Arches National Park

The infamous Delicate Arch

I checked off two more National Parks on my most recent road trip. Arches and Canyonlands, located within an hour of each other, hug the northeast and southwest side of Moab, Utah. Mom and I were surprised it took us this long to get there given our family's track record for visiting parks in the west. The last time we were in the area was 2002 on the way to Salt Lake City for the Winter Olympics and a ski trip. The town had changed quite a bit in 14 years, almost overrun with tourist trade, Jeep Wranglers jacked up on monster truck-sized wheels were everywhere, ready to conquer the landscape like a horde of military tanks. Skydiving also seemed to be big deal. We wanted to camp but couldn't make a campsite reservation even two months out; it was okay given that the mornings were still quite cold. I kept reminiscing about geology being my favorite science class in high school and how fascinating it is. If I had chosen to major in one of the sciences that would have been it. The two of us spent a full day there then went back the day we left to capture some of the arches in better light like the Landscape Arch below.

Landscape Arch

The Windows

Does anyone else see Jack Skellington?

The Three Gossips and the Organ, a scene I did a painting of in high school but didn't realize it was at Arches until much later

Pine Tree Arch

Tunnel Arch