Touring the Wild, Wild West

The Three Wise Men

 

Arches National Park

Leaving the Provo area on the morning of September 22nd , we made it to Moab in mid-afternoon and found a campground on the side of town nearest Arches National Park, plugged our trailer into the amenities (water, electricity, sewer), and headed to the park to take advantage of the wonderful late afternoon light.

Established as a national monument in 1929, and then named a national park in 1972, Arches contains more than 2000 natural arches in its 76,679 acres. The smallest is three feet in diameter (anything smaller is not considered an arch -- I suppose it's just considered a hole), and the largest is the Landscape Arch in the Devil's Garden section, measuring 306 feet from base to base. We didn't manage to see all 2000. Maybe next time.

The first really impressive formation we saw was not an arch, but one I call the "Three Wise Men." Its official name is "The Three Gossips", but I like my name much better.

Moon and South Window Arch

We went on to the Balanced Rock and then to some massive arches nearby, where I photographed the moonrise through an arch. I am angry with myself for not making better notes on this trip, because I don't know for sure which arch this is.

Moonrise at Balanced Rock

Back at Balanced Rock, we made a photo of the rock and the moon. It was too dark to do anything else, so we went back to Moab looking for food. As you might expect from its proximity to a national park, Moab is a tourist town and has the usual assortment of hotels and eating places. Unfortunately, I don't remember where we ate. Louise says we went to a grocery store, bought some food, and took it back to our camper to cook. She's probably right. Never argue with the cook.

(All photos made with the Fuji X-T20, , Fujinon XC 50-230mm f4.8-6.3 OIS lens)

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(Photographs copyright David B. Jenkins 2020)

Soli Gloria Deo

To the glory of God alone