Woods Fork – Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area
Woods Fork - Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area
06 January 2012 | Copyright © 2012 Gary Allman
Railroad Bridge over the James River at the Springfield Nature Center
This morning we took our kayaks out on James River – just a 15 minute drive from home.
Ginger kayaking on the James River, Springfield Missouri
Relaxing in the Kayak after lunch at Lake Springfield, Missouri
31 October 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Little Sac River, near Willard, Missouri
Little Sac River, near Willard, Missouri
18 April 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
View from the duck blind at Valley Water Mill Pond
Gary in the duck blind at Valley Water Mill Pond
Having spent all morning languishing in bed with my laptop some activity was called for. Not wanting anything too strenuous we decided to check out a small nature center just North East of Springfield.
At one end of the pond we found a duck blind with this magnificent view. So much for my saying I was going to try and cut down on the landscape lakes and rivers pictures.
02 January 2011 | Watershed Center | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Woods Fork at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area
The previous night night several squall lines passed through, and a couple of trees were down across the trail. We won’t mention the tree near home which the same storm knocked down, taking out a power pole and leaving us without electricity for over 24 hours.
26 October 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Berry Bend, Harry S. Truman lake, Missouri
09 October 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Berry Bend, Harry S. Truman Lake, Missouri
08 October 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Kayaking on James River, Springfield, Missouri
I decided not to take my anchor of fishing gear. I should have taken both; the anchor so we could stay in one place when we stopped for a drink, and the fishing gear because there were a lot of likely looking spots for fishing.
02 October 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Kayaking on James River, Springfield, Missouri
I decided not to take my anchor of fishing gear. I should have taken both; the anchor so we could stay in one place when we stopped for a drink, and the fishing gear because there were a lot of likely looking spots for fishing.
02 October 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Kayaking and fishing on Stockton Lake
We took it quite easy, and I spent a fair time fishing – catching three fish. There was hardly anyone on the lake. We stopped here for lunch and to have a swim. It may not look like it but the lake drops to over fifty feet deep very quickly at this point. Very quickly being about ten feet from the shore.
I’m looking forward to changing the color of my paddles to something a little darker.
Note: I sprayed them camo green a week or so later. Here’s the result and some notes on the modifications and additions I’ve made to my Ascend FS10 kayak.
20 September 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Stockton Lake Missouri
This bluff is across an inlet from High Point access.
18 August 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Red Bluff on Huzzah Creek, Davisville, Missouri
Once more the lighting is challenging, and I’m still not 100% happy with the results. I do like the person at the bottom of the frame – he really serves to give an idea of the scale of the bluff, though I had to rush the shot to catch him in the sunlight.
05 August 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Huzzah Creek and Red Bluff, Red Bluff Campground, Missouri
Red Bluff is one of our current favorite camping destinations. However, getting a decent picture of the bluff is proving a bit difficult. The red coloring on the bluff is actually a stain from the red topsoil. In places where there’s no soil the bluff is white. At around 150′-200′ the bluff is quite impressive.
22 July 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman | Davisville, Missouri
Mark Twain National Forest – Table Rock Lake, Missouri
I had to get quite wet in order to get the shot. It wasn’t a hardship though, the lake was as warm as bath water.
14 July 2010 | Table Rock Lake, Missouri | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Sunrise on table rock lake, Missouri
Ginger found us a very nice campsite at the Big Bay Recreation Area on Table Rock Lake.
We got up early and ventured down to the lakeside to see the sunrise. Fortunately the water was very warm as I had to wade in up to my waist to get this picture.
The peace, tranquility, light and mist on the water more than made up for being up at six-thirty.
20 June 2010 | Big Bay Recreation Area | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Big Bay Recreation Area, Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri
19 June 2010 | Big Bay Recreation Area | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Jacks Fork, Blue Spring Campsite – Ozark National Scenic Riverway
Jacks Fork and Blue Spring at the campsite where we spent Memorial weekend.
Today I confirmed that taking the Nikon camping is not necessarily a good idea, as the humidity caused problems, with a whole load of images spoiled due to internal fogging on the optics.
A complete slideshow of the weekend (22 Slides)
31 May 2010 | Ozark National Scenic Riverway | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Bluff on Jacks Fork – Ozark National Scenic Riverway
Ginger and I were invited to join Tom, Rebbie, Dash and Leslie camping and on a float trip this Memorial weekend. They even borrowed a canoe for us to use. We’d planned on a couple of hours float back to our campsite, but our planned put-in point was overwhelmed with people, so Tom took us further up river, and we had a much longer trip.
I discovered that taking the Nikon on a float trip is not conducive to taking pictures. Ziplock bags managed to keep the camera dry even when we took on a load of water, but it was very difficult trying to get the camera out of the bags. A small waterproof point and shoot is required.
A complete slideshow of the weekend (22 Slides)
29 May 2010 | Ozark National Scenic Riverway | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Reflecting pool, Meramec Caverns, Stanton Missouri
Another picture from our tour of Meramac Caverns. The reflection of the cavern roof in the pool is quite stunning.
10 May 2010 | Meramec Caverns, Stanton, Missouri | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, South West Missouri
We had to ford the creek at the end of the hike. The creek bed was stoney again, so I went ahead and got Ginger’s sandals from the van. Of course that meant I crossed the creek four times, while one couple got a horse ride across.
01 November 2009 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman
Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, South West Missouri
Cutting wood with Tom on Saturday I noticed a state park on our way back. I did some investigating and found we had some details in our hiking guides. Sunday afternoon, waiting for the bus with the Youth Group kids (and Katie) to arrive I was chatting to a friend who had visited the Park the previous week.
It took a bit to persuade Ginger to give up a Sunday afternoon nap for a hike, but I succeeded and off we went.
Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area is 18 miles south of Springfield, so it’s nice and close. Recent rain has washed out the bridges so we had to ford the creek – no problem for me in sandals, but as Ginger had to take her hiking boots off, she had problems in her bare feet.
The best of the fall color is gone and the leaves hid the trail in places the red blazes made it fairly easy to keep on track. There were quite a lot of people on horse back – which was useful to some as one person ferried a couple across the creek.
The hike was a bit long for Lanie, but Ginger and I enjoyed it. we’ll be going back.
01 November 2009 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman
Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, South West Missouri
We should have forded the creek here, where there is a rock creek bed. Instead we opted for a place where the banks weren’t so steep. The stoney creek bed caused Ginger a lot of pain.
Crossing the creek at the end of the hike, I went ahead and got Ginger her sandals from the van.
01 November 2009 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman |
Sac River from the Sac River trail
10 October 2009 | Sac River Trail, Springfield Missouri | Even better large on black | Map | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman
