It was cool this morning but nothing like we had seen farther north. From our campsite, we can look across the terrain and see into Arches National Park but we are about five miles from the entrance to the park by car. We stopped at the visitors center and watched the film before starting up the switchback road that leads into the park. I took a film of the ride up the side of the cliff. It is over four minutes and I won't post it here. I am running out of adjectives to describe the scenery but the red rock formations are incredibly beautiful and amazing. Wind and water play a big part in shaping the landscape and have done a remarkable job of it.
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| Before Sunrise Over Arches NP |
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| Early Sun at the Campground |
Many of the formations throughout the park have been given names and we stopped to photograph many of them. Among them are Park Avenue, Three Gossips, Sheep Rock, The Organ, Courthouse Towers and Balanced Rock. We took photos of these and many, many more as each corner is a Kodak moment.
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| The Organ |
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| Balancing Rock |
There are over 2000 arches in the park, many more than any place else on earth. Arches are formed by erosion from wind, rain, and ice of softer underneath layers of rock. Natural bridges are formed by rivers cutting under them. We drove into the Windows section and hiked the easy mile long trip to Turret Arch and back past North and South Windows. It was amazing to be so close to the huge formations towering overhead. We were able to climb under Turret Arch with its great views of surrounding terrain. Ted was sitting under North Window when he looked up to see the big crack under the arch. We could see huge boulders stuck in the crack that will someday fall out of the arch. Thankfully, that was not today.
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| Lots of Tread Marks |
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| Spectacles |
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| Sheila at Turret Arch |
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| Looking Straight Up....Yikes |
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| South Window |
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| Tough Environment for Trees |
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| Great Layering |
Due to recent rains, the park was much greener than normal for a desert climate and we saw quite a few different wildflowers that would not normally be blooming. There were also signs of flooding from the runoff of the rains. Going in to the Wolfe Ranch and Delicate Arch Parking Lot, they had plowed huge piles of red dirt that must have covered the road after the flash floods went through the drywash.
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| Plowing the Dirt from the Road |
When we were here nineteen years ago, we walked the short trail to view Delicate Arch from a distance, the one shown on Utah's license plates and on the quarter that was issued sometime in the last couple of years. We decided to do the three mile round trip to actually get up to the arch today. We packed our lunches and plenty of water into our backpacks and started out. The first half mile is on a dirt trail and gently climbs up and down. Then the fun begins. It is all uphill from there over slickrock. Some people we met said how hard it was while others were more encouraging. One woman much older than we are said if she could do it than we could and recommended many rest stops and plenty of water. As we climbed the temperatures kept rising. There was no shade on the slickrock and not until we got beyond it did we find a little shade from some short bushes. We continued to climb until we got behind the cliff at the top where we sat and cooled off in the breeze and ate the fruit and power bar we had brought with us.
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| Wolfe Family Homestead |
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| Dirt Trail to Rock Marked by Cairns |
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| Shade is Good |
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| Trail Gets Sloped and Narrow |
From where we ate our lunch, the path was a four feet or less ledge around the cliff. I clung to the stone wall while Ted marched on ahead. Normally I would have chickened out but after climbing all that distance in ninety plus degree weather, I was not about to turn back now. As we rounded the last corner, I said "Wow!". People had kept telling us that it was worth it and it certainly was. What a beautiful sight. You could see the LaSal Mountains through the arch in the distance as well as the valley below. Incredible. There were rocks to sit on to take in the view. You had to climb over a wall and walk down a steep incline to actually get to the arch. Ted went while I stayed back to take photos. Unfortunately, the picture I took with him directly under the arch was blurry but others showed him down there and we know he did it.
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| Hugging the Rock |
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| Ted Under Delicate Arch |
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| Looking Out the Other Side |
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| Delicate Arch |
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| Green Valley Due to Recent Rainfall |
The trip down was not so much fun. The heat had continued to rise and my feet were killing me. I know I need to get new hiking shoes but just keep putting it off. Mine are too short and my toes hit the end when going downhill. No matter how tightly I tie them, my feet continue to slide forward. After many stops, we did make it to the end where I could finally take off the shoes and cool my feet with the air conditioning. Once arriving home, we both were beat so didn't do much besides shower and read. Early to bed and late to rise helped a lot.
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