Red Clouds Over Red Rocks

While our journey from Bryce Canyon National Park to Arches was one of the most enjoyable drives in recent memory, our hope to get a campsite for the evening was a pipe dream. They’d been gone for about 11 hours. We’d have to line up first thing in the morning if we hoped to secure a spot for the next two days.

We drove into the park anyway; it was a beautiful evening. Mom captured this image as we approached the Park Avenue formation.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the park…The Apocalypse

This ominous cloud formation had been looming in the distance for over an hour. It looked like it belonged in a science fiction movie. Mom captured it dwarfing the petrified dunes.

Petrified Dunes

Devil’s Garden Campground

I really like Devil’s Garden campground, the only one in Arches. Many of it’s 52 sites are set among interesting rock formations. Our site isn’t that great but we weren’t complaining since we were lucky to get a spot at all. The camp host kindly let us park both our rigs on one site.

Oh – yes. The weather caught up with us overnight. We awoke (not in this campground, of course) to find everything covered in a light layer of snow.

Broken Arch Trailhead

Cold and gloomy didn’t prove particularly motivational so it wasn’t until a couple hours before dark that Mom, Dad, and I decided take a short hike to Broken Arch. This is an enjoyable little loop that starts right from the campground.

Tapestry Arch

While we checked out the short spur to Tapestry Arch, we started to notice faint traces of blue sky through the clouds. It gave us hope that we might experience better weather the following day.

Broken Arch

Just as we arrived at Broken Arch, the sun snuck through the clouds and lit up some distant rock faces. Within minutes the light was gone as the sun disappeared below the horizon. It would definitely be dark by the time we got back.

Climbing Through Broken Arch

The Climb Back

There’s a little scrambling on this trail – nothing that would present a problem for most folks unless they had to do it in the dark. We made it through the steepest section while it was still light enough to see where we were stepping.

Juniper Silhouette

It was almost dark when I spotted this juniper tree. Mom & Dad kept walking but I was really drawn to the rich colors of twilight that were juxtaposed in this scene: the deep sapphire sky; the dark greens and browns of the tree; and the rich red rocks. Only later did I realize how much I liked it as a monochrome. It is probably my favorite image from our trip.

Wall Arch

Wall Arch is just past the more popular Landscape Arch. Despite several attempts, I’ve never managed to get a satisfying, even slightly original image of Landscape Arch. I’ve had much better luck with Wall Arch.

Partition Arch

Partition Arch is also a nifty little formation. It is just a short climb and walk past Wall Arch. You can see it from the base of Landscape Arch if you look up to the east. The last time I was in Arches I got caught in a lightning storm and had to turn back before I got here.

The View Through Partition Arch

The South Face of Partition Arch

Navajo Arch

Navajo Arch is the next arch along the trail. It forms the only accessible entrance to a small area between two rock fins. Indians supposedly used the arch for shelter.

Navajo Arch #2

The Trail to Double O

Double O is the next arch on this route. It is separated from the other arches by a greater distance and the trail to get here can be confusing but the walk is definitely worth it. The views are fantastic. In fact, it is the walk, not the Double O Arch that I enjoyed the most.

The Double O

This is it: The Double O. Underwhelming? Perhaps. But not the walk to get here.

The trail continues on for several miles from here and includes a short spur to the Dark Angel formation. Three words: "not worth it." Or we could go with, "turn around here."

Panorama Point

Panorama Point provides a 360 degree view of the park. We decided it would be a good spot for lunch. While Mom and Mimi got to work on the food, The Boy and I went looking for cactus.

The Camera Loves Me

Lunch With a View

We enjoyed lunch and a view of the snow-covered La Sal Mountains out our window. The Boy was particularly pleased with his apple – although not enough to actually eat it.

The Windows

The Windows section of the park is the one that was chosen as the setting for the opening sequence of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

The Boy Takes in the View

The North Window

Looking For Pipes

Over the past year, The Boy had developed a fascination with pipes of all kinds. He liked to inspect them, bang on them, roll them around whenever possible, and ferret them out whenever we’d go on a walk. In this case, he has spotted one running under the path to North Window.

Dad Takes In the View From North Window

The Boy and The Dad Climb North Window

The Boy was not content to simply climb into North Window and enjoy the view. He wanted to keep going – to get as high as possible.

Wave to Mom

The Mom documented our ascent.

Far Enough

Trail Jumpin’

The Boy decided to burn off some excess energy leaping from step to step on our way to South Window.

The Gang at South Window

Let’s see…The Mom is posing nicely. The Boy, sensing this, goes completely limp. Mimi, inspired by The Boy’s trail jumping, decides to jump and wave. Papa T is more interested in Mimi’s gesticulations than looking at the camera. In other words, it’s a group photo!

Mimi & Papa T at South Window

Darla got this capture of Mimi & Papa T.

The Boy & The Dad Go Exploring

Turret Arch

Lewis at Turret Arch

Mom & Boy

“What would happen if I touched this cactus?”

Just the latest in The Boy’s series of “what would happen if” questions.

Park Avenue

It’s easy to see how Park Avenue got its name. This is another one of my favorite places in Arches. I’ve always intended to take the trail down through the bottom of this canyon but I’ve never managed to get around to it. I didn’t get to it during this visit either.

Mimi Takes a Picture

Classic Delicate Arch

In a park full of arches, one arch stands above them all – figuratively and literally. Delicate Arch is one of the most beautiful sites in the entire national park system. Six stories high, it sits perched at the very edge of a large sandstone formation, five hundred feet above the valley floor.

The best time to visit the arch is at sunset. It is perfectly positioned to catch the last light of the day as it turns from a deep gold to a rosy pink.

Delicate Arch at Twilight

If you look closely at the distant horizon, you can spot one of the Windows. It is just to the left of Delicate Arch’s east (left) span.

Believe it or not, Delicate Arch sits outside the park’s original boundary. It wasn’t until ten years later, in 1938, that the park was expanded to include this beauty. In the 50’s, the park service supposedly considered applying a coat of protectant to the arch to prevent further erosion. The plan was ultimately abandoned as impractical and against the basic principles of park management.

Encore

Don’t expect to enjoy a Delicate Arch sunset in peaceful solitude. There’s almost always a crowd. On this day there were at least 60 people gathered here, a third of whom were serious enough about their photography to have their cameras set up on tripods with their image framed and exposure set well before the light got good.

Of course, another third of the crowd inevitably has no sense of photographic etiquette so it is a foregone conclusion that someone with a disposable camera will run out under the arch right as the light peaks. In the worst case, they’ll park themselves there, completely ignorant of the group of photographers one hundred feet away who are plotting to throw them over the edge.

No such action was necessary for this image. The sun had dropped behind some clouds ten minutes earlier, which the majority of the crowd had interpreted as the end of the show. There were only a few of us left when, for less than half a minute, the sun broke through a gap in the clouds as it disappeared below the horizon.

Delicate Arch Under Moonlight

I’d been thinking about Delicate Arch since arriving at the park. I really wanted to come away with something a little more unique than just a variation on the classic Delicate Arch-at-sunset image. Two nights earlier I realized what I wanted to do. I'd seen hundreds of different shots of this arch but there was one shot I'd never seen: Delicate Arch under moonlight. It just so happened that there was a full moon on this very night. Perfect!

I shared the plan with my Dad. "Dad, we'll hike up to the arch before sunset. I'll get some sunset shots; then we'll wait there for 90 minutes while it gets dark. Once it's completely dark I'll get my shot and we can head back to the campground."

Dad was supportive. "Good idea, Tim. Only how 'bout this: After sunset, I'll head back to the campground, eat dinner, and go to bed. You come back whenever you want to."

I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about being up at the arch alone. Once I got up there and saw so many other people with tripods I figured I wasn't the only one who’d thought of this. I figured wrong. The sun set and, one by one, my fellow photogs folded up their tripods and headed back down the trail. It wasn’t long before I was left with sole custody of the famous arch.

Any feeling of apprehension was quickly overwhelmed by my awe at the moonlit landscape. I could see everything – close up and distant. The moon was creating huge shadows on the formations. There was absolute silence. It was stunning. I took a series of photographs including this 30 second exposure. Humans don't perceive color very well in the dark so the images I had imagined were black and white. I was amazed at the saturated colors that appeared on my camera's LCD.

After taking my final shot I packed up all my equipment without incident. I had been concerned about losing something in the dark but, as it turned out, there was no reason to worry; I didn't even need a flashlight. (Of course, I had one. In fact, along with my camera gear I had a flashlight and a headlamp, two bottles of Gatorade, plenty of food, long underwear, two coats and a vest, a fleece hat, and winter gloves. My motto: When you're 7,920 feet away from your vehicle, you can't be too prepared.)

As I headed back down the trail I quickly discovered a difference between daylight and moonlight. Under moonlight, walking into a shadow is like walking into a black hole. You can't see anything. No problem – I pulled out my headlamp. It immediately failed. Doh! I pulled out the flashlight. Worked like a charm. (Mental pat on the back for me.)

I had followed the rock cairns for about 15 minutes when I was greeted by yet another amazing view. This time I was looking up at Delicate Arch backlit by the moon – a different but equally beautiful view of this icon. I would have probably enjoyed the moment more were I not distracted by the fact that you can't see Delicate Arch from the trail back down to civilization. Apparently I was on a different trail.

I won’t lie to you. At this point, it did cross my mind that I might have been better served by leaving some of the food back at the camper and bringing along the GPS. Hindsight…

I was obviously turned around but I knew there was no reason to panic. Having watched a comprehensive series of videos, I was not without survival skills. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember MacGyver ever being in this exact situation. Not cool. As I stood there contemplating my next move, the largest jackrabbit I've ever seen hopped right up to me, checked me out for a few seconds, and then hopped off -- all without making a sound. Very cool.

I did eventually make it back to the camper. Darla was waiting for me. She reported seeing what appeared to be someone with a flashlight wandering around in circles up near the arch. “Interesting,” I replied. “I didn’t see anyone else up there.”

Tired Boy

By the time I got back to the camper, The Mom was fading and The Boy, still attached to the dragonfly finger puppet we’d picked up at the visitor center a day earlier, was sound asleep.

I wasn’t tired.

Back Into the Moonlight

I was so pleased with the images I captured up at Delicate Arch that I wanted to go explore a different section of the park. There were a number of possibilities. Ultimately, we ended up at Park Avenue. Darla and Lewis elected to remain in bed while I went back out into the moonlight.

Moonlit Formation

Meanwhile, across the park, Mom and Dad were heading back out into the moonlight. Dad, as promised, had returned to the trailer, eaten dinner, and gone to bed. Mom waited up for our return. When we weren’t back by a certain time, Mom decided something must be wrong. After rousing Dad out of bed, they drove over to the Delicate Arch trailhead. Of course, we were not there – a fact that in no way diminishes their valiant effort to come to our rescue.

How’s that, Mom? :-)

Park Avenue by Moonlight

Trail to Sand Dune Arch

This was our final morning in Arches. I wanted to take one last walk before we all headed home. While Dad drove into Moab to run a couple errands, the rest of us hit the trail.

Granny Inspects a Cranny

Yes, I’m quite pleased with my title. I guess I’ll find out if Mom actually reads any of this…

Sand Dune Arch