Exploring Northwest Arkansas

Boxley Valley Elk

Enjoying a peaceful, evening meal

Early Morning in the Boxley Valley

The Boxley Valley is an amazingly beautiful area in Northwest Arkansas. The valley is a common area to visit for tourists, particularly to see the resident elk population. Within the valley, is the old Boxley mill pond -- that used to supply power for the nearby historic grist mill. 

The mill pond hosts its own amazing collection of wildlife -- particularly water turtles, and bird life, notably the Boxley trumpet swans.

One foggy morning I got to watch this Blue Heron out searching for a little breakfast. 

Exploring Utah - Zion National Park Wildlife

Zion National Park is known for its amazing sheer bluffs and canyons. And unlike many of the more popular National Parks like Rocky Mountain, Glacier and Yellowstone, Zion is not necessarily known for its wildlife viewing.  That doesn't mean there aren't amazing opportunities to see wildlife there though.

Michelle and I had spent the day at Bryce Canyon and were coming into Zion for the night. We were entering on Highway 9 from East of the park -- right around dusk.

This is an amazing drive for a lot of reason -- including the beautiful views and an incredible 1.1 mile tunnel that was build through the mountain wall back in the 1920s -- an amazing engineering feet for the time.

But as we came out from the tunnel, the evening wildlife had emerged - -and served as our welcoming committee to the park. 

The Bighorn Sheep in Zion are desert bighorns -- while smaller than the kind we are used to seeing in Glacier National Park, they are no less impressive. Previously and sadly, these native sheep were nearly killed off in the middle of the previous century -- but they were reintroduced into the park in 1973 and have since grown to a population of nearly 500 sheep.

The sheep frequent this area in the evenings. There are huge "beehive" rock formations around and they seem to make there way along these amazing rock formations very easily.  

If you look at the picture above, we tried to take the picture of the sheep in the middle. However, if you click on the picture to get a bigger version of it, you'll see nearly a dozen bighorns in the top part of the pic that we didn't even see at the time.

We very much were looking forward to checking out this area again but overnight, a large boulder fell onto the highway blocking it entirely for the duration of our trip. So while I'm sad that we weren't able to go see the bighorns again, I'm happy my car wasn't under the boulder when it fell. 

Bald Eagle -- Big Piney Wildlife Management Area

If you keep your eyes open, you never quite know what wildlife you may find. I was fortunate to see this Bald Eagle on a rainy day in November in the Big Piney Wildlife Management Area. For all of the times I've gone out looking to photograph Bald Eagles, this is the best picture opportunity I've ever gotten -- and it happened quite unexpectedly. 

Fall in the Boxley Valley

Nothing quite beats fall in the Boxley Valley -- which is the stretch of Highway 74 and Highway 21 West out of Ponca.

In the fall, the Elk rut is in season -- and in the early morning and late evening the squeal of the elk bugles can be heard in the valley, along with catching the sights of large herds of elk grazing in the valley.

Sometimes, if you either have great timing, or great patience, you can catch some unbelievable moments  -- such as a large herd crossing the Buffalo River near Ponca. 

The entire month of October, and early November are a magical time in the valley. So take some time to enjoy the crisp fall air, and a show that only mother nature can provide.

Photos from November 1, 2014.

Elk in Boxley

Enjoying some afternoon sun.

 

Blue Heron

If you're quiet, and keep your eyes peeled, you can usually see plenty of wildlife in Northwest Arkansas.

This is a Blue Heron I captured in the morning haze along the Kings River.

White Tail Deer

After a long rain...

One of the things I love most about the Buffalo River Valley is the look it has after a full day's rain as the clouds/vapor/steam rise up above the valley. It's nearly impossible to photograph to get the full effect, but we went out to make an attempt at it after a full day's rain a couple weeks ago. Hopefully you'll get a feel for what I mean.

Meanwhile, we also got to see something I'd never seen before, which was the buzzards that usually roam the bluffs of the valley drying off their wings after the rain. There were probably 25 of them in two dead trees -- all with their wings spread out drying them off.

Elk Rut in the Boxley Valley -- 2012

With October comes the Elk Rut -- the annual mating ritual of the Buffalo River Elk. And with the rut, comes an influx of tourists from around the midwest to see the sights and sounds of the run.

The simplest place to see the elk is in the Boxley Valley -- where they tend to congregate in the early morning and late evening near the highway between Ponca and Boxley. In the evening you can hear the haunting bugles of the male elk echoing throughout the valley.

The elk are pretty easily seen from the road, but a decent pair of binoculars and a 200mm zoom lense can make a huge difference in improving your experience.

Below are a few of the sights from our trip about 10 days ago.