It rained all last night and most of this morning. There were a few breaks of sun here and there. After lunch we decided to head into Arches National Park and just do some autohiking. Gay and Joe went looking for waterfalls there the last time it rained, so perhaps we'd be able to see a few of those.
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| Parade of Elephants |
We did see water running down many of the high walls, but no actual waterfalls. No matter, we enjoyed revisiting some of the areas we saw the first week we were here and then continued further into the park.
It was sunny at some spots and threateningly dark in others. Sunny but windy and cold so we limited ourselves to a few walks of under a mile.
At Skyline Arch there were only a couple cars at the trail head so we put on our fleece vests and set out to see it up close.
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| Skyline Arch |
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| all by ourselves |
This arch is interesting because, in l940 a massive boulder broke loose and slid out of the opening, more than doubling the size of the arch. Large, jagged pieces of that boulder remain below the arch, behind a smaller rock fin.
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| We crawl around the remains of the fallen boulder below the arch |
I really enjoyed visiting this arch. It felt very private as we walked around and behind the large rock formation to the base of the arch. The wind blowing through the junipers there made a lovely sound and we were serenaded by a pretty little bird. A Yellow Rumped "Audubon's" Warbler I think.
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| Oh Dave...... |
Lots of greenery and clumps of pretty, gently fragrant flowers dotted the red sand.
We didn't stay too long, however, because the wind was picking up and the sky darkening.
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| will we make it back before the rain catches us? |
We just made it back to the jeep before the sky opened, pelting us with rain and a bit of hail.
We decided to continue on to the end of the park before turning around and we ran through alternating periods of rain and brilliant sun. We stopped to enjoy the views when we could before making our way home. Not a bad day all in all.
Gorgeous. I especially like Parade of Elephants. Perfect way to spend the day.
ReplyDeleteThat really does look like a Parade of Elephants:) Any day is a good day in Arches! I don't think any weather can take from the beauty of the formations. How sweet to have Skyline Arch to yourself:)
ReplyDeleteI can feel the quiet in your Skyline Arch photos, what a treat. The warbler is beautiful. Nice timing to beat the rain to the Jeep, those dark clouds do look ominous over the trail! Of course Dave stopped to smell the flowers :-) That last pic looks like a child's blocks left haphazardly behind after building - so cool!!
ReplyDeleteOne benefit of an impending stormy day is that you get the trails to yourselves! Skyline Arch is beautiful -- I don't recall seeing that in our trips to Arches. And stopping to smell the flowers along the trail is priceless. I always do that, too -- but yesterday I almost got stung on the nose by a bee. Must look first, then sniff!
ReplyDeleteIm so glad you made it to Skyline Arch, cause we skipped it :( That was a good plan to visit Arches Np again, now you have the arch that I have only seen from a distance and a Yellow Rumped warbler too!
ReplyDeleteYou were lucky the hail did not catch you, while we have to abandoned our hike midway due to rain and hail.
Sun, rain and yes, even snow...always a treat to drive thro Arches and explore. And even a bigger treat to have a trail all to yourselves!
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