Shock and Awe

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We spent the whole day in Arches National Park just a few miles north of Moab, Utah. Juts off highway 191 the park road climbs steeply into the park and highway noise is left behind. And then the vista opens up with huge red rock towers and wide sage covered valleys.

The first and most impressive group of red rocks rises up in front of the car about a ½ hour drive into the park. These red towers have no erosion slope and rise straight out of the desert with sheer faces and long slender horizontal shapes.

We spent an hour viewing and photographing Balanced Rock. A 10 metre football shaped mass of sandstone balances on 30 metre high tower of red rock which tapers to 2 metres under the football. We tip toed around the tower as it seemed this balance could end with the slightest vibration.

The park is famous for its natural sandstone arches. The easiest to see are on a paved road followed by short hikes. For the most famous, Delicate Arch, we hiked a kilometre up a nearby Navaho sandstone ridge to an overlook. The temperature was 28 dec C and we needed to suck on water all along the way. Delicate Arch was still a couple of kilometers away but the view of the countryside of red sandstone cliffs and towers kept the camera busy for the whole hike.

In the waning sunlight we arrived at Skyline Arch and were able to photograph in the angle light which gives the most dramatic colours to the rock. Driving out, we couldn’t resist one more photo of Balanced Rock in the glow of the setting sun. We’ve learned that it pays to be around good scenery at the end of the day.

After a great dinner out at Buck’s Grill House where we enjoyed buffalo meatloaf, we arrived back at the campground in the dark and flash lighted our water and electricity hookups.

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Photos

High Point of our Hike
It was 30 degrees (90 F) when we got to the top.