The climax of a long search

Nature has a unique way of carving out fabulous wonders and turning mundane landscapes into eye popping artistry.  One such form of artistry is a natural waterfalls.  There's just nothing like a waterfalls to soothe the soul and make you stand and admire the handy work of Mother Nature.  Some years back we got wind of a waterfalls that was somewhat local in that it was within 45 minutes of our home.  Unfortunately, for several years it's exact location remained a mystery.  We had very sketchy details and on a couple occasions over the years we would search but just never found.

A few weeks back we were set up by a nearby lake watching for Eagles when a fella stopped by to chat.  It so happens that this fella lived in the vicinity of the waterfalls that we had been searching for.  After chatting for awhile I mentioned the waterfalls and as luck would have it he began to fill me in on it's location.  We were so stoked we packed up the tripod and camera and headed out to find our long lost waterfalls.  In less than a half hour we had arrived where the gentleman had directed us to but we still weren't convinced there would be a waterfalls there.  After a short stroll through the trees and down over a near vertical cliff we were face to face with a beautiful falls.  We basically stood there in awe as we basked in the glory of our find.  We couldn't believe that this had escaped us for so long.

Our first visit to the falls was during a bit of a dry spell.  Although there wasn't a tremendous amount of water cascading off the ledges we could envision what it would look like during high water and vowed to return.  The neat thing about this place is that the rock ledges and shelter cave was amazing in itself even with no water but the water would definitely be the icing on the cake. 

This past weekend we had gotten a fair amount of precipitation and decided to check out our falls once again.  After arriving at the location the noise from the cascading water told us that we would not be disappointed.  One look at the falls at we knew we had hit it at a peak flow.  We quickly set up the tripod and snapped the 5D into the Ballhead and seconds later I got that sinking feeling when I realized that the battery was at home and on charge.  No time to cry about it, so we did the quick hour round trip to get the battery and start snapping photos.  Only problem with that plan is that we were now moments away from being hammered with a downpour. 

 As we snapped photo after photo the thunder roared overhead and it's rumble echoed back at us as it ricocheted off the rock cliffs.  The wind was picking up and literally shook the trees that surrounded us but we weren't deterred.  We had already accepted the fact that we may have to seek refuge in the shelter cave that stood to the right of the cascade.   Minutes ticked away as I raced from one position to another to get all the angles and we somehow got our shots and then beat feet for the Jeep.  We were wet but happy!  We will return to this amazing place that we can promise.  The waterfalls is amazing and will change as the water level changes.  The rock cliff is monstrous and extends further than we could see.  To the right of the waterfalls it creates a rock shelter that goes back into the mountain 20-30 feet at least.  It also very easy to walk behind a good section of the falls.  Hope you enjoy the High Dynamic Range pics.

 It may look like it was a sunny pleasant day out but nothing could be further from the truth.

 Jeanne is standing to the right side of the cascade just to give scale to this waterfalls.  We would estimate it being approx. 20 foot high.

Just another angle