Delicate Arch is one of Utah's most famous icons and can be seen on magazine covers, tourist guides and on Utah's license plates. The classic view of the arch requires a 1.5 mile (one way) moderately strenuous hike leading up a steep slit rock trail from the parking area at Wolfe Ranch. It is an exhilarating hike and well worth the effort. There are times that the hike is not feasible whether it be rainy weather or traveling with people that cannot traverse the steep climb. In these instances, there is a viewpoint that gives a good view of the arch, albeit from a very different perspective. The viewpoint is about a mile from the arch and it was from this vantage point that I took this shot. There are normally lots of people around and under the arch, but for some unexplained reason, there were very few people there (the ones that were there were at the mercy of the content-aware brush).
Sky
This image is from my recently found archives. One of the most visited national parks in the southwest is Arches National Park. Located in eastern Utah, the park is home to over 2,000 sandstone arches, many of which are not easily accessible. This was the first stop on a 2-week trip that Greg and I took in May, 2005. May is perhaps the best time to visit as the weather is not too hot and the park is not crowded at all. We had gotten into Moab the previous afternoon after a five hour drive from Salt Lake City. The bad news was that my luggage, including my tripod, was not on our flight. It finally showed up at 5:30 am (of course after dawn). Once we unpacked and hit the road, we headed for Arches. Our first stop in the park was Double Arch where I captured this image. Even though I had missed the sunrise, the light was amazing as the blue sky really enhanced the contrast with the orange sandstone.
Nature's Courthouse
This the second image that I have reprocessed on my recently found archives or as Jimi Jones named them, “Lost Treasure of Len” (my wife is still chuckling about that). This image is from a trip I took with my son where we hiked for two weeks in Utah. This particular trail is the Park Avenue Trail in Arches National Park. It is a one-mile relatively flat trail that traverses the bottom of a canyon where some of the park’s well-known monoliths can be seen such as the Three Gossips, Courthouse Towers, the Organ and the Tower of Babel. This particular structure is the Courthouse Towers. Most visitors to the park stop at the Park Avenue Viewpoint, take a few snapshots, and return to their cars without really exploring this trail. They really miss a spectacular walk that is quite memorable. Once on the trail, it opens up to a wide dry wash, filled with a number of shallow sandstone basins and potholes carved out by erosion.