The motel I was staying in had one of those racks in the lobby with fliers for all manner of events and activities, including a couple of fliers for companies that were offering tours to Arches National Park. I settled on the Canyonlands Field Institute, a local non-profit that teaches students to “…understand, respect and appreciate science and the natural world,” according to their website. I liked the idea of supporting a good cause, and it didn’t hurt that their rates were cheaper or that they were offering an evening tour, so I’d have a chance to see the park as sunset approached.
We were a small band, just Alex the tour guide, Linda and Joaline, a couple of entertaining, retired women from Columbus, Ohio, and me. Alex, who’d been at Arches for less than a month, had learned a lot about the geology of Arches in a short time and did a bang-up job of explaining it. We spent a reasonable amount of time at each stop, and I’d have loved to be able to spend more time still, but as it was we didn’t get to Delicate Arch until shortly after sunset and had to hike back down to the parking lot in quickly waning light.
Now I’ll let the arches and other rock formations speak for themselves.
Three Gossips is on the left. For a sense of perspective, note the car in the lower right corner.
Balanced Rock
Parade of Elephants
Formations to the south of Parade of Elephants. Or is that another elephant just to the left of center?
Rock formation near Balanced Rock
Rock formation near Balanced Rock
Rock formation near Balanced Rock
Rock formation near Balanced Rock
North Window
North and South Windows
Double Arch
Delicate Arch shortly after sunset
Closeup of Delicate Arch shortly after sunset
Back to Acclimating to the altitude in Telluride
Back to Mountain biking (and walking) from Telluride to Moab