0 PHOTOGRAPH PARTICULARS 0

Delicate Arch under cloudy skies.

We returned to Moab after our Jeep travel off the Island in the Sky plateau, down the Shafer Trail and along the White Rim Road. After a short rest and a big meal, we headed for Arches National Park to take the Delicate Arch hike.

From the time we reached the Delicate Arch trailhead, until we reached Delicate Arch itself, the weather changed dramatically for the worse. High gusting winds made walking around the arch area a real chore. At the end of our visit I climbed up a short section of slickrock to take a photo looking through a small arch at Delicate Arch. I literally could not get near the middle of the small arch the wind was blowing so hard, so I hunkered down and shot a few photos, hiding from the wind at the edge of the small arch.

When Ed and I got back down to his Jeep at the trailhead, both of us were coughing from swallowing so much wind blown Utah desert sand. With all of that said, we both enjoyed seeing the icon arch up close. I had photographed the arch from across the canyon back in the 1970s but had never hiked to Delicate Arch itself.

We did get a reward for our perseverance however. After driving to the Windows section of Arches NP, the sun started to set, and we got some really good “golden light” photos, just as we left the park and it started getting dark. A good day all together starting with Mesa Arch in the morning and ending with Delicate Arch in the evening.


0 ACTIVITIES DAY THREE OF TWELVE 0

We had rooms reserved at the Moab, Utah Motel 6 for Tuesday and Wednesday night. This would serve as our “base camp” for visits to the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands and to Arches National Park.

Taking only camera gear and day hiking packs, we left Moab just before dawn on Wednesday morning for our visit to the Island in the Sky area. We stopped on the way into Canyonlands to photograph the sunrise and to look over and photograph the Shafer trail from the rim.

In the 1980s, I had ridden a dual sport motorcycle (Honda XL500) along the White Rim road and up the Shafer trail. I was hoping that the road might be in good enough shape to travel it on this trip with Ed’s Jeep.

After stopping at the Shafer trail overlook we made our way to the Mesa Arch TH parking. We were pleased to find nobody else there. We would not see one other person on the hike in or out nor doing our stay photographing Mesa Arch. A pleasant surprise.

After Mesa Arch we drove to Grandview Point and took a few photos there. Then backtracking we took the side road to the Upheaval Dome trail. It was the first of several geological formations that geologists have yet to agree on as to what formed it. It appears as a giant crater with a light colored “sharp” dome, rising out of its center. I tried some side by side shots there so I could stitch a panoramic photo together later.

We stopped at the Canyonlands visitor’s center on the way back and found that a free “permit” was required these days to drive the Shafer Trail and the White Rim road, so we obtained our pass and headed down the fun, interesting, and exciting route off the Island in the Sky plateau, down the old Shafer cattle trail to the White Rim road, which then runs along an esplanade above the Colorado and Green Rivers.

Traveling down the Shafer and along the White Rim roads in the Jeep, with windows rolled down, was a real treat. There are some rough spots on the White Rim road so it took us awhile to work our way back to Moab (for a mid-day meal).

That afternoon, we drove into Arches National Park headed for the trail to Delicate Arch. The weather came apart on us by this time and the gusting winds were absolutely fierce. Ignoring the blasting winds as best we could we made our way to Delicate Arch. The bad weather kept the number of people down, but the lighting wasn’t the best - - and staying upright in the high gusts of wind took some work in places. Still, we had come to see Delicate Arch, up close, and the hike there was well worth the time.

Leaving the Delicate Arch trail, the wind dropped down a little as light faded over Arches NP. We drove to the Windows Section of Arches and then out of the park as the sun began to set. Somewhere near the Petrified Dunes viewpoint area of the park, Ed sensed excellent sunset light in the offing, and we parked the Jeep off the side of the road, and climbed a small ridge for some photographs.

Ed’s intuition was perfect. Though the winds got cold, we got some of the best light of the entire day for photography, with warm red sandstones in dusk light and the snow covered La Sal Mountains in the distance (Mt. Peale at 12,720’ is the highest peak in these high desert mountains).

A bright moon peeked through the cobalt blue evening skies and storm clouds traveled quickly across the sky. So that is how the third full day of our Four Corners road trip ended; photographing the golden sunset light inside Arches National Park. Fun.

0 3,87

0 PHOTOGRAPH PARTICULARS 0

We returned to Moab after our Jeep travel off the Island in the Sky plateau, down the Shafer Trail and along the White Rim Road. After a short rest and a big meal, we headed for Arches National Park to take the Delicate Arch hike.

From the time we reached the Delicate Arch trailhead, until we reached Delicate Arch itself, the weather changed dramatically for the worse. High gusting winds made walking around the arch area a real chore. At the end of our visit I climbed up a short section of slickrock to take a photo looking through a small arch at Delicate Arch. I literally could not get near the middle of the small arch the wind was blowing so hard, so I hunkered down and shot a few photos, hiding from the wind at the edge of the small arch.

When Ed and I got back down to his Jeep at the trailhead, both of us were coughing from swallowing so much wind blown Utah desert sand. With all of that said, we both enjoyed seeing the icon arch up close. I had photographed the arch from across the canyon back in the 1970s but had never hiked to Delicate Arch itself.

We did get a reward for our perseverance however. After driving to the Windows section of Arches NP, the sun started to set, and we got some really good “golden light” photos, just as we left the park and it started getting dark. A good day all together starting with Mesa Arch in the morning and ending with Delicate Arch in the evening.


0 ACTIVITIES DAY THREE OF TWELVE 0

We had rooms reserved at the Moab, Utah Motel 6 for Tuesday and Wednesday night. This would serve as our “base camp” for visits to the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands and to Arches National Park.

Taking only camera gear and day hiking packs, we left Moab just before dawn on Wednesday morning for our visit to the Island in the Sky area. We stopped on the way into Canyonlands to photograph the sunrise and to look over and photograph the Shafer trail from the rim.

In the 1980s, I had ridden a dual sport motorcycle (Honda XL500) along the White Rim road and up the Shafer trail. I was hoping that the road might be in good enough shape to travel it on this trip with Ed’s Jeep.

After stopping at the Shafer trail overlook we made our way to the Mesa Arch TH parking. We were pleased to find nobody else there. We would not see one other person on the hike in or out nor doing our stay photographing Mesa Arch. A pleasant surprise.

After Mesa Arch we drove to Grandview Point and took a few photos there. Then backtracking we took the side road to the Upheaval Dome trail. It was the first of several geological formations that geologists have yet to agree on as to what formed it. It appears as a giant crater with a light colored “sharp” dome, rising out of its center. I tried some side by side shots there so I could stitch a panoramic photo together later.

We stopped at the Canyonlands visitor’s center on the way back and found that a free “permit” was required these days to drive the Shafer Trail and the White Rim road, so we obtained our pass and headed down the fun, interesting, and exciting route off the Island in the Sky plateau, down the old Shafer cattle trail to the White Rim road, which then runs along an esplanade above the Colorado and Green Rivers.

Traveling down the Shafer and along the White Rim roads in the Jeep, with windows rolled down, was a real treat. There are some rough spots on the White Rim road so it took us awhile to work our way back to Moab (for a mid-day meal).

That afternoon, we drove into Arches National Park headed for the trail to Delicate Arch. The weather came apart on us by this time and the gusting winds were absolutely fierce. Ignoring the blasting winds as best we could we made our way to Delicate Arch. The bad weather kept the number of people down, but the lighting wasn’t the best - - and staying upright in the high gusts of wind took some work in places. Still, we had come to see Delicate Arch, up close, and the hike there was well worth the time.

Leaving the Delicate Arch trail, the wind dropped down a little as light faded over Arches NP. We drove to the Windows Section of Arches and then out of the park as the sun began to set. Somewhere near the Petrified Dunes viewpoint area of the park, Ed sensed excellent sunset light in the offing, and we parked the Jeep off the side of the road, and climbed a small ridge for some photographs.

Ed’s intuition was perfect. Though the winds got cold, we got some of the best light of the entire day for photography, with warm red sandstones in dusk light and the snow covered La Sal Mountains in the distance (Mt. Peale at 12,720’ is the highest peak in these high desert mountains).

A bright moon peeked through the cobalt blue evening skies and storm clouds traveled quickly across the sky. So that is how the third full day of our Four Corners road trip ended; photographing the golden sunset light inside Arches National Park. Fun.

0 3,875 MILE/12 DAY ~ 4 CORNERS ROAD TRIP