have thought that most of these berries would have been eaten long ago, but I guess the birds leave some of them behind for the late winter months when that may be all that they get to eat! One stand of rose hips was particularly neat, so I had to take a few pictures.

Rose hips in the snow

We came across many sets of tracks in the snow - deer, mice, rabbits, fox, coyote, and birds. This one set of rabbit tracks showed perfectly how a rabbit will place his hind feet right next to each other, and make what appears to be a single track in the back.

The pesky rabbit went that away!

By the time we had reached the Faddis meadow the sky had cleared and the bright sun was blinding. There was more than two inches of snow in this meadow - more than we got down at the cabin. The dogs particularly enjoyed the deeper snow - I think romping is just that much better with more snow!

Aspen, Pam and Lucy along the lane

Once we entered the deep woods once again things begin to change. At first we thought it was snowing again - there was a lot of snow falling off of the branches overhead. I wondered out loud if that extra snow could be counted in the total amount when it hit the ground. Pam informed me that it would not count. (Hey, this is Cloudland, so I figure I can make up new rules if necessary!) Then the snow coming down started getting wetter, and the flakes were no longer flakes but small bombs, and it became a game to keep from getting hit by them.

And then a few minutes later the snow bombs turned into rain - all of that snow that had been clinging to the tree branches was now melting and falling as rain. We stopped and looked out into the forest and could barely see through it all because of the heavy rain. By the time we reached the cabin, most of the snow in the trees and on the ground was gone - in less than a hour!

All of the snow melted except for on the roads - they were still covered and snow packed, which looked sort of odd to me, since everything else was brown around them. It began to snow once again as Pam and I headed out in the late afternoon to go up to Missouri to pick Amber up. Our trip back to the cabin would turn into a test of survival, and lots of breath holding.

We drove through heavy snow most of the way back. The main Hwy. 412 west of Alpena was extremely dangerous, and we had to wait out/go around a number of wrecks. Folks were sliding off of the highway and into the ditches all over the place. It was pucker time as we left the main highway and took the side highway 103 from Osage that connects with Hwy. 43 up near the Centerpoint Trailhead. There were a few anxious moments along that road, but since there was no traffic at all, the old Mercedes truck made it through just fine. Hwy. 43 was snow and ice packed, and it was another hairy ride down the big hill into Ponca. The valley was completely free of snow, so it was easy going, and we were all able to breathe normally for a few minutes. Then we go to "the big hill!"

I was not too concerned about the truck making it up the 17% grade, no matter how much snow there was - snow is simply no problem at all. I was a little bit concerned about a layer of ice under any snow that was on the road, but figured we would be OK. Just as we were nearing the really terrible spot at the top of the hill - a place where there is a large dropoff with no protection - a pickup truck that had been going in front of us got stuck. This is one of the steepest places on the entire mountain, right next to that dropoff, and at a 90 degree corner. The lady in the pickup was in big trouble, but there was nothing we could do about it but watch. After a few minutes she finally was able to get her truck going again and disappeared into the night. Now it was OUR turn - yikes! I know many of you laugh when thinking about a Mercedes making it though some of the stuff out here, but I have never driven anything that gets around better than this Mercedes SUV! We started up and the little guy just walked right on up the steep hill without any problems at all. I know that Pam and Amber were about to have a cow, and were much relieved when we rounded the curve and made it to the top. They were both very glad to finally arrive back at the cabin. It had snowed another couple of inches since we had left.

1/8/02 School was called off in Jasper yesterday because of the ice and snow, but we didn't know what to expect this morning. The radio station said school was on, but we knew the feeder bus would not be running - all of the roads up here on the mountain were still snowpacked, with a bunch of ice thrown in from some melting yesterday. Amber and I loaded up into the green truck and headed for Boxley, hoping to make it down the big hill and catch the big bus at the bottom.

The road was a bit slick, but we made it just fine. That is until we got to the top of the big hill. There is one spot - perhaps 50 feet long - that is tilted outwards towards a steep dropoff, right at a very steep spot in the hill and at the curve. This morning there was a great deal of ice there, and marks where many vehicles had slid sideways. I parked the truck and walked around a little bit - slipping a couple of times myself. If we had been coming up the hill it would have been no problem, but I wimped out and decided not to try to go down it - one slip and we would be over the side. A day of school was just not worth risking serious injury to my little girl. So we turned around and drove back to the cabin, and noticed that none of the other school kids on the mountain had even bothered to get up yet - they knew how dangerous it was.

Just as we were about to turn off of the main dirt road, Amber said "stop the car, stop the car! I want to HIKE back to the cabin!" (two miles away, and the temp was about 20) She had done the same thing with Pam yesterday, so I was happy to let her out and tag along a ways behind while she walked ahead through the snow. I continue to be amazed at how much this little girl is willing to do - even anxious to do - way out here in the wilderness. She didn't make it all the way back to the cabin, but she gave it her best try. "Next time I will make it a little bit farther, and eventually I will make it all the way to the cabin!"

Later in the day Pam took off on a hike - most of the snow had melted away and it was a downright pleasant afternoon to be outside. I still had plenty of work to do in the office, so Amber hung around with me for a while, doing a few chores that I had been putting off. Then she and I went on a hike ourselves.

First we went up to Aspen's meadow and did a few Indian dances on the star-gazing deck. (I also got pelted with a snowball or two!) Then Amber wanted to look for arrowheads, so we spent a while with our heads down, scouring the bare spots in the meadow. Amber found two nice chips right away.

Then we sort of drifted out into the forest, just wandering on down the hillside with no particular destination in mind. Amber loves to bushwhack, so I let her lead the way. Before too long we were hiking along the top edge of a steep bench. Amber didn't know what a "bench" was so I spent a few moments explaining it to her - with the help of the actual benches right there in front of us. Then we sat down in the leaves and spent a bit of time not making a sound - just listening and watching the forest. I do this often when I am by myself, and can think of no better activity for a child to do once in a while (or any adult for that matter!). The wind was blowing a little bit, we could hear the quiet rush of the river far below, and could even see a nice green pool through the trees. She started counting all of the trees that she could see, and finally gave up at 50. I want her to get to know the forest, and the wilderness, and find out that she can always go there to escape, to celebrate, to have a friend to talk to, somewhere to cry. I want her to feel comfortable in the woods, to respect its powers, and to think of it as her friend. This isn't something that you can teach a child overnight, but I look forward to taking the time to let it happen as it may. Any time spent in the wilderness is time well spent.

After our hike we were playing soccer on the lower deck, a mature bald eagle - perhaps the largest one that I had ever seen - came soaring in REALLY close again - I mean nearly within spitting distance! We had been yelling out and having a big time, and I know this eagle came over to have a look see and figure out what was going on. Then he flapped his wings a couple of times and flew out over Whitaker Creek, but circled back towards us a time or two. Such a humbling feeling it is to see our nation's symbol right there in the air in front of you, and to know that he is looking right at you!

Later on Pam and I were enjoying some quiet time, reading magazines on the couches, and discussing the day, when we were interrupted by the incredible color in the western sky. The sunsets here just seem to get brighter and richer all the time. I got out the digital camera and shot pictures for twenty minutes.

The view out the cabin window tonight

While I was in town yesterday I bought Pam a cordless drill for her new workshop room in the basement. I never knew a woman who loved power tools as much as she does! When she has that drill in her hands there is this LOOK on her face! She has been spending a lot of time in that new workshop, and has already produced some really neat stuff. Her and Amber have been working on several projects for Amber's room.

It is late now, and the cabin is quiet. I just got back from a quick hike up to the office and back - what a BEAUTIFUL night it is outside tonight! Coal black skies and a zillion bright stars. The temp is in the low 40's, which feels almost warm compared to what it has been these last few days.

CALENDAR UPDATE. We have been pleasantly surprised at how well the 2002 ARKANSAS WATERFALL CALENDAR did this year. We are just now discovering that many of the stores who stocked them had completely sold out even before Christmas. This was sort of an experimental year for me to see if I would be able to make it in the cut-throat business of calendar sales. My gosh you wouldn't believe what some of the big shots require! Little guys like me seldom ever make a go of it and normally end up losing their shirts. I put Pam in charge of selling the calendars - sort of threw her to the lions her first time out - and she did a great job. Looks like we will publish another Arkansas calendar for 2003.

Right now we are trying to figure out what type of calendar it should be. It will have an Arkansas theme again for sure, but we don't know if it should be a general wilderness one, or wildflowers, another waterfall theme, or what. We don't really have to get them printed for several more months yet, but the big bookstore chains are meeting NEXT WEEK to place their orders and so we have to have the theme and samples all made up by then.

HELP, HELP! We are looking for comments from those of you who buy calendars, and especially for you who have one of the new ones hanging on your wall right now - WHAT SUBJECT OR THEME WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE FOR 2003? Just send me an e-mail if you have a thought about it (E-mail Tim). The quality and price and size will remain the same as this year. And keep in mind that it needs to appeal to several thousand other people. If it works out, we will try to publish one every year as long as we can.

And by the way, we do still have a few calendars left (in fact we send new orders out every day), so if you still need one, now is the time to order! Click HERE for info on the "2002 Arkansas Waterfall Calendar"

1/9/02 Today was one of the warmest January days on record in the Ozarks, and it felt absolutely wonderful! Funny how 70 degrees will feel cold in the summertime while it is downright hot in the winter.

Pam took a long hike around the mountain and discovered some very strange scratchings over near the orchard. We're not really sure just what they are, but will investigate more. We have been finding a lot of scratchings out in the open woods of late, but these are easy to explain - wild turkeys. They spend much of their time pawing the ground with those giant feet of theirs, scratching back the leaves to expose the bare ground and to find their little treats - grubs and worms and other insects of all kinds. I've seen scratched-out places three feet in diameter, and dozens of them in a single area. The other day I was sitting on a rock overlooking a bench below, quietly soaking up the winter woods, when a flock of turkeys came into view. They moved slowly across the bench down in front of me, scratching their way along. They make quite a bit of noise when doing this, not only because of the sound of the dry leaves moving, but they also talk among themselves all the time - it is rather funny to sit and listen to them! And goodness if you happen to startle them, well, there are few sounds in nature as loud!!!

As the afternoon grew long and warmer today Pam joined me up next to the tractor shed and we spent the next hour or two splitting up the logs that Roy and I had cut up last month. We had a great process going, with me hauling the logs to the gas-powered splitter and Pam running the machine. That really saved me a great deal of time. I would go after the next log while Pam was splitting the previous one up. We ran into one tree that I had never seen before. The wood was sort of pale yellow, and WET, very wet. It would not split too well, and often we would have to reverse the log after running the wedge through it and do the process all over again. The wood fibers were damp and stringy. Hum, I wonder how well it will burn? Pam was having such a good time running the splitter that she was hesitant to leave when it came time to go get Amber!

1/10/02 Just a note to comment on how WONDERFUL the cabin smelled when I returned home from a very long day on the road today. Pam had been cooking up a storm, and the arouma of dinner filled the air.

1/11/02 It is just breaking daylight now, Pam is back from taking Amber to the bus, and there is a very strange scene outside. There is a second set of mountains out there in the southern horizon. When you first glance at it, there appears to be a taller set of mountains towering over the original set, only these mountains are completely flat with no valleys. It is a hugs cloud front, of course, but black as night and really scary looking. We can't tell if it is approaching or retreating. The sun will be up in a little while, which will shine a bit more light on things.

THANKS A MILLION for all of the terrific calendar suggestions from you all! We have been a little startled at HOW MANY of you have written in with comments. We were hoping for a list of the usual subjects/themes, with one or two of them being the most popular, but what we have been getting has been much more than that! We've got wildflowers, general wilderness scenes, waterfalls, the Buffalo River area, and some really interesting ones like rivers and streams, state champion trees, bluffs, critter dens and the neat stuff surrounding them,  native wildlife species, Native American burial grounds, bluff shelters, the beginning of the Ozark Highlands Trail that is going to be flooded, cave entrances, old homesites and pioneer walls, secret scenic spots, magical spots, sunrises and sunsets, topless wood nymphs (really!), and a number of others. These are all GREAT ideas, and would certainly keep me busy for many years to come. We still have not selected a subject/theme yet - now have TOO MANY great ones to pick from! I'll let you know what we finally decide on. THANKS AGAIN for all of your wonderful ideas!

OH MY - you should see that black wall of clouds now!!! It has turned into a PINK AND ORANGE AND RED WALL!!! Looks like another beautiful day is approaching...

Pam and I took off for a little hike in the afternoon. She wanted to show me those mysterious scrapes that she had been seeing over on the other side of the hill. It was a glorious day, warm and sunny with no breeze at all.

Before we got to the scrapes, we inspected quite a few piles of coyote scat. Seems there are a lot more of these critters around these days, or at least they are eating and pooping a lot more. There were two very distinct patterns to the scat - one batch was filled with hair, and the others had no hair at all but were stuffed with persimmon seeds. No seeds in the hairy scat though. Heck, I can't even remember the last time I saw a persimmon on a tree - I guess the fruit has survived on the ground, and the coyotes are still feeding on them. Man, there was coyote scat all over the place!

We figured out what some of the scrape marks were - deer that had actually slid on the snow/ice/mud. It must have been funny to watch a deer who is normally so fleet and sure-footed doing that Paul Simon song thing ("slip-sliding away"). The rest of the scrape marks remained a mystery. There were no footprints associated with them at all.

Pam wanted to go down to the Faddis pond and see if any bears had come out from their winter slumber to get a drink. We didn't any bear tracks, but Aspen and Lucy sure did put on a show. Half of the pond was still solid ice, which extended several feet up the bank. When the dogs tried to run the perimeter of the pond, they could not get a grip on the ice-covered slopes and wound up sliding on down into the pond, breaking through the ice once they reached the waterline. Neither wanted to have anything to do with that icy water! Although Aspen did go for a nice muddy swim on the side of the pond that was not frozen.

"Let's take a shortcut back to the trail." Yea, right - Pam has heard that one way too often from me! But like the trooper that she is, she agreed and we headed off into the woods and across a big flat. It was a lovely walk through the open forest, and that warm sunshine was especially welcome.

We came across two interesting trees. The first one showed how life could endure through even the worst of times. It seems that this tree had been cut down by loggers many years ago. But one tiny branch escaped the saw. That little branch would not give up and began to grow like crazy. As you can see from the photo, the branch is now a tree, and has nearly taken over the cut part of the stump. You see, no matter how bad things look, you can still SURVIVE and even thrive if you work at it!

Aspen found the second tree. It had a hollow part in the base that was so large he could get completely inside of it. Lots of hollow trees like this one in the forest, and they contain some neat stuff if you will investigate.

Aspen's new oak clubhouse

I wanted to show Pam a little bluff overhang nearby, so we left the level bench and headed down one of the steepest hillsides in the forest. She was not amused. But the overhang was nice. There were two different places where the ceiling had "melted" back enough that we could stand up completely. And that ceiling was filled with hundreds of little nooks and crannies.

There was this giant slab of rock perhaps 20 feet wide that had slid off one end of the bluff at that spot. It was at a 45 degree angle, with the front end buried in the leaves. We sat down nearby to soak up the sunshine and rest a bit. Then we heard this awful noise that seemed to be coming from INSIDE that big slab of rock. The noise got louder and we braced ourselves for what might emerge - although there did not appear to be any place that a critter could emerge from. Just then the leaves at the front edge of the rock slab began to move, and presto, out popped Aspen! He had apparently found a way to get back under the rock from inside the overhang, and followed some cavity on out to the front. He seemed to be quite pleased with himself, so he returned and repeated his trick. Lucy followed and before long there were two dogs popping out from under that rock!

Lots of brown and blue today, plus a little green

Tiger enjoys the afternoon sunshine, looking down on Fox meadow

1/14/02 Another delightful day in the wilderness today. As the afternoon sun warmed the chilly air, I took off for a hike out to get the mail. I decided to take a little different route and stay off of the main trail. I wanted to see how far the level bench that the cabin sits on would take me, so I headed out along the middle of it.

Much of the first mile was familiar to me, and the hiking was easy. Then the bench turned a little bit to the left, and got rougher. But the bench was still obvious, so I hiked on. Much of this time I walked along the outside edge of the bench so that I could look down and see what was on the bench below. You never know what you are going to sneak up on! Of course, with Aspen and Lucy way out there in the lead, we weren't going to actually "sneak" up on anything.

The bench passed through a stand of mature pine trees, and the underbrush through there was really thick. I was glad to be wearing long pants and shirt.

After we got through the pine trees the forest opened up and the terrain really flattened out. My goodness I could see forever in all directions. As I strolled through this lovely plot of woods I decided to return some day and do an experiment. I would blindfold myself and try to walk in a straight line across this open woodland. Then I would stop every so often and tie a bit of flagging tape onto a branch. After a period of time I would take the blindfold off and see what route I had actually taken. They say that a human will always move in a wide circle when blindfolded, and will naturally curve to the right or left depending on whether you are right or left handed. Hum, yes we will do this experiment in this open woodland some day and see what happens! (I am left-handed so we will see about that too.)

The bench continued on into rougher terrain and I followed. As I got closer to the point where I would leave the bench and go up to get the mail, I got to thinking about the fact that I had not seen a single sign of man along this bench, other than a couple of old fences and some painted trees. I had hiked nearly two miles, and was really less than 1/4 mile from the road the entire time. How remote this country was, yet right there next to the road. I bet most of this bench had not seen human footprints in a very long time. Then I remembered the search for Haley (the event, not the book). I suspected that every single square foot of that terrain had been stepped on at least once last spring when the forest was filled with volunteers looking for her. Every single foot of it. Some of those spots that I passed through were probably set foot upon dozens if not hundreds of times. Yet there was no sign of man. The forest has a way of moving on.

So I was able to remain on that very same bench all the way from the cabin out to the main Cave Mountain road. All I had to do when I got to the right place was go uphill two additional benches to reach the mailboxes (actually, it was nearly STRAIGHT uphill!). And the bench continued on without me. One of these days I must strike out and walk all day and see where it takes me. So many untraveled paths I have yet to take.

On the way back to the cabin I came upon a giant area of feathers in the middle of a large field. Looks like someone had a big lunch! Most of them were white, fluffy chest feathers, but there were a couple dozen wing feathers too. There was a ten-foot radius of feathers, so it must have been a large bird. The sun was very low and its colorful glow lit up the field of feathers that were blowing in the evening breeze. It was a beautiful scene, though not a very nice one considering that a large bird had died there. I wonder what kind of bird it was, and who had lunch?

Some of the feathers from the massacre

1/15/01 The sky was filled with a million bright stars this morning, and not a cloud in the sky. It remained dark longer than usual it seemed before the sun popped up into the eastern sky. I guess it actually IS darker longer when there are no clouds. Those clouds catch and reflect sunlight before the sun is up, so that light reaches the wilderness sooner than normal. And goodness we have been having some spectacular light shows before sunrise of late for sure. But today the sky was void of anything but blue. Blue and brown - those are the two main colors when the sun is out in the winter.

Pam had a great idea - she took off on a hike with the dogs, while I took the cats up to the office to see if they could catch a mouse or two. It worked like a charm. I've never seen cats do this before, but thought I would give it a try - I got them out of bed and tried to get them to follow me into the woods and up the trail to the office. And THEY DID IT! It was SO funny, and felt kind of strange - hiking along with two cats. They felt right at home on the trail, and there was always one of them in the lead, in FRONT of me! The one behind would eventually charge ahead and chase the front cat off of the trail and take the lead for a little while. Then the other one would do the same, so they swapped off several times before we reached the office.

The cats immediately began to explore around the office and tractor shed. Eventually Pam and the dogs arrived back from their hike, and we put the dogs inside so as not to harass the cats. A few minutes later Tiger pounced on a pile of leaves and came out with a mouse in his jaws, which he promptly chewed up and swalled - YIPPIE!!! There certainly will be plenty of mice at Cloudland to keep these two guys happy for a very long time (with enough left over for the hawks - I only hope the hawks don't take a liking to the cats!).

Later on Pam headed back to the cabin, with the two cats right in front of and behind her. Good kitties.

I was out on a hike myself when Pam and Amber drove through the Faddis meadow on their way back from the bus. Amber jumped out of the car and started running ahead herself (this kid has a lot of energy). Once we reached the cabin we played soccer on the back deck for a while - taking a break for her to finish her homework - then we went back to the game (she beat me 11-10). No eagles this time, but the tiniest sliver of a crescent moon was hanging around in a deep blue western sky watching.

1/16/02 The wind howled - or should I say pounded the cabin - all night long. No sunrise this morning. In fact, the grey skies kept me in bed for an extra long time, and it was nearly 9am before I stumbled out of bed and splashed into the hot tub. The wind chill was in single digits, which felt kind of raw on my wet behind when I got out to dry off. Boy, that will wake a guy up.

Today is sort of the calm before the storm, as both Pam and I have very hectic schedules these next few days, and will include at least SIX road trips! By the way, if any of you happen to be in the area and are interested, I will be doing a book signing at Barnes & Noble in Fayetteville this Friday night at 7pm - and Haley Zega will be there with me. This will probably be the last time that Haley signs books in public for a while.

Pam and I went for a hike this afternoon and discovered a great deal of ice damage from the storm last month. We were walking down the lane that connects the East meadow with Bob's cabin and found several dozen trees/large limbs across the road.

The first batch of damage that we ran across was a sycamore tree - or what was left of it. I have always loved these trees because they have so much character when they get old and their bark peels off, revealing a stark white smooth trunk beneath. Many times of late I have sat out on the back deck looking through the telescope and counted giant sycamore trunks that line the Buffalo River far below, gleaming white in the afternoon sun.

Beautiful sycamore bark

And, of course, sycamore balls are wonderful. When you first pick one up, it is often hard and feels solid. But if you grip and twist it just a little bit in your hands, the darn thing will nearly explode with thousands of tiny fluffy seeds. The ground around where this poor sycamore tree fell was covered with many of those balls, so I gathered a few of them up for a group portrait.

Sycamore balls w/ one exploded

On down the road a ways we came across another batch of balls - these are not as well-liked as sycamore balls, as they are covered with sharp, pointy spears. They are the ones that you discover under your tent and sleeping bag at about 3am when you roll over, trying to get to sleep. Or when you are running from the skinny-dipping hole, barefoot. I absolutely LOVE sweet gum trees, but do admit those darn balls have inflected a bit of pain on me in the past. I love them just the same though. (Their leaves are star-shaped, and in the fall you can often find red leaves, yellow leaves, orange leaves, and every color of leaf in between on the very same tree!)

Sweetgum balls - ummmm, they fell great on your bare feet!

Later we found a deciduous holly tree that was still loaded with bright red berries. This is kind of late in the season for them though, and if you look close in this photo you can see that some of the berries have black spots on them - a sign that birds should have already eaten them by now! The other holly tree that I often photograph was nearly bare of berries when we passed it today.

Deciduous holly berries

While we were back at the cabin later Pam spotted a puff of smoke way off in the distance. Uh oh. It was definitely burning wood, and a hot fire at that! We got out the telescope and could tell that the fire was near the top of the ridge, down in the Terrapin Branch drainage. After consulting the topo map, we figured that it must have been on a bit of private property that sticks out on that ridge - most likely someone burning a big pile of brush. The wind was still blowing pretty hard, so that was probably not the best thing to do today. Not knowing for sure, we kept an eye on the smoke - if it stayed in one place, chances were that it was indeed just a brush pile fire. But if it was moving, then we were ready to call the forest service to report a forest fire. Fire is certainly a natural and healthy thing for wilderness, but you always hate to see it happen. Especially when you live in a log cabin!

I had another short hike with the cats today - took them down into Fox meadow. Aspen was with us, and then eventually Lucy too. At one point I was laying down in the meadow and had Aspen up next to me on my right, and Tiger up next to me on my left. There was a great deal of tension between them, but no attacks. Both the cats and dogs explored around quite a bit, but always kept an eye on each other. No mice today.

1/17/02 By 9:45am today the Deer schools had closed (No, the animals don't go to formal class here, there is a small community by that name - and their mascot is and antler - so they are called the Deer Antlers!). Mt. Judy, Jasper, and Bass schools all followed at noon. We had sleet coming down, and the roads were icing up in a hurry. I ventured down to Boxley and waited for Amber's big bus to show up - her little feeder bus was not running. Turns out the big bus was unable to make it along some of its route, so several of the kids had to walk home. Amber was delivered to me and we made it up the big hill and home just fine, although as Amber informed me, "the computer took over" several times in the truck to help us make it up and through some of the slicker spots.

I am sorry to say that the girl scout cookie organizational meeting that I was so much looking forward to in Jasper tonight was cancelled. Few things in life are as wonderful to me as a box of thin mints that have been hidden away in the freezer all spring, eaten in their entirety (well, actually one cookie at a time) on a hot summer day! And now I will have a REAL girl scout living under the same roof - good grief, I might be in trouble! Not to worry though about the cancelled meeting - rest assured that there will be at LEAST a full case of thin mints in the freezer this year!

The icy conditions remained for the rest of the day, and the three of us kept busy on various chores around the cabin and up at the office. The "Four-Wheelers" stopped by in the afternoon. Our good friends Glenn and Stacy (and Elizabeth) Wheeler are now called the Four-Wheelers because Stacy is expecting, so there are now technically "four" Wheelers. Elizabeth and Amber took Glenn and I out to the fort in front of the cabin for a bit of target practice (no, they didn't actually practice on us, but adult supervision is required for firearm use here - good thing there were two adults sitting on the swing to supervise - Pam and Stacy). Amber climbed up into the fort first and spent a good bit of time clearing the ice away so that it would be safe for us to stand to shoot. Amber used her Daisy air rifle while Elizabeth shot her new .22 rifle (they make one of these just for kids - very short). It was great to see these two youngsters not only unafraid to venture out into the ice, but enjoying themselves in the process.

Back inside the cabin a couple of us enjoyed a bit of homemade Cloudland sassafras liqueur in front of a roaring fire. We had hoped that the Four Wheelers would get stuck here in the ice and be forced to spend the night, but they had business in town and motored on. It was great to be out in the ice, but that fire sure did feel GREAT! Hum, perhaps the sassafras had something to do with it.

1/18/02 They had school in Jasper today but Amber's bus was not running. I had to leave at 5-something am to get into Fayetteville with the truck, and was not too happy about Pam taking Amber down the BIG hill in the van (one really dangerous spot on that big hill remains icy for a long time - and it was still frozen solid this morning), so Amber stayed home from school. I had intended to remain in town all day until the book signing at Barnes & Noble, but decided to drive back out to the cabin and switch cars with Pam so that she could safely drive Amber up to Missouri later in the day. (Why didn't I just take the van to town in the first place you ask - I was getting the truck serviced and had to drive it in early.)

Anyway, we made the switch and Pam and Amber motored off to Missouri in the truck. Good thing she had the four-wheel drive, because later in the night Pam ran into a big winter storm while she was trying to get back to the cabin and would need it to get home.

We had a good book signing in Fayetteville, despite the near-blizzard conditions there. Haley was a real trooper, as always, as she patiently signed books and calendars and answered questions. And she presented me with a really neat ceramic bear pencil holder. "You are a writer, so you need someplace to put your pencil!"

My drive home was nothing less than hairy. The snow had stopped and it was raining when I left town, but the road soon turned to ice and the pucker factor increased dramatically. I don't recall seeing another vehicle on the road for the last hour of my trip - everyone else was SANE! But I pressed on. The mini-van does pretty well in ice and snow, but there were quite a few tense moments, especially once I got off of the highway and onto the dirt road. I normally prefer dirt roads to pavement when there is ice or snow, but there is a spot or two on the nine-mile drive into the cabin where if you don't make it up one side of the hill, you are stuck because behind you is a hill too. But I plowed through, dodging a few newly-downed trees along the way. When I arrived at the cabin I could not believe how SOLID the ice cover actually was. I was lucky to have made it all the way home.

1/19/02 The snowfall that was predicted during the night never did materialize here - nothing but a layer of ice on the ground this morning. The clouds above are hanging down low, and we can barely see Beagle Point just across the way. Since I need moisture SO BAD right now so that I can complete the waterfall guidebook, I will take the wet stuff any way that I can get it. Although I would prefer about six inches of rain to more ice! (Of course, I also need LOTS of ice so that I can add an ice formation picture to the next calendar.)

Speaking of that waterfall guidebook, right now there are 77 waterfalls that will be included. Several of those probably will not make the final cut, but I'm sure others will be added. So the total will be probably 80-90 waterfalls. I've only got pictures of about half of those, so there are many great adventures to come this next month or two.

The temp outside is 30 right now, and the wind is blowing pretty hard - the wind chill is down near zero, and it is downright nasty out. But there isn't all that much ice in the trees so I doubt we will have widespread damage like last time. I will probably have to strap on the set of ice grippers that Aunt Bonnie/Uncle Ted sent us from Wisconsin last winter in order for me to make it up to the office. I have already ventured out once - to empty the ash bucket from the fireplace - and had to battle to keep my balance on the ice. Actually I did just fine - I was wearing a pair of leather moccasins and they tend to grip the ice pretty well. Hum, it is cold and nasty outside, and there is a roaring fire, lovely wife, and BREAKFAST on the way inside - I believe I will hang around the cabin a little while this morning instead of going up to work right away.

(Quick note here about the Cloudland library - I could not figure out how to spell "moccasin" above, and the computer spell checker was of no help, so I dug out the "Field Guide to North American Reptiles" that was close at hand in the library and looked up "cottonmouth" since they are also called "water moccasins.)

1/19/02--late There is a new bright light shining down from heaven tonight - the greatest person I ever knew walked through the pearly gates and lit up the place this evening. My mom no doubt is glad to be up there and finished with the waiting game down here on earth. When I found out the news I walked out into the cold night air. Mom was already up there doing her job, and her moonlight lit up the wilderness in a way that I had never seen before. She brought a great deal of joy to many people in her life, and has contributed so much to who I am today and where I am at in my life. Her presence will continue to be felt - in every single flower that blooms in the spring, in the moonlight, and in all of the butterflies that ride the wind. She was a genuine original, and there will never be anyone else like her. We will have a memorial service for her in town later in the week, and will bring some of her ashes back to Cloudland to bloom with the flowers. We will miss her, but she will be all around us forever. THANKS mom, for life!

1/24/02 Today we would get back to somewhat of a normal life, after several days of dealing with mom's death - not the emotional part, but the logistical and legal parts. The emotional part is something that I have already lived with for a couple of years, and while some of the edges have been very sharp this week, mostly it has just been a muted, almost surreal event. We've spent a lot of time going through old photos, many that Pam had never seen before, and trips into town to take care of things.

Last night a horrific storm blew threw, and while it produced great winds, and even a tornado that touched down in nearby Boxley Valley (or at least it pulled up a bunch of trees), the storm also brought more than two inches of MUCH NEEDED rain - yippie!

Today I was up and on the way by daylight - hunting waterfalls for the guidebook once again. My first stop was at a very underrated waterfall that is next to the Buffalo River Trail near Erbie. I had never really payed too much attention to it myself, but I was a little surprised when I hiked down to it and realized how tall and interesting it was. Only problem was that either the ground over on that side of the mountain was super-dry before the rain, or they just didn't get much rain, because the waterfall was barely running. Not enough so for a photo, so I hiked back up to the truck and headed on to my next stop without taking any pictures.

I had spent an hour on the phone last night with my good friend Jim McDaniel from Little Rock trying to figure out the location of my next target. He is one of these guys who will drag his kayak through the woods and "run" creeks that are only floatable when things are really flooding - he gets to see a lot of neat country that way. Jim had told me about this waterfall that is in a tributary of the Big Piney - right next to another drainage where I used to deer hunt. It can be fun, and often difficult, trying to compare maps and recollections over the phone. And neither of us had a good map of the area. But he gave me a good idea where to look, so after stopping at the forest service office in Jasper to get a good map (actually it was a poor map, but better than what I had), I drove on towards the Big Piney.

As I drove along the crest of a very tall and impressive mountain range, it began to snow large, wet flakes - they hit the windshield with a thud. It was 34 degrees, and the narrow road ran along the very top edge of a pair of peaks that are both called Pilot Knob. There wasn't much of a view, although I suspected that there was one hiding there behind the snow clouds. While I had been along this route a number of times, I had never actually driven it in daylight - it was always way before daylight or after dark going or coming from a deer hunt.

The last road that Jim had talked about was not on any of the maps, so I had to make a couple of attempts to find the correct one before I was successful. I finally got onto a narrow, rocky and very slick 4WD road that seemed to head in the direction that I needed to go. After a couple of miles of slow travel, the road got even worse, and I decided to park my rig and take off on foot. The road was only being used by four-wheelers from that point on.

The snow had turned to rain - which was fine with me because I needed all of the water that I could get. I struck out and headed straight down a nearly-vertical hillside, across a narrow bench, and down another steep slope, finally arriving at the creek. It was actually a very nice hike - the leaves were so thick on this hillside that my boots sunk in securely with each step. The forest was silent, and rich with the browns of the leaves and greens of ferns and green briars. I took the cool air deep into my lungs - it was GREAT to be out in the woods once again after being "civilized" all week.

The creek was running pretty good, although not at flood stage. It still had some color in it - sort of a muted green. I hiked downstream a little bit looking for what Jim had told me was "one of the most beautiful spots in all of Arkansas," but didn't find anything too impressive. So I turned around and headed back upstream.

There were a LOT of critter holes along the way - dens up to a foot in diameter in the ground, and all of them looked to be active. Although one was filled with water - I guess that could have been a beaver den, but there did not seem to be any beaver activity in this drainage. I figured they were fox dens.

I could see a bluffline on the other side of the creek beginning to get larger as I hiked along. Yes, that was a good sign! By the time the bluff had intersected with the creek it was perhaps 100 feet tall or more, and there were TWO waterfalls pouring over the lip. Neither falls were running very good though.

At one point the bluff actually came down into the creek, creating a solid rock creek bank 100 feet tall. This is where the neatest waterfall came spilling down. When at full tilt this falls would actually land right in the middle of the creek.

This was indeed an impressive sight, but not really one of the most beautiful spots in Arkansas. And the falls were just not running enough for me to photograph. I was a bit disappointed, and expected much more. It was an interesting valley, so I decided to continue my trek upstream and see what else I could find.

Before long the creek entered a narrow canyon (or actually I entered the canyon - the creek was flowing out of the canyon). It had cut its way down into the rock beds, creating rock walls 10-30 feet high on either side, with some areas that were undercut. I could hear thunder - that wonderful noise that does not go away. SOMEthing was about to appear!

And then there it was - a beautiful, multi-tiered waterfall spilling over one side of the canyon and right into the creek.

Up to this point my feet had been dry, but in order to get to that waterfall, I would have to wade the creek, which was running between one and three feet deep. I decided what the heck, that I would just sacrifice my feet and go ahead and plunge right on in. YIKES that water was cold! (Some day I am going to invent a lightweight pair of waterproof covers that you can put on over your boots so that you can walk around in knee-deep water without getting wet!)

There was a lot of spray coming off of the canyon walls, and it was still raining just a little bit, but I was able to find a spot under part of the canyon wall that was dry and free from spray and rain to set up the camera. And right at the base of the waterfall there was a large log nearly spanning the entire creek that I used to cross on. I shot a few pictures, then moved upstream to photograph a second waterfall that was spilling over the same side of the canyon only 200 feet upstream.

The 27' tall falls on the left, and the 35' witch halzl falls on the right

In a really big flood, the canyon would be completely filled with churning whitewater no doubt, and I would not be able to walk around down in there. But today there was enough room for me to make my way along the far bank without having to wade.

And as I got closer to the second falls, I began to inhale the sweetest of all air. There was a cluster of which hazel trees growing at the base of this second falls, and they were all in bloom and filling the air with joy. (Very tiny, red blooms.)

The creek was too deep and fast in front of this waterfall for me to attempt to cross - it was just too dangerous - so I set up my camera and shot a few pics without being in the picture for scale. And since there was no way to get a clear shot of the falls, I decided to include the witch hazel cluster right there in the middle of it all. Man, it really was a wonderful fragrance.

My next challenge was to get up on top of that other side and measure the height of the waterfalls. There was no way for me to climb out of the little canyon from where I was, so I decided to explore upstream and see what I could find. A couple hundred yards later I found a safe spot to cross the creek and was able to climb out. I had wanted to also figure out a way to get on top of the really tall bluffline that I had seen downstream so that I could measure the height of that waterfall too, but wanted to take care of these two little ones while I was here.

I pulled out my new 100 foot measuring tape, loaded up a few small stones in the mesh bag at the end of the tape, and carefully lowered it over the edge of the falls. I'm not sure if this tape had a flaw in it or I did something wrong, but the darn thing snapped just like the last one had done. I had to scramble halfway down the falls to grab the end of the tape.

In my rush to retrieve the it, somehow I had wound up the raw end of the tape into its dispenser - I still needed that tape, no matter if it had been torn off or not. But now I had to break into the plastic reel cover to get to the end of the tape. And let me tell ya, that was not an easy chore! I spent several minutes beating on that bright yellow case with a very large rock, and FINALLY cracked the case open enough so that I could get the tape out. I must have looked pretty silly standing there on the edge of that canyon wall - holding on for dear life with one hand, and beating on the case with a rock with the other hand.

Of course, once I got all of the tape out of the case, I had a PILE of coiled tape strung all over the place. I was able to attach the mesh bag of rocks to the new end of the tape at the 20 foot mark, untangle the remaining mess enough to get a good measurement - 55 feet, minus 20 feet, so 35 feet for the waterfall. (That was the 2nd waterfall, the one with the witch hazel trees - the first waterfall was 7 feet shorter.)

Since my tape was broken there was no way that I would be able to measure that really tall waterfall, but I decided there just had to be more, so I continued my exploration upstream in the woods above the canyon just to see what else there was here. It didn't take me long to hear that magic sound once again - the hushed roar of a waterfall!

The creek was still running at the bottom of a canyon, but the far wall had begun to grow taller. The canyon curved to the left, then sharply back to the right, then sharply back to the left again. I walked on over to the edge and looked down and saw a ten-foot dropoff spanning the creek, and a great deal of loud water pouring over it into a pool. Downstream a 100 feet there was a second dropoff and a lot more noise. There were also several giant boulders down in the stream, and one really large one that had broken off of the smaller canyon wall that I was standing on.

Right in the middle of all this - where the canyon made its sharpest horseshoe bend, a spectacular waterfall poured off of the top of the 70 foot tall bluff and plunged right down into the middle of the river - THIS had to be the spot! And it was indeed one of the most beautiful spots in our great state. I just stood there mesmerized for a few minutes, taking it all in (and wondering how in the world I was going to get a good picture of it!). This place no doubt was really something incredible when Jim was here - he was in a kayak, and the water levels would have been much higher. In fact, after he had taken those two plunges in the creek, and made all of those sharp turns, the big waterfall probably would have come crashing down right on top of his little boat!

I set up the tripod and shot a few pictures from above, then made my way down a thick carpet of moss and lichens to the creek bottom, and set up the camera for another shot. In order to get myself in this second shot I would have to wade the creek for each picture. My feet were already soaked so that was no big deal, but that water was still COLD!!! I go the shot that I needed, and vowed to come back again when the falls were really running - it would be one super spectacular spot then!

This picture does NOT do the place justice!

As I packed my gear up and dumped water out of my boots, I stopped to listen for just a minute. It was REALLY noisy down in that little canyon. And five waterfalls within 1/4 mile. Yes, I would come back to this place again and again. In fact, I would have to come back pretty soon because I still needed to measure this last falls. Jim said at first he thought it was 70 feet or more, then later figured it at closer to 60 feet. I would buy that - 60 feet is a very tall waterfall for the Ozarks.

It was getting late in the day, but I still had one more chore to do before climbing back up to the truck. I wanted to go try to photograph the witch hazel falls from the side. So I made my way back to it, found a good position for the shot, and got everything set up. There was only one place where I could stand to get in this picture - right up next to the falls. I set the timer, pushed the button and scrambled up the slope.

When I placed my last step the rocks were so slick that my foot went right out from under me, and down I went. It wasn't a dangerous fall, and I did not get hurt, but there was this incredible helpless feeling that came over me, as I was totally out of control and sliding down the hillside. It was also VERY cold water!

OK, I set up the camera once again and this time CAREFULLY moved into position. Since I never reached my final destination in my previous attempt I did not realize that the only place where I could stand for the picture also put me right in the way of part of the waterfall. Standing there for those last few seconds before the shutter tripped was one of the most painful things I have endured in a very long while - that water was absolutely FRIGID, and it was pounding me! I held fast and got the picture taken. Normally I shoot a dozen or two of each waterfall sequence, but one shot was going to have to do it today! I dumped water out of my boots once again, took off my shirt and wrung it out, then headed up, up and away from this beautiful canyon.

The witch halzl falls from the side

It was a tough climb out, but before long the truck was in sight. I didn't realize until I had got back into the car that the temp was still in the mid-30's. I had been working down in the little canyon wearing only shorts and a thin shirt, and was wet much of the time. Yet other than the direct contact of the water I really hadn't noticed the cold at all. That is what happens when the adrenaline is pumping and you are experiencing something remarkable.

1/30/02 It was supposed to have rained all night, but we didn't get a drop at Cloudland. Nonetheless, we packed up and headed out to chase waterfalls. After a quick trip into town - and a couple hours of driving through heavy rain - we finally were nearing a waterfall in the Ozark National Forest. The creeks were running pretty good, and all looked well for a great afternoon of waterfall pictures.

A couple of miles before we reached the first waterfall parking spot, the rain stopped and the temp began to go up - WAY up. In a single mile of travel on the highway the temp rose from 48 degrees to 64! In one mile! The creeks around us were not running much, and it looked like the rain had not arrived yet. When we pulled over and took a look at the creek that fed the first waterfall, it was nearly bone dry - no waterfall in that spot today!

It was obvious the line of storms was pretty well defined to the extreme northwest part of the area, and anything outside that area was mostly dry (and warm). Try as I might I could not figure out any good waterfalls to photograph that were inside that area of storms. So we decided to go to plan B.

On the way to plan B we drove past a rock formation that is known as Bee Rock. I told Pam it was called "Bee" Rock because it was just past A rock, but she did not find that amusing. This rock formation is named so because the giant boulders and bluffline are actually hollow in places and honeycombed with bee hives. It must have been quite a pain back in the 1930's when the CCC folks were building the forest road through this area having to put up with all the bees.

Bee Rocks

Spirits Creek was our alternate destination, a neat place tucked into a narrow valley along the Ozark Highlands Trail. It only took us a few minutes to hike the 1.3 miles downhill from the access road parking area to the creek. We could hear water running long before we arrived at the bottom.

This is not the largest creek in the area, but it has always been one of my favorite spots along the OHT. Pretty green water in quiet pools surrounded by boulders and bluffs and WATERFALLS! The tallest waterfall in the main creek itself is only seven or eight feet tall, but it spills over a ledge and into this wonderful emerald pool, and it is just a delightful spot to be no matter what time of the year.

For the first time I had my lovely bride with me today, and it was great to be out in the woods with her, and especially to have her help with the photos! I don't think she realized that she would have to endure a bit of modeling when she signed up with me - especially having to crawl out onto a few slick and dangerous places!

Spirits Creek along the Ozark Highlands Trail

We took a few photos, and then worked our way up a side drainage that had a couple of taller waterfalls in them - 17 and 21 feet. They were running pretty good, but not good enough for a picture, so I measured and took GPS data, then hiked back down to the main creek.

The clouds above began to swirl, and it felt like the curtain on daylight came down fast - it got dark in a hurry! So we packed our gear and headed on up the trail towards the truck. Along the way the clouds opened up and we got a nice little shower, which really helped to cool us down a bit. It was a delightful hike indeed.

We are hoping that the weather people are correct and we get rain all night tonight and all day tomorrow - if so, we'll be out there chasing waterfalls again, and I'll post a few snapshots. We imported Pam's mom Judy to be with Amber and take care of the dogs - it is great to have her so close and always at the ready so that Pam can go with me - I only hope that I don't wear out my welcome!

A couple of notes about my own mom who passed away. First off, THANKS go out to the more than 100 journal readers who have sent along wonderful and kind words about her passing. It is SO GREAT to know each and every one of you - if only through e-mail - and I know my mom appreciates your thoughts and prayers. We had two memorial services for her over the weekend, and were able to say goodbye in the proper fashion. Well, actually I have not said my goodbyes just yet - we spread her ashes in the wildflower meadow just below our cabin later, and she will bloom thousands of times each year and continue to grace us with her beauty. Her flowers will also attract a multitude of butterflies for countless summers to come.

During the mass for her last Saturday, the priest noted a comment in the newspaper about my mom liking Nolan Richardson's Arkansas Razorback basketball team - she had been a huge fan of his and the team ever since Nolan came to town. The priest said that our team had lost four games in a row and would be playing the #5 team in the nation later in the afternoon - he hoped that perhaps mom would be able to have something to do with the outcome of the game. OF COURSE the Razorbacks did indeed WIN - in overtime! THANKS MOM!!!

1/31/01 It is very late tonight, I am exhausted and about to fall asleep for a few hours before we get up at 5  and head out to do it all over again in the morning. We had a splendid day out in the wet wonderland of the Ozarks, and got a few good pictures for the new guidebook, including a couple of waterfalls I had never been to before. In order to keep the journal going, I will make a few brief comments here tonight, then post the new pics.

It was still nearly dark when we arrived at our first destination parking lot. And the rain was coming down in sheets. The trip down a very steep hillside was slick and treacherous, but we managed to arrive at the first waterfall alive. I had never been to this falls before, and was really surprised at how tall and beautiful it was. In fact, there were two waterfalls here, plus a tall cascade up above one of them. I was able to get underneath an overhang while shooting the pics for both waterfalls, and Pam stood in the dry as well to pose. But when we got up to the cascade, it was pouring and Pam had to hold an umbrella over me to keep the camera gear dry.

The two main waterfalls (the taller falls is in the background of the picture on the right)

The cascade above the falls - about 25 feet tall

The noise of these waterfalls was so loud that we started using walkie-talkie radios for conversations between us -WOW, what a great thing that was! I was able to communicate things to Pam that I never could have without them. They were worth their weight today.

While we were deep down in this canyon it seemed to get darker as the day went on, but thankfully the skies lit up with bright flashes to light our way out (LOTS of thunder and lightning!). The trip out was pretty steep and slow going at times, but before long we were back at the truck drying off. On to the next waterfall!

This one was an easy one - in fact it was right next to the highway, and we were able to set up the camera and shoot under the shelter of the back hatch door.

Pig Trail Falls

One problem we had all day long was seeing hundreds of spectacular waterfalls coming off of nearly every hillside - most of them were simply pouroff that only appear during heavy rains, and then go away within hours. I'm not going to put any of those in this guidebook. Only actual waterfalls that run more or less at the times when waterfalls run here (which is 6-8 months of the year). But some of those temporary pouroffs were so darn beautiful!

We got a hot tip from a friend about this neat box canyon, and then spent an hour or two trudging up an extremely difficult drainage in the pouring rain - all to no avail. We never did find the spot that he was telling us about, and finally turned around and went back to the truck when we came to a side creek that was impossible to cross due to the high water.

Our next stop was Devils Canyon. I had been into this place once before and knew there was a wonderful waterfall there. After a bit of looking around, I finally found the correct road and we were soon parked at the edge of this incredible place. Devils Canyon is one of the most rugged places that I know of around here, but the rewards are many for those who survive.

Soon after we began out hike we had to cross a raging torrent. Neither Pam or I were looking forward to this part, but the waterfall was on the other side, so across we went. It wasn't all that deep, but it was fast and nearly knocked us off our feet several times. But we did manage to make it across just fine.

When we finally made it to the top of the main waterfall in the area I was just a little stunned at how incredible this area really was. In fact it took your breath away just standing there looking at it. We gazed down into this box canyon that had waterfalls pouring off of the cliffs and into it in at least four different locations.

We had to use the radios in order to get an accurate measurement. It was simply too dangerous to get over to the top of the main waterfall, so we worked as a team to get the job done. I found a spot next to the top of the waterfall that was at the same height. Pam made her way down to the bottom of the canyon and placed the end of the measuring tape at a spot in line with the bottom of the waterfall - neither of us could see each other. But the system worked perfectly - the main falls were 63 feet tall!

The big falls in Devils Canyon

We took a few photos, then moved on and took a different route back to the truck. All along the way there were falls and cascades and lots of beautiful things to see. And plenty of rugged terrain to cross. At one point we had to split up - Pam took the high road while I took the low road, crossing the stream several times. She was able to look down and guide me past some obstacles, and I was able to look up and tell her where the solid bluffs were - those radios were great!

After a deep crossing of the creek we headed STRAIGHT UP the hillside. "The truck is just right up there" I kept telling her. Good thing my lady has a fine sense of humor! We finally did make it to the top. Devils Canyon is one special place, but not for the faint of heart.

We only had time for one more waterfall before dark, and we had to skip a much-anticipated stop at Sonic in Ozark in order to get to the falls in time. I had not been to this waterfall either, and wasn't really expecting too much. But when we hiked up to the base of it we both were astonished at its beauty, power and height. Or should I say "their" beauty! This is the tallest Twin Falls that I know of in Arkansas. I had trouble finding a spot to photograph it without several trees in the way, but managed to get one just before dark set in.

One of the falls/cascades above the big falls

The big twin falls

I also spent some time up on top of the falls trying to get an accurate measurement. Once again our system worked out, and Pam was able to guide me in the placement of the tape - 75 feet was the tallest one! There were also a couple of other great waterfalls just above these guys. I shot one of them, but had to head back out because darkness had set in. About half way back to the truck I realized that I had left the GPS unit sitting on a rock up on TOP of the waterfalls! So I had to trudge back up the hill in the dwindling light, then hurry back down the hill to the truck. We all arrived safe and sound, yet drenched to the bone.

Just as we pulled into the cabin, Amber came running outside yelling "the power is on, the power is on!" Apparently it had gone off several hours before, and her and Pam's mom were making due with candle light and fireplace heat.

Well, what can I say, it has been one heck of a beginning to the new year. We've seen some remarkable sights, and said goodbye to the most remarkable woman I have ever know. My world will never be the same, but I know my mom will always be up there looking down and taking care of me and my wonderful family. I can't wait for the first flowers to bloom this spring!

February 2002 Journal

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