I headed out to Arches early-ish in order to see the rocks
glow in the beautiful morning light.
There were several storm clouds above head when I got there, which made
for even more dramatic and beautiful lighting!
After taking in several sights along the way, I made my way to the windows
section of the park. I took a short hike
to Turret Arch, which was glowing in the morning sun! Then I hiked up to and around the North and
South Window Arches. I really love
getting to see arches from both sides.
It’s amazing how your perception of an arch can really change from one
side to the other!
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| Turret Arch |
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| Extreme close up of Turret Arch
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| Sand Dune Arch
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Next, I headed several miles north to the trail head for Sand
Dune Arch. It’s a short hike over (you
guessed it. . .) sand and around some large rocks. It’s secluded in a little nook in the middle
of several substantial rock fins.
There’s something especially fantastic about the arches that don’t come
into view until you’re fairly close to them.
I love that moment when I round the corner and my breath is taken away
by the majestic display of nature’s magnificence, while I simultaneously get of
rush of adrenaline from the knowledge that I was able to find the feature that
until that moment I have only heard about or seen pictures of. While, there is certainly joy in lounging by
an arch for a long time or revisiting it several times, nothing quite compares
with that moment of the first sighting!
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| Broken Arch
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After exploring Sand Dune Arch and its surrounding area for
a bit, I continued on the trail. The
trail passed through an open, sandy area for quite a while. I am fairly sure I saw mountain lion tracks
in the sand! The next major event on the
trail was my viewing of Broken Arch. It
is named that because there is a spot in the middle of the top that looks like
it was broken and patched back together.
The trail went right through the arch!
I took several moments to bask in the sun and gaze at the marvelous
view. After a leisurely rest, I
continued on the portion of the trail that loops back to the parking lot. Much to my delight and surprise I found signs
leading to a trail for an arch that did not make it onto the park map! I hiked a short way off the loop trail to
Tapestry Arch. It is quite a large and
substantial arch! I had a blast hiking
up into the arch and getting some great views of both the arch and the
surrounding area!
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| Tapestry Arch
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