8/24 - Arches National Park

I picked up from where I left off yesterday and continued my visit to the Arches National Park. The main target for today is the Devils Garden, another area featured with various arches. It sits deep within the Arches NP, and I drove for about 25 minutes from the gate to reach the parking lot for the Devil's Garden. Although it was still early in the morning, a lot of cars were already parked at the lot.

Devils Garden

There is a long trail that leads you all the way through the Devil's Garden. Like everything else in this park, there is a nicely set up for the opening - A small trail leaving the parking area , sandwiched by cliffs on both sides, made me feel excited about seeing what's hidden in this garden.

Getting ready for the adventure into the Devils Garden.

The first arch in this garden I visited was the Tunnel Arch, which obviously gets the name because of its shape. It resembles a tunnel through a mountain, and there is a tunnel-in-work next to it. The second arch I saw, the Pine Arch, gets the name due to the pine tree standing right at the opening. Both of them are nice, but they don't compare in scale with the Landscape Arch, the longest one in the park. It stretches an amazingly 290 feet and stands 78 feet tall from the ground. However, it is so thin that I feared that it will collapse in near future. In fact, a couple of rockfall events have happened in these years, and it is just a matter of time before the great Landscape Arch finally destructs. Here are some photos I took on that day:

The Tunnel Arch and tunnel-in-the-work next to it.

Looking carefully, the second tunnel is almost done!!

The Pine Arch.

The Landscape Arch. There were several rockfalls before, as evident from the debris underneath the arch.

Starting from the Landscape Arch, the trail climbs uphill and that was the point I turned back. Although I knew there are much more to explore in the Devils Garden (in fact, I could see another arch waiving at me atop the hill, when I looked up from the Landscape Arch), I was really not in a good shape for more hiking at the moment. Plus, I didn't have much time today and I had to save some energy to drive all the way to Denver, Colorado later. In addition, it was another hot day, so I decided to call it a day and returned to the car.

The next arch is up there, am I going to make it??

There are many people up there... I should be able to reach there, too.

But this sign made me think twice and moved on to other places....

I drove down the park road to the Fiery Furnace area. It featured a formation of red rocks. I thought it is perhaps not a good idea to walk into a furnace on a already hot day, and felt satisfied with a couple of pictures at the overlook area from the parking lot. I would rather to leave some time for the final two major attractions, the Balanced Rock and the Delicate Arch.

The Fiery Furnace area is basically a maze of red rocks... I would rather keep out during the hottest summer day.

The Balanced Rock

I passed by the balanced rock last night but the weather was not perfect for photos. Luckily it turned sunny today and beautiful photos can be taken. I walked around the Balanced Rock and took several pictures for it. It is indeed an interesting balance, as if someone placed the rock nicely and playfully on the top of a stone column. Another visitor told me that he believed the rock wiggled a bit when he was watching. Well, if it is indeed the case, I would say it is time to run before the the rock falls!

The Balanced Rock, angle #1.

The Balanced Rock, angle #2.

The Balanced Rock, angle #3.... I think it is a perfect assignment for people who are new to 3-D modeling to construct a model of the Balanced Rock with these 3 photos....

At the corner of the trail surrounding the Balanced Rock, there are countless of trail marks (the small stone piles) made by tourists... I certainly don't think I can ever get lost here.

The Delicate Arch

Finally, I headed towards the last (but certainly not the least) point I wanted to cover. The Delicate Arch, which I have already seen for 1000 times on the way here on the Utah car plates, is a very famous site. Due to my reduced energy, I chose not to walk up to the delicate arch, but to observe it from the viewpoints. This arch is truly beyond imagination - It is perhaps more well-constructed than something one can design. It has an elegant look under the heated sunshine from distance, gloring with a golden-reddish hue. With a very different feel, the close-up photo displayed on its sign, taken when it is covered by snow during the winter, is just like something from a fantasy story. I was glad that I decided not to skip this arch because I have seen it on Utah car plates.

A shot from the upper viewpoint. The Delicate Arch is hidden far in the background.

A close-up shot. Isn't it beautiful? (note: There is a guy sitting against the foot of the arch.)

The Delicate Arch with snow... A fantasy-like scenary.

It was a great place to see, and I truly wished I could have stayed longer. But the sun was moving towards the west, and the mileage shown on the map kept knocking on my head. It was time to move on, no doubt about it. I still had 350 miles to make for the rest of the day.