Picture Post: Arches National Park

I haven't grabbed the pictures off my actual camera yet, so these are shots with my phone. I'll circle back sometime with pictures from a real camera.

I want to put in a plug for sunrise here. There were very few people on the trails we were on, and there was plenty of parking. It was silent. We had some arches and trails to ourselves. Cannot recommend enough.

 

Turret Arch, as the sun was starting to rise. 

We got up close and personal with Turret Arch later on as it got a bit brighter, but we wanted to watch the sunrise from the North Window Arch. Walking up to Turret Arch was amazing though; you go up the path and around a slight curve and BOOM, huge arch and bonus sweeping mountain and canyon views beyond it. 

We had to hustle to The Windows so we could watch the sunrise. Although it looks quite bright in the picture, the sun was not up yet, and it was actually dark--I brightened the image so you could actually see the landscape.

Up we went, into the North Window Arch (the arch on the left in the previous picture) to watch the sunrise. It was glorious. It was us and one other couple. Total silence other than occasional quiet talking. 

One sister, on the rocks. 

Honestly, the whole thing was a pristine and magical experience. Highly recommend foregoing sleep to watch the sunrise. I have a picture of the North Window Arch looking up from standing under it, but it's shaky at best.

After sunrise, we moved on to other areas of the park--primitive trails, Double Arch, Delicate Arch, Balanced Rock, and Devil's Garden. 

We hiked around the loop of the Windows Trail, and there's some fun, very mild scrabbling to follow the trail. 

The Windows Arches from the backside, and I think they missed a real opportunity here to call it Owl Eyes Arches.

Double Arch was by far my favorite arch.

Double Arch felt like a religious experience in a temple to me. It stunned me while at the same time, brought serenity. I hung out in Double Arch for awhile, soaking in the silence and the views. 

Looking out of Double Arch back towards the trial head, the Windows, and Turret Arch is nothing to sneeze at. 

One of the many roadside scenic pullouts--just me and my favorite hat. 

From here, we went on to Delicate Arch, Balanced Rock, past Fiery Furnace, and into Devil's Garden. Those pictures are all on my camera, so I will pull them off soon and do a Arches Picture Post 2.0.