Sunday July 3 Arches national park
Aug. 25th, 2023 04:28 pmEdward Abbey worked in Arches Monument (then) in the mid-1950s, and used that experience as source material for the nonfiction book "Desert Solitaire." Among many other things, he coined the derisive term "industrial tourism" for the practice of driving to an overlook, looking, and then driving on. When I read the book in the late 1980s, we were delighted to have such a useful description for what we sometimes do. I don't know whether he would feel mostly disgusted or just vindicated by the extent to which Arches NP (now) is set up very much in that format. There are pull-outs or full parking lots all over the place, and there is a circular route to follow. That doesn't mean that there aren't long difficult trails one can hike, because there are. There are still campsites. There is nowhere to buy food in the whole huge park. There are so many visitors and so many cars, in fact, that for the more touristy half of the year one has to book a timed entry to drive in between 7 AM and 4 PM. The park is open 24 hours a day, though, so you don't have to book other times. I got up at about 5 AM, packed all my food and water and stuff for the day, and headed out.
on the way?

sunrise:

Delicate arch is a good bit down the road from the entrance, but I went there first, and was in time to get a space in the nearly-full (before 6:30 AM) parking lot. It took me 45 minutes of walking and scrambling to get close enough for a selfie

but not as close as the people who patiently waited in line to get the next person along to take their pictures inside the arch itself

After that, I retraced my steps somewhat and went in the suggested order.
I again took dozens of photos. I can identify some of these by their given names, otherwise not so much. It was a good day. I chatted a bit with other folks, stayed hydrated, enjoyed shade when available.
The combination of not wanting to drive at night and getting up before dawn meant that I did not take advantage of the extreme dark areas of the parks to star gaze. Can't have everything.
Balanced rock (not really balanced as much as eroded in an amazing way)

Sand dune arch and its environs


Slots, more or less


Broken arch (that's its name)

Informative trail marker for skyline arch trail

Maybe this is skyline arch?

Two views of this. I think this is where I had a long pleasant conversation with a woman from Germany, who had also visited other Utah parks in the past.


Random other cool things I don't know the name for. I checked them off on my map as I went, but don't necessarily remember which was which.


More pictures on rocks, second day in a row

on the way?

sunrise:

Delicate arch is a good bit down the road from the entrance, but I went there first, and was in time to get a space in the nearly-full (before 6:30 AM) parking lot. It took me 45 minutes of walking and scrambling to get close enough for a selfie

but not as close as the people who patiently waited in line to get the next person along to take their pictures inside the arch itself

After that, I retraced my steps somewhat and went in the suggested order.
I again took dozens of photos. I can identify some of these by their given names, otherwise not so much. It was a good day. I chatted a bit with other folks, stayed hydrated, enjoyed shade when available.
The combination of not wanting to drive at night and getting up before dawn meant that I did not take advantage of the extreme dark areas of the parks to star gaze. Can't have everything.
Balanced rock (not really balanced as much as eroded in an amazing way)

Sand dune arch and its environs


Slots, more or less


Broken arch (that's its name)

Informative trail marker for skyline arch trail

Maybe this is skyline arch?

Two views of this. I think this is where I had a long pleasant conversation with a woman from Germany, who had also visited other Utah parks in the past.


Random other cool things I don't know the name for. I checked them off on my map as I went, but don't necessarily remember which was which.


More pictures on rocks, second day in a row

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Date: 2023-08-26 08:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-08-26 03:48 pm (UTC)