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Published: December 27th 2005
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Having had a hearty breakfast (sauage omelette with pancakes) at the Pancake Haus - next to the Ramada Motel that I stayed in last night, I headed my way to the Arches National Park. There were some hikings to do today, and I wanted to make sure I had enough energy. The last time when I was in Utah (years ago), we didn't make it to the Arches. I always wanted to see the famous arch that was on a lot of postcards and calendars. I found out last night from the local that the name of that famous arch was 'Delicate Arch'. It was the state symbol of Utah. There would be a 2 hours round trip hike to get to the Delicate Arch from the trail head. I was excited that I finally could see the arch up close.
The Arches National Park was only 3 miles away from Moab, UT. It didn't take too long for me to reach the park. I showed the ranger my National Park Pass at the gate and drove right in. At the visitor center, I found out that the park has a great campground with incredible views at the Devils Garden
that opened year-round. This was one of the best campgrounds that was always in demand, especially from spring to fall. The idea of camping in a beautiful mountain area surrounded by rocks in all kind of shapes and forms on the Christmas eve sounded very temping to me. The ranger told me that I could get good spot if I reached the campground by noon. I decided to give it a try.
It was Christmas day at Asia, which is 14 hours ahead of the US mountain time. I called Christine and Mom to wish them Merry Christmas at the visitor center before I would wander into the mountains. I really wished they could be with me for this trip. It would be wonderful to experience all the nature's greatest creations together!
I had been blessed with sunny days for most of the trip. Today was no differernt! It was sunny and cool. The sky was extremely blue and clear at the high altitude. Arches National Park had miles of paved road with foot trails that leaded to many park features. As soon as I drove out of the visitor center, I was captivated by different forms of
rocks all over the park area and along the road. Differernt names were given to each group of formations that corresponded to their shapes and forms, i.e. Park Avenue, Courthouse Towers, Sheep Rock, and the Organ, etc. Different from the natual bridges that I saw yesterday, Arches were formed not by streams, but by erosion and weathering through wind, water, ice and extreme temperatures as well as the underground movement of the unique salt bed in the area. All the geological movements continued exist. Everyday, new arches were formed and old ones were destroyed through the slow weathering process. Dynamic landforms were created beyond our imagination.
After studying the map, I decided to go to the North and South Windows first and then went straight to the campground. Along the way to the Windows, I drove past the Petrified Dunes (sanddunes that were petrified to be rocks), Balanced rock (a huge rock balancing on slim foundation), and Garden of Eden (a large array of rock formations), etc. I was so fascinated and stopped frequently along the way to take their pictures (see attached pictures). The North and South Windows along with Turret Arch were a little far off the
road, it took a mild 15 mintues hike to be able to see them up close. They were all huge and enormous arches.
It was just past noon. I went straight to the campground at the Devils Garden. At the gate, I chatted with another camper who also decided to stay for the night. He checked out the site and said it was worth it simply because of the views. I went in to check it out myself. Sure enough, the views was breathtaking with the snow-capped mountains at the horizon and the dramatic roack formations near by. There were still quite a few sites available. I quickly scouted each one of them and settled on one that had the best view. In addition to the view, it was surrounded by juniper trees and protected by some rocks from the sides. After filling out paperworks and paid the $10 fee, I started to set up the camp. With the experience from Mt. Lemmons and under the broad day light, I was able to set up the tent in a very short time. I also bought some firewoods (Park policy did not allow picking firewood ourselves) to get ready for
camp fire tonight. After that, I had a breif lunch and lingered a little to enjoy the fantastic views. It was surreal! I couldn't believe I was there and could see such wonderful sights!
My plan was to reach the famous Delicate Arch before sunset so I could take some great sunset pictures. Before I went to the trail for the Delicate Arch, I stopped by the Landscape Arch that was in the Devils Garden area. The Landscape arch was still active. In 1991, a slab of rock about 60 feet long and 11 feet wide fell from the underside of he Arch. Someone who was there took a picture of the dramatic moment. The picture was shown at the viewpoint. The light wasn't great when I was there so I didn't stay too long.
I realized I may have miscalculated the time. I thought the sunset was supposed to be at 5:30PM but based on the position of the sun, it looked like the sunset time would be around 5PM. I needed to hurry up to hike to the Delicate Arch. The hike to the Delicate Arch was about 2 hours round trip. It was mostly uphill
and rough. Being short in time, I had to make it to the arch less than 45 minutes, rather than the usual 1 hour. Hence, I had to hike at a much faster pace and couldn't take break. This was very taxing. On my way up, I bumped into people on their way back. Most of them were delighted with what they had seen. This motivated me to continue going despite of the tireless. After 45 minutes hike, including climbing a huge rock and meandering along the cliff edge, the magnificent Delicate Arch was finally in sight after a final turn. It was perfect timing! The sun was gradually setting, casting a layer of soft golden lights to the cliff, the canyon, and the Arch. The famous Delicate Arch, stood on the brink of a canyon with the dramatic La Sal Mountains as a backdrop, welcomed me with grace and elegance. This was the climate of the whole day and I thoroughly enjoyed the moment. I was finally here facing the arch! It was one of the great moments in my life, along with the sunset at La Jolla, CA and the Grand Canyon, AZ. I wished Christine was here
with me! It only lasted for about 10 minutes, jus like all the climates. ***laugh*** I took a lot pictures to capture this moment. Then the sun went down. The mountain turned cold suddenly. I knew that I had to find my way back, so were other people there who witnessed the same magic moment.
Back to the camp site, I lit up the camp fire. I hadn't done this for a long time. Surprisingly, it came back easily. In 3 minutes, I had my first camp fire for the past many years. The warm fire helped rid the coldness of the mountain night. I put my can foods on the fire and enjoyed the meal under the sky. I looked up and was struck by the view of the sky. I saw millions and millions stars. Words could not describe what I saw. I could actually see the river of stars from south to north without using telescope. The number of stars I saw at Mt Lemmons, which I had thought as great, couldn't even compare to what I saw. I was totally mesmerized. The cosmos was so vast and deep! It was so wonderful!
The camp
fire was dying down, it was time to get in the tent. I said good night to the sky, the mountain, and the universe. This time I put on two layers of socks, two layers of sweaters before I went to sleep. I slept much better. In the middle of night, I heard the sounds of coyotes fighting for their preys or territories. It was very closed to my tent, but they didn't disturb us.
It was a wonderful day! Merry Christmas!
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Derek
non-member comment
Camping
Cool choice of camp sites. You're obviously a veteran camper at this stage of your trip. This is my favorite set of pictures so far. Did you plan this location, or stumble upone it?