Hot Springs National Park, Part II

Click here for Part I.

Our arrival at Hot Springs National Park culminated with a beautiful sunset.  So I decided to tempt fate the next morning and see if we could catch an equally beautiful sunrise.

Taryn and I got into the park before 6 a.m. to hike to Goat Rock.  The skies looked promising en route, with a crescent moon peeking through the trees along the trail.

We were once again rewarded with wonderful colors in the sky, and a vantage point that provided some nice top framing from overhanging branches.  I eventually reached up and snapped off the one in the upper left without any needles that sticks straight down and ends in a little "Y."  I wish I'd done it sooner -- it distracts me a little in this otherwise nice shot.

We waited as the colors faded and the sun emerged over the hilltops so I could get my obligatory solar flare shot, then headed back.

I'm honestly not at all sure how Goat Rock got its name.  It looks nothing at all like a goat to me.

Blooms were emerging on a few hardy plants here in late winter.  Not surprising given the warm temperatures this season.

Taryn agreed to clamber up this tree trunk for a portrait, though I ended up preferring this candid shot of her "in action" to the ones where she ended up posing.

The clouds had thickened by the time we got back to the trailhead.  So I didn't get nice golden light on Gulpha Creek like I had right after sunrise.

Clouds or no, I'm always going to stop to shoot waterfalls and cascades.  They're like pretzel bites on a restaurant menu for me -- pretty much irresistible.

So we were 2 for 2 on sunrises and sunsets to start the trip.  I promised Taryn that with that sort of success, I wouldn't make her get up that early again over the next few days.  Seemed like a fair deal for a 12-year-old girl who agreed to spend half her spring break driving around Arkansas and Oklahoma with her dad. :)

Hot Springs National Park, Part I

Taryn and I made the five-hour drive from Dallas this past weekend to another national park I'd yet to visit -- Hot Springs. It's actually the closest national park to us, but it still took me more than a year to get to it. I may have just been saving the last one within reasonable driving distance.

We first headed to the top of the park's Mountain Tower, which Taryn insisted we climb up rather than taking the handy elevator.  Fortunately it's only 216 feet tall, and I've still got enough Colorado in my blood (and lungs and legs) to make that with no trouble.  The mid-afternoon sun was still pretty high in the sky, so the light was fairly harsh.  But the view back down to the town itself was still nice.

After heading back down to Bathhouse Row to check out the visitor center, we decided to hike out to Balanced Rock for sunset.  Twilight was already starting to descend when we hit the trail.

A short 1.4-mile walk got us to our vista just in time.  Sparse clouds and smoke from what appeared to be some controlled burns were showing promise for a colorful display.

Taryn took up position on the outcropping and left me to mess around with my equipment.  Her way of enjoying a sunset is certainly simpler.

There was an interesting division in the sky where the color just stopped abruptly for no obvious reason.  I've got no good idea what could have caused it, but it was an interesting effect.

I regretted not bringing my gradual neutral density filter to balance the exposure between the sky and the ground a little better.  But I still thoroughly enjoyed the scene.

After the sun dropped below the horizon I grabbed a quick shot of the lichen on the rocks.  Without a tripod, I never could have gotten this shot.

Nor could I have gotten this last one of Balanced Rock itself.  The light was well and truly faded as we began our return trek, and we were using the flashlight on Taryn's iPhone by the time we made it back to the car.  But it was good to get in a workout after spending most of the day driving, and a beautiful sunset is always a worthwhile reward.

More to come!