The Splendor of Arches

A few days ago I visited Arches National Park in Utah. I had been there three times before, but not since 1990. As usual, I made the trek up to Delicate Arch. The trail goes over slickrock in many areas, marked by stone cairns. Except...for this section, where the slickrock is so steep that some very diligent individuals carved steps out of the rock.

Classical shot of Delicate Arch...it's on the current Utah license plates. Blow the pic up and you'll see a touron underneath the arch, giving a sense of scale.

The Lizards rule the Arch! They hitched a ride up in my pack, so they didn't have to crawl or scuttle up, or whatever it is that lizards do when on the move. Our saurian friends are hanging out right below a natural rock chair, from which the observer can view the Arch and a vast amphitheater from above. It's a bit of a clamber and I didn't get up there this time, but on previous visits I scrambled up and felt like a Roman emperor presiding over the throng below. Delicate Arch would be an awesome sight for a really high quality rock concert!

This is Landscape Arch, the longest in the park at 306 feet. As you can see, it's leading a rather precarious existence and could collapse at any time...maybe tomorrow, maybe 300 years from now. Actually, a large chunk of rock fell off the right side of the arch in 1991...nobody was killed or seriously hurt, but due to the geological uncertainty of the situation, the area under the arch has since been closed to foot traffic. I reckon I wouldn't go under the arch anyway.

Double Arch is much more massive. This complex rock formation developed when water seeping through a crack in the rocks above the arch eventually eroded away enough rock to form first one arch, then two. They're huge...well over 100 feet high. At the end of a long, hot day of trekking, I was beat, and sought shade under the arches with dozens of Euros. The Euros love Southern Utah...there's nothing like it in Europe; in fact I don't know of any other area in the world with such numerous, colorful, and amazing rock

formations. The Euros come in droves to soak up the exotic nature of the place. At my B&B near Moab, most of the guests were Euros...my neighbors all three nights were French families.