I wandered around Whitaker Point Thursday night into Friday morning while collecting some imagery and time lapse. I met a nice fella name John from Fayetteville when I got there. He was there for the stars too, and it was his first time ever. He got a night sky education, he was stoked. But it got pretty darn cold, dropped to 35 degrees so he left around midnight. That’s when I had the place all to myself. I was prepared, I had layers on layers with duck down shells, ready for what mother nature was going to throw at me (although I still froze my ass off). It was too cold to sleep in the hammock, so I did calisthenics on and off to keep the blood pumping. When you are out in the wilderness by yourself, it gives you lots of time to think, and contemplate life’s next moves. I have a few ideas, nothing set in stone, but the potential is there, and that is exciting.

The Ozarks have these really cool places to explore like this 19th century homestead on the Buffalo River.

This is the Villines Homestead cabin that was under construction starting in 1850. The Homestead is a short hike up the hill from The low water bridge at Ponca access. There are a few outbuildings along with this cabin. Go explore, but don’t go inside.

The Buffalo River is America’s first National River, designated by an Act of Congress in 1972, ending the US Army Corp of Engineers’ plans to dam the river.

Karen and I had a fun time tripping around this place. What’s crazy is we have been trekking around these woods for almost a decade now, and never walked the 200 yards or so up the hill to the Homestead. If you have the opportunity, go check it out for yourselves!

A field of round hay bales sets the scene for this Milky Way composite. There used to be no shortage of fields like this with a quick drive down the road, but even these are becoming extinct and being replaced with neighborhood developments. This hay field now had a couple hundred houses sitting on it. This also forces night photographers to venture out further to avoid light pollution, which will wash out the sky and leave minimal stars to be seen.

Get a print, canvas or wall art of this image.