Last week, I traveled to Moab, Utah for a three-day photography safari. I was accompanied by friends and photographers, Barry Stewart and Bill McAdam. We visited two national parks in the area, the Arches and Canyonlands, both located close to Moab. We spent two days there before heading home, stopping over night at the Navaho Tribal Park in Monument Valley, where we went on a sunrise photo shoot the next morning.
Today, I’ll share some pictures from the Arches NP, followed by subsequent posts on the other two sites we visited. My first picture features Landscape Arch. The Natural Arch and Bridge Society (NABS) now considers the Landscape Arch to be the second longest natural arch in the world, having measured the span in 2004 at 290.1 feet (88.4 m). It looks a little flimsy to me. It wouldn’t be the first arch in the park to collapse. I hope it doesn’t happen any time soon.
This arch, the South Window is one side of a pair of joined arches, known as the Windows (and sometimes, the Spectacles). I really like the old Utah Junipers as photo subjects and framed this one in front of one of the Windows’ openings.
Opposite the Windows Arches is an interesting one called Turret Arch, so named because of the rock tower to the left. It has an interesting shape and is considered to be one of the Windows.
My last picture for today captures the Three Gossips. These are obviously not arches but three, statue-like figures that appear to be conversing. I’m not paranoid but I’m sure they were talking about me! Three Gossips is actually a mid-sized sandstone tower (about 350 feet at its tallest wall) sitting atop a roundish pedestal within the Courthouse Towers “cluster” of structures. Like all the structures in the park, they’re big!
The next post will feature pictures from nearby Canyonlands NP.
Beautiful…Arches is on our itinerary for our trip home…thank-you! Helen