Arches – Good Morning, Good Evening

Monday morning I woke up and got to work. At this point I was pretty used to the two hour time difference, I get up a few minutes before 6am, then log in and work until lunch. This lets me take a quick shower without waking up my hosts. After a while on Monday I noticed light coming through the blinds and opened the shade.

I didn’t get much exploring in early in the week; there’s little cell reception in the park and I was on call. I made up for it the rest of the week, though. What follows is a big pile of pictures from Arches National Park (right next to Moab). I also explored some other areas, I’ll put that in another post.

The town of Moab itself is an odd tiny place. It’s overrun with tourists, if you go to eat a meal as dark sets in there’s a long wait in almost every restaurant, and this is in mid-October. I can’t imagine what it’s like in the summer. Fortunately I wasn’t here for the food, I was here to take approximately one million photos in Arches. Um, except I’d already seen The Big Attractions, so instead of Delicate Arch (which is amazing) I was hiking trails I hadn’t yet done, so the weirder stuff.

Have I mentioned how much I love the old gnarled vegetation?

I love scrambling around the rock but hiking in the deep red sand is a slog.

The trails that wander through (or over!) the fin rock formations are my favorite.

I'm totally a huge fan of this rock formation that looks a group of towering people and is visible from both sides. One of my favorite things to see on the way out of the park. I am also a fan of my scooter. — I’m totally a huge fan of this rock formation that looks a group of towering people and is visible from both sides. One of my favorite things to see on the way out of the park. I am also a fan of my scooter.

I feel like the arches themselves are sort of the mutant rock formations of the park. They're not my favorite part, but I still feel the need to document them for some reason. This is Tower Arch. — I feel like the arches themselves are sort of the mutant rock formations of the park. They’re not my favorite part, but I still feel the need to document them for some reason. This is Tower Arch.

Seriously they're almost all like this. Feel free to move on to the next post (a million photos from nearby!). — Seriously they’re almost all like this. Feel free to move on to the next post (a million photos from nearby!).

It's a bit over 7 miles of gravel road to make it to Tower Arch, and a large amount of it is washboard. Possibly the worst gravel road I've ever taken, it was a constant shaking assault. My windshield rattled loose by the end, and I had to go 30-40mph to sort of skim over the ridges, which is definitely above the safe speed. I had no real control at that point, but at least it didn't feel like the scooter was about to fall apart. The landscape is gorgeous and totally worth. — It’s over 7 miles of gravel road to make it to Tower Arch, and a large amount of it is washboard. Possibly the worst gravel road I’ve ever taken; it was a constant shaking assault. My windshield rattled loose by the end, and I had to go 30-40mph to sort of skim over the ridges, which is definitely above the safe speed. I had no real control at that point, but at least it didn’t feel like the scooter was about to fall apart. The landscape is gorgeous and totally worth every bump and bash.

Birds fly by on Tower Arch trail.

Hard to capture the grandeur of some of the landscape. This is near Dark Angel.

One of my favorite trails in the park is through Devil's Garden. It's nice to do the whole loop including the primitive trail, but the main trail goes right on top of a fin and it's amazing. The jumble makes it hard to tell how high you are, that's a bird flying by on the left. — One of my favorite trails in the park is through Devil’s Garden. It’s nice to do the whole loop including the primitive trail, but the main trail goes right on top of a fin and it’s amazing. The jumble makes it hard to tell how high you are, that’s a bird flying by on the left.

Walking across the fin in Devil's Garden. — Walking across the fin in Devil’s Garden.

Oh the sunsets. Without clouds they are subtle things, filling valleys and the horizon with soft purples and oranges. — Oh the sunsets. Without clouds they are subtle things; filling valleys and the horizon with soft purples and oranges.

I did spend one evening late in the park, laying out on the rock as the sun’s glow vanished behind the rocky towers and the stars sneaked into view. No matter how I stared they showed up where I wasn’t looking, slowly filling in the entire sky. The milky way swum into view as the sound of a constant stream of cars leaving the park slowed to a trickle. I lay on the slowly cooling rock, cocooned in a warm hat and armor for an hour or so. It’s a beautiful part of the world.

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