6-1 Little Missouri Falls and Crooked Creek Cascade

After a weekend of waterfalls galore, I wanted more.  After work I headed to the Little Missouri Falls southwest of Hot Springs.  This is a nice little area for people to swim and beat the heat of the summer.

The guy in the middle of the picture came up to me to chat.  They were up from Texas vacationing and were staying at the Albert Pike Rec area. (1/50 sec, f-14, ISO400)

There was still a lot of light, so I had some challenges with the contrast. (0.8 sec, f-29, ISO100)

It was just a lazy summer day for them. (1/30 sec, f-16, ISO400)

There was a nice little spot to tube.  If only there was about 6 inches more water. (1/40 sec, f-16, ISO200)

This guy stayed in that same spot for a while. I bet that was a refreshing interlude. (1/20 sec, f-18, ISO100)

More contrast problems.  I was shooting these mainly for practice, both in the field and on the computer.  It always helps to have a person in a shot to give a sense of scale. (1/4 sec, f-18, ISO100)

This waterfall has several levels, each one of which has great opportunities for photography. (0.6 sec, f-25, ISO200)

I like to take closeup shots. (1.3 sec, f-22, ISO100)

Looking down past the last drop after my friends from Texas left. (0.4 sec, f-22, ISO100)

Same position as earlier, wider and without a person. (0.4 sec, f-22, ISO100)

Looking up stream towards the top level of the falls.  I was wading around with my jeans rolled up and my Teva's on. (1.3 sec, f-25, ISO100)

I love the oddball orange rocks in the middle of the gray ones. (1.0 sec, f-25, ISO100)

I like how this one hits bare rock and sprays everywhere. (1.3 sec, f-25, ISO100)

So I have been sitting there shooting pictures for 5 minutes or more and this girl comes and perches on the rock.  She had her mother and her kid with her, and I think they thought I was hogging the photo opportunities. (0.3 sec, f-14, ISO200)

Same shot, this time without the interloper. (0.4 sec, f-14, ISO200)

Another detail shot.  I like how the big black rock hides the base of the waterfall. (5.0 sec, f-36, ISO100)

Same shot as earlier, this time in portrait mode and showing some nice foreground detail. (2.0 sec, f-22, ISO100)

This is the waterfall on the far side.  I didn't want it to feel neglected. (6.0 sec, f-36, ISO100)

A wide shot of both chutes showing the river gravel with its differing colors. (2.5 sec, f-22, ISO100)

After I left Little Missouri Falls, I went back up the road to Crooked Creek Falls. (0.5 sec, f-13, ISO100)

Kayakers call this Backbreaker Falls.  Ozark Whitewater Pictures page referenceing Backbreaker Falls. They run it at much higher levels than this. Here is a link to their list of gages: Ozark Whitewater Gage List.  Bill Herring, the proprietor of that website, is the creek running king of Arkansas.  On the gage list you can find pictures of him and others going over a lot of these waterfalls that I am hunting.  Plus, the Gage list is great for finding out what creeks are up and where there might be waterfalls flowing. (2.5 sec, f-22, ISO100)

I like how the water fans out on the rock. (0.8 sec, f-22, ISO100)

This waterfall is great for climbing around and taking pictures. Now imagine sitting at the top of this in a kayak. (0.8 sec, f-11, ISO100)

I just love wet rocks and moss. (1.0 sec, f-22, ISO400)

Grass will grow anywhere. (4.0 sec, f-22, ISO100)

Towards the top of Crooked Creek is a nice little (and I mean little) slot canyon. This is less than a hundred yards from where the road crosses the creek. (0.4 sec, f-13, ISO400)

I was driving up the road with my window down listening for waterfalls and found this.   This one I call "The Triplets".(0.4 sec, f-13, ISO400)

I had to scramble down a really steep embankment, about 30' tall.  I didn't take my tripod, so I had to shoot these hand held. (0.3 sec, f-13, ISO400)

Btw, climbing down that embankment gave me my first case of poison ivy since I was a kid. Yuck. (0.3 sec, f-13, ISO400)

This was a beautiful area to which I would definitely take more trips.  This was my last day of five in a row to go waterfall hunting.