The Nature Conservancy will be hosting a photo opportunity at Smith Creek on Saturday, April 10, 2010. There will be Arkansas nature photographers on hand to answer questions and offer tips. Those scheduled to attend are:

Michael Dougherty      www.arkansaswildlifephotography.com

Paul Caldwell      www.photosofarkansas.com

Bob Shull    www.bobshull.com

and yours truly!!!!

You can contact the Nature Conservancy for details and reserve a spot at 479-973-9110, speak with Brenda Luper.

The creek has a good amount of flow, including a number of the side drains. The preserve does not have alot of color, but some good color on the rocks and boulders. The best time to visit is early or late on sunny days or all day if its cloudy.

Fall color in the Valley is probably past peak, but still good in some locations.

The elk in the valley are putting on some good shows most days. The largest numbers are near the intersection of 43 and 21. One really nice herd bull in the Steeel Creek fields. Be sure to check out Lost Valley as well.

Was in the valley to see how far along the Elk rut has gotten. Still a week or two away from the peak. The creek had a fair amount of water for good water pictures. The leaves are starting to turn and fall. Some of the creek has some good color that is in the water. The average peak for fall color in the valley is November 7, 2009. With the color and temperatures getting good, should be prime photograhy time in the valley soon.

The Nature Conservancy hosted a hike for potential Green Growth members. There were nine hikers along with myself and Ms. Terri, and Lynette Watts with The Nature Conservancy. Lynette's husband Michael was also along. The creek had some water above the sink hole and the springs had some flow. This hike was rescheduled from May 2nd. This weekend was too hot with too many mosquitoes and too few wildflowers. However everyone seemed to enjoy the day out.

Ms. Terri and I spent the might with some of the hikers, who are also coworkers of mine at Bank of the Ozarks. They were John Greenway, Sarah Oliver, Eric and Jenny Humble. The spring close to the bridge provided the perfect music for a night on the creek. Sunday I placed three geocache boxes on the property.

Here are the coordinates for the caches:

Smith Creek Geocache 001 - N 35 degrees 56.2146 W093 degrees 22.9002

Smith Creek Geocache 002 - N 35 degrees 55.5552 W093 degrees 22.6317

Smith Creek Geocache 003 - N 35 degrees 54.7519 W093 degrees 22.4860

If you find them, please record your visit in the notebook inside the boxes. Good luck.

The lower creek trail has been cleared for easier access to the lower creek and the falls located there. On this trip there was a little flow over the falls. These are truly spectacular after a big rain. There are also two trails across the creek from the bridge. These have been partially cleared. The lower trail stays close to the creek and ends up at the lower falls. The other trail is at a higher elevation and also ends at the lower falls. We will finish the clearing when it cools off the fall.