This is a great drive that I had forgotten over the years. You cross over several small creeks and drop down into some very pretty valleys before finally climbing up to the high ridge line above Syalmore creek. There are several great campgrounds in this part of the state, Barkshed, Gunner Pool, and the Blanchard Springs Campground. I prefer Gunner Pool over the others, but most of the year it’s hard to get a campsite due to the crowds. I arrived late in the day, and found the campground almost empty and was able to get a spot down by Gunner Pool. The colors all the way down to the campground were as good as the ones I had seen earlier on Hwy 65.

Slyamore Creek is a special gem in Arkansas. It offers a lot to outdoors people, from a dedicated hiking trail, horseback trail and now a fat tire trail. There is access all along the creek due to excellent forest service roads. The creek runs by small bluffs that remind you of the larger bluffs along the White and Buffalo Rivers. The creek tends to run almost gin clear in the summer and doesn’t seem to get as much of the green color in the wintertime.

I did some HDR work towards the late evening, but really didn’t shoot much as the light was fading fast. Here is one shot taken below the Gunner Pool area.

A closeup of rocks and leaves on Sylamore Creek.

The light was very flat but I liked the way the rocks and water worked together. I was up at first light hoping to get some morning fog shots and I wasn’t disappointed. Hiking up the creek, I found a vantage point where I could look back downstream clear of the bridge that crosses Sylamore Creek. There was sunlight filtering through the trees and fog and it made for a beautiful shot. I worked with HDR technique hoping to get more deep saturation from the shadows without burning the fog. There was no wind blowing so I knew I would be able to get by with a HDR composition. The shot came out great and reminds me a lot of Foggy Morning View taken up on the Buffalo.

HDR View of Sylamore Creek

After working this scene, I headed back to the lower creek and found a nice scene near the old WPA dam that was built back in the 1930′s. The light was still very faint with some very nice trees but it was the sky color on the water that really caught my eye. this shot was also taken as an HDR image and did have some problems since the trees on the right side of the image were moving slightly.

HDR of Sylamore Creek Dam

Right after this shot was taken, the sun came out for good and the scene totally changed. I worked with this light and captured some very nice examples of the sun rising on the trees on the left bank of Slyamore creek.

Arkansas always offers some excellent photography opportunities, no matter what subject matter you are looking for. You can find out more information on the Sylamore Creek area online at this link: Arkansas State Parks.