Mike,
A couple of things that /I/ personally feel may improve your first image.
The first thing that grabs me is the saturation. It is very, very strong. If you tone it down by about 25%, or thereabouts, it will help immsensely. Perhaps even if it was just reduced in the red/orange channel.
Maybe it's because I'm personally a fan of lower contrast, it might look better with lesser contrast? Lowering the contrast will soften the waterfall and show a touch more detail, too.
Lastly, the sky seems to be tending to saturation. Is it possible to blend in a sky that is 1-2/3rds to 2 stops under? It looks incongruous to my eyes at the moment.
I know I'm being really, really harsh. Take it for what it's worth, though!
H