Arches National Park
It was another
cloudless sunrise, so we slept in and relaxed through the morning. In the late afternoon, we ventured out to Arches National Park.
We've been to Arches many times, but we seldom pass up Park Avenue as we drive the park. Today was no exception. We shot the late
afternoon sun on the sandstone ridge that marks the eastern wall of Park Avenue.
We skipped the Windows section this time and and drove to the arches on the road to Devils Garden. We walked in to Sand Dune Arch, but our timing was all wrong. It needs to be shot at midday when the sun can enter the side canyon to light up the scene.
Our next stop was Skyline Arch.
As the name suggests, Skyline Arch was at the top of a fin and was lit by the setting sun.
There were several good foregrounds to include in the images and a couple of good angles. There were several other photographers there enjoying
the scene with us until a group of climbers popped up in the arch. The other photographers were quite vocal
in their disapproval of the climbers ignoring the prohibition about climbing on the arches or other features in the park.
We drove through the
Devils Garden parking lot, which has been expanded dramatically since we were last there. You can now park a 25' motorhome in any of the
parking spaces. As we exited the parking lot, we saw a group of fins that glowed in the sunset light. We pulled over and grabbed our cameras.
We only had about 10 minutes before the sun set, so we had to work fast. We didn't get anything special, but it was worth the stop.
As we finished up, we watched the sun set over the pinyon pines to the west.
It wasn't a great day shooting, but the tranquil sunset was a good way to end the day. Tomorrow, we leave for Vernal and Dinosaur National Monument. We've never been to Vernal, so everything will be new for us.
Previous Day
Return to Trip Page