ARCHES NATIONAL PARK


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A race with a cold front moving through the area. A quick stop to check in at the hotel and then out to the park. It was worth the rush.
A thinning of the cold front left a beautiful backlight for the rock.
A change of position put the Balanced Rock in front of the dark clouds of the front.
A slight change of angle as the front moved on left this wonderful backlit scene.
A change of orientation and a movement of the front resulted in the backlighting moving mower on the formations.
The front moved through allowing the setting sun to make an appearance. This put a beautiful red glow on the formations.
Turret Arch before the sun broke over the horizon.
The North Window Arch hasn't received the full sun yet. A nice framing of the rock behind the arch. Unfortunately, I took a tumble at the top of the slope. I could see broken bones as a result of a roll down that rock covered slope, so I managed to stay upright. So, instead of broken bones, I had to make due with a twisted knee. A tripod can be used as a cane in an emergency, but I would recommend buying a cane at the first opportunity. Luckily, Moab sports stores carry them. I must not be the only one to twist a joint!
This is a beautiful arch. The sun was still low enough in the sky to add a reddish glow to the rocks.
The only thing wrong with this picture is the lack of clouds. The cold front the day before must have scoured all the clouds.
A lonesome dead tree on the path to Landscape Arch. The sun was up, barely, but it couldn't make it into this canyon.
Sunset over the Fiery Furnace. The clouds made a return visit.
A turn to the left from the previous picture, and the sun and clouds made this great picture.
I was told that this was a sunrise picture. It is nice, but Sunset is better.
I tried to get some detail of the Arch. It actually does work as a Sunrise shot.
This was an interesting Arch to find. We almost walked right past it without seeing it. It does make an interesting composition. If the sun ever shines directly on this Arch, it must be straight down in the middle of summer. Then the color would be washed out.
The setting moon just before it disappears behind the great wall.
Back to the Skyline Arch. It definitely works better at Sunset. The right side is rather fresh, as it looks. A good sized chunk fell out of this arch in the recent past. The debris gathered at the base of the wall.
Partition Arch new Sunrise. This arch is located to the right of Landscape Arch as you face the arch. It is easy to find, if you know it is there. It is on some of the maps, but I found it on my GPS.
Landscape Arch near Sunrise. The rubble on the slope to the Arch used to be part of the arch. It used to be possible to climb up this slope to get under the arch. It was probably even harder to get a good picture of this arch as it is of Delicate Arch.
Tunnel Arch sits back off the trail to Landscape Arch. I like the formation visible through the arch.
From this viewpoint, they almost look like penguins. There is another view from further up the entrance road where they look much more like Egyptian Gods.
The rock on the top of the cliff to the left does look like a Ham from a couple of viewpoints. From most places, it looked much more like one of the marshmallow peeps you see too many of around Easter. However you see it, it is an interesting formation.

 

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Last updated on Thursday, August 11, 2011
By Fred Stearns