Arches in Winter

Balanced Rock formation, my turn to try to balance the rock.
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Three months ago I visited Arches National Park in autumn, on a day much more like summer than fall.  I described the Park as a place "where time stands still." http://realtravel.com/moab-journals-j6132906.html

Of course, in red rock time, the three months that have elapsed amount to not even a blink of the geologic eye.  My companion on this winter visit was my son Rory, an intrepid traveler who has been around the world.

Red Rock Time

Balanced Rock formation, Rory tries to balance the rock.
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So what has changed in Arches?  Well, for one thing, winter has brought snow, and the north sides of hills and cliffs are still snow-covered.  The final ledge on the approach to Delicate Arch, while plenty wide enough to walk in safety, is icy and slippery.

But I get ahead of myself.  The entrance to Arches National Park is as majestic as ever, the road winding past thousand foot rock formations and cliff faces.  As its name implies, Arches National park is home to many, many sandstone arches, all formed through a combination of natural forces including wind and erosion.  Over 2000 official arches range in size from tiny arches barely wide enough to crawl under, to the grand Landscape Arch measuring 300 feet (100m) wide.  The arches and other rock features - pinnacles, spires, and uniquely balanced rocks - are set high against the unending blue sky, in a hundred shades of red and brown.  Since the Park comprises only 120 square miles, the concentration of natural arches is the highest in the world.

Landscape Arch, the Park's widest with over 300 feet between its bases
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It is easy to reach this fascinating wonderland, and many of the Park's 750000 annual visitors view the wonders from their cars in visits lasting only an hour or two.  Trails to less accessible areas of the park offer the more adventurous visitor an insider's front row seat.

Rory and I walked up the short path to Balanced Rock, one of the more famous examples of the seemingly impossible balancing acts in Arches NP.  Like most of the visitors, we tried to photograph each of us holding the balanced rock high over our heads.  Our next formation was the famous Delicate Arch, seen most commonly on the Utah license plate: http://www.netstate.com/states/links/images/ut_license_plate.jpg

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The approach to Delicate Arch winds through desert scrub land, up a bald rock face, and along a rock ledge for a hundred yards or so.  While not terribly difficult, it can be strenuous.  Yet we saw parents carrying children in child packs or pushing them in strollers.   On this day, the ice made the final approach a bit scary; I hugged the rugged rock wall even though the ledge was a good eight feet wide.  The view of the arch is well worth the climb.  Delicate Arch stands high on the rim of a canyon, with the La Sal mountains off in the distance.