Touring the Wild, Wild West

The Delicate Arch

Fuji X-T20, Fujinon XC 50-230mm f4.8-6.3 OIS lens

Arches National Park and Points West

We were out fairly early and back to the park to see the Delicate Arch. Although maybe not the most spectacular of the park’s 2000 arches, it is unique and beautiful, and almost certainly the one most photographed; to the point that it has become the park’s de facto trademark.  

The hike from the parking lot to the first point from which the arch can be viewed is about a half-mile, all uphill. We decided not to take the time to get closer.

I would love to have made a picture of the arch without people, but I suspect the only way to do that would be to camp overnight at the base of the arch. And even then there would probably be other people with the same idea. So I did what I usually do in such circumstances—I made the best picture I could and moved on. 

The Skyline Arch

Fuji X-T20, Fujinon XC 50-230mm f4.8-6.3 OIS lens

 

In that regard, I should repeat that the primary purpose of our trip was not to make photographs, although I did make hundreds of them, but to see and experience these wonderful national landmarks. Many, many people have made photographs that are better than mine, and of course many have made worse. I just present them as what they are, as mementos of our trip. If you enjoy them, so much the better.

The Sand Dune Arch

Fuji X-Pro1, Fujinon XF 27mm f2.8 lens

One arch that I especially liked was the Sand Dune arch, so called because it is located about 200 yards up a small canyon, the bottom of which is filled with soft, loose sand. It was an interesting walk. And tiring. Think walking in the deepest, loosest sand on a beach and multiply by two. Or at least that's the way it felt.

The Elephant Arch

Fuji X-T20, Fujinon XC 50-230mm f4.8-6.3 OIS lens

 

We drove all the way around the park, but didn't attempt to hike to any other arches. Unfortunately, some of the better ones can only be reached by long hikes. I would especially have liked to see the Landscape Arch, which, at 306 feet base-to-base is probably the most spectacular arch in the park.

I don't know what this formation is called,

but I know what it looks like.

Fuji X-T20, Fujinon XC 50-230mm f4.8-6.3 OIS lens

 

Leaving reluctantly, we drove north to Interstate 70 and headed west, stopping at a restaurant on the east bank of the Green River and enjoying a really good dinner at a table overlooking the river.

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(Photographs copyright David B. Jenkins 2020) 

Soli Gloria Deo

To the glory of God alone