Arch National Park is a familiar place to us, starting from the days
when it was just a national monument not yet discovered by Europeans.
On this whirlwind tour
we decided to squeeze in a half day trip into the park to take some
digital pictures. We only targeted some high lights in the park. The
summary pictures of those attractions are included below.
Park Avenue. This is the first major high light after entering Arch National Park.
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Egyptian Queen's head at Park Avenue
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A rock looks like a bird, at Park Avenue
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Rock formation near Park Avenue
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A big nose fellow, near Park Avenue
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A stone hand in Court House.
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Three Gossips, in Court House
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Sheep Rock in Court House
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The balanced rock of Arch National Park, a far away look from a parking area near Court House.
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A far away look of North and South WIndows. The left one is the North Window.
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After numerous visits, we still do not know the name of this strange rock!
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A much closer look of the balanced roick, not far away from the trail head of the rock.
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A picture taken from the trail head of the balanced rock in morning. Camera will be facing the sun
in the morning.
The trail is an easy 20 minutes walk around the rock. The rock changes shape from different
angles. We did not go around the rock this time due to time constraint.
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A picture taken from the tip of the shadow of the balanced rock.
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Delicate Arch is the trade mark of Arch National Park. This picture is taken from
the viewing platform near the main parking lot of Delicate Arch.
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A frontal view of Delicte Arch. There is a trail near the main parking lot that goes up hill
to a closer view point. From that view point, one can walk on a huge smooth rock dome to take
this pictrure. Before driving into the main parking lot, there is a parking area for a strenous trail
that leads to the back of the arch for a very close view. In the morning, camera will be facing the
sun from that view point. The people at the base of the arch scrambled down the rocky slope from
that view point, according to a blog describing the hike. From the size of people
in the picture, the height of the arch can be estimated. The park is in a desert so during summer
temperature will be very high. Hikers on the strenous trail, which climbs about 500 feet in a distance of
1.5 miles (one way), are advised to bring along plenty of water to prevent dehydration.
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The entrance to Sand Dune Arch is located in a crack among those rocks. A strong chilly wind
blows through those cracks. On a windy day the sky will turn from blue to grey once step into the
passage, and hikers need to lean against strong chilly wind while struggling on very fine red
sand to proceed.
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A look at the passage
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A rock near Sand Dune Arch.
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Sand Dune Arch. This arch was also called "Postage Arch" in old days since the bird's head
resembled the pattern of the eagle's head on U. S. postage stamps. With the new design of
postage stamps, this name was lost.
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Broken Arch. This arch looks like broken, but not.
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Another view of the balanced rock. The picture from this angle can only be taken from a
narrow road side shoulder that can only accomodate one auto, near the entrance to Garden of
Eden on the way to Double Arch.
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A rock near the entrance to Garden of Eden
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South Window near Double Arch.
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A rock near Double Arch
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Double Arch. The parking lot to the trail head of Double Arch is always crowded. During
high season, prepare to spend a lot of time in the area to find a parking spce.
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Elephants Parade next to Double Arch
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