Arches National Park
Full moon at Delicate Arch
La Sal Mountains in the distance.
This is our target: Delicate Arch, the signature feature of Arches National
Park and probably the whole state of Utah, since it adorns their license plates.
A handy trail sign. The side view of the arch was taken from
the Upper Viewpoint, on the other side of a 200 foot canyon.
The hike to Delicate Arch mostly takes you over sandstone slickrock.
The pinnacles seen on the horizon in the left image are the rock
formations of Delicate Arch, but seen from the edge, so the
arch isn't visible. You don't see it until the very last minute.
From here, the arch is literally right around the corner.
Once you round the corner, you are greeted with this sight.
Jessica, Marc and I weren't the only ones who hiked a mile and a half uphill over slickrock
with tripods. This is a popular place at sunset, even more so for one with a full moon.
Although the scene was quite nice, it wasn't quite what I wanted. I was hoping to see the moon
through the arch. Apparently I need to do some more homework about the rising moon.
Jessica got this shot of me (left). Please note that I am NOT aiming at the arch behind
me. Instead, I was doing a long time exposure of the cars on the park drive (right).
Of course, hiking out to an arch at sunset and waiting for the moon to come up means that your
hike back to the car is in the dark. Jessica and Marc model the latest in illuminating headgear.
Marc's mother thought we were nuts, but the photos we brought back were worth the effort
These eerie shots were taken with my little Nikon Coolpix digital, then run
through Photoshop to pull out whatever miniscule detail there might be.
Next...off to Dead Horse Point