NW Arkansas/SW Missouri Trip

[Larry Mendenhall]

Hi, folks

I'm considering a spring time trip to the Buffalo River area in northwest Arkansas. I know there is some variety of flowering tree that blooms sometime in the spring . Does anyone have a guess as to when they reach their peak?

Also, I'll be going through sections of the Mark Twain National Forest on the way back home. Would anyone care to recommend good photogenic places in the Ava/Willow Springs districts? The Houston/Rolla and Cedar Creek districts would be a possiblity too.

Thanks for the help.

Larry Mendenhall
www.quiet-places.com (http://www.quiet-places.com)

[Tom Mitchell]

BNR is a great place. The tree would be pink or white. Pink/violet would be the Redbuds and the white are Dogwoods-April to May bloom. Check with the Missouri Conservation Department for accurate dates. Try a place called Lost Valley on the west end of the river near Compton. Neat valley, church, woods, trail, caves, etc. Over in between Arkansas border and Rolla look up a place called Johnson Shutins State Park, and Castor River shut ins for some great water rapid shut in images. Also nearby is Elephant Rock State park with some large round bolders that are interesting.

[Illini Fan]

There are some suggestions here (http://www.designsfromnature.com/TwelvePlaces.aspx) from an excellent LF photog...