Arches National Park - Part 2

 

For the next trip to Arches, I picked a nice sunny day - love the blue sky in my photos. It may have been hotter to hike, but I like the pictures better.

 

Not everything in this park is arches, as you can see by the balanced rock below. This one stands 128' tall, and there used to be a smaller balanced rock, but it tumbled down.

 

 

The broken arch has a very small crack at the top, which means it is subject to weather and erosion.

 

 

The Landscape Arch is very thin and if you look at the left side, you'll see a long horizontal crack in it. In 1991, there were other cracks like this and the weather finally chipped away a few parts of it. Before that happened, the trail went under the arch - but since it's so fragile, no one is allowed under it anymore.
 

 

This next rock formation is called "The Gossips" because it looks like people gathered together telling stories.
 

 

Just a few extra shots I like.....

 

 

 

Arches National Park, Utah - Part 1

 

This park is so big I had to spend the better part of two days to see most of what I wanted to see.  It's the hiking part that slows me down, you can drive through it all in less than a day but you don't get to see everything.  The photo above shows me under the Delicate Arch, an hour's hike mostly uphill on sandy trails and slick rock. Slick rock isn't really slick, it's rock covering a massive area that's been shaped almost smooth by wind and weather. It's usually good to hike on as long as you've got hiking boots with good traction, since it's not really slippery. The first day I was there, it was totally overcast the entire day, great for hiking and keeping cool - but not great for pictures.

 

This area is full of gigantic red rock formations shaped by changing geological conditions and weather for millions of years. The scenery here is spectacular, within a few short miles you are surrounded by these rock formations and then you'll come across a valley area with mesas at the horizon.  This arch is the iconic one shown on license plates and other advertising for the area.

 

 

I hiked to several other arches that day, most of the other hikes weren't as strenuous or as long.