Arches Galore

 

It's a good thing I had seen a billboard announcing that timed entry reservations were required at Arches National Park in southeaster Utah.  We arrived at 11:30 a.m., a half hour early for ours, joining a long line of cars.  Nearly two million people visited in 2021.

At the Visitors Center, we watched a movie that explained how Mother Nature had sculpted more than 2,000 sandstone rock formations in the park.  I bought the poster, too.  It reminded me of the scenic placemats that some gas stations used to give away during childhood road trips.  Of course I collected them.

Lizard Sculpture, Visitors Center

Wood Slats & Sky, Picnic Shelter

A two-lane highway winds 25 miles through the truly spectacular park.  

You must hike to many of the arches which didn't seem like a good idea in the early afternoon, given my dermatologist's instructions to avoid the sun.  

Courthouse Towers

We opted for seeing as many as we could using the Chariot.  A road re-paving project created bottlenecks in several areas, delaying our progress.

Devil's Playground

Fortunately, there are plenty of places to pull over.

Three Gossips

Balanced Rock

I do regret not hiking to the Delicate Arch which illustrates the poster at the top of this post.  A fairly deep gully separates it from a distant viewing area.

The park icon may be easier to find between my fingers. I nicknamed it the Judy Garland because the arch looks as if it's about to collapse.

Unwittingly, we saved the best area, the Windows, for last.  Thom sunned while I took a short hike, full of wonder, through geologic time. 

Parade of Elephants

North Window Arch

Turret Arch

Selfie opportunities abound.

South Window Arch

North Window Arch

Inside the North Window Arch

Underside of the North Window Arch

If you go to Arches, I highly recommend staying at the Best Western Plus Canyonlands Inn in Moab, a 15-minute drive outside the park, even if you're not driving a Tesla.  There was a charging station in the parking lot and Thom finally got some sun time at the small but well-situated pool.  No bikes allowed in the rooms, though.  Apparently, Moab attracts mountain bikers from all over the world.

After a terrific, inexpensive dinner at the Sultan Mediterranean Grill, we returned to the park for a sunset whirl.

Petrified Dunes

Three Gossips

We parked at Panaroma Point, which we hadn't visited during the day, to watch the brilliant colors of the sky 

. . . and the nearly full moon rise.  Wow.  Just wow.  I nearly broke out into "America the Beautiful," and I'm not a particularly patriotic guy.