Flashback Friday - Arches National Park - Part Two!

Welcome back, my little chickadees! My you're all looking cleaned up and happy! I hope you've had a restful week. We are finishing up our tour of Arches National Park in Utah. What's that? Do you have to sit in the same seat as last week? Nah! Live on the edge! Sit with a new partner! Are you ready? Okay!

We'll start off with a photo of another beautiful arch. I love how the blue sky peeks through the hole, don't you?

I would consider these "arches-in-the-making", but maybe they really are arches if they meet the requirement of measuring three feet in any direction.

Feast your eyes on these double arches, and I ain't talking McDonald's here folks! But, you know, I wonder if this is where the idea came from? Huh!

You must click on this photo to enlarge it to truly grasp the size of these monstrosities. They are called "fins". They are tall, thin flat rocks that are pushed together, one right after another. To get an idea of just how large these are, the pink arrow is pointing to a group of CARS at the bottom of the photo.

 

You may recognize this next arch. It is called, "Delicate Arch", but it goes by  other names like "the Chaps" and "the Schoolmarm's Bloomers". It is the arch that is seen on the Utah license plates. There are two different hikes to get to this arch; one is a strenuous 1.5 miles; the other is a shorter, but steep hike (which we took). We ended up across from the arch. Then Jim went on and crossed a bunch of rocks and climbed to the arch. This is him standing under the arch.

This area is called the Fiery Furnace; not because it is hot, but because of how the sun turns the color of the rock a deep red as it hits it. You can take a guided tour through this area with a Ranger for a fee ($10/adults, $5/kids and Golden Age Pass holders). These tours are VERY POPULAR and fill up quickly. You can sign up online. We did not know about these tours until we got to that spot and it was too late to sign up.

Jim walking the path between two fins to Sand Dune Arch.

Your tour guide making her way to the arch. Wait. Who's taking this picture?

Sand Dune Arch and Jim. What a pair!

This is Broken Arch. Can you see the woman standing underneath it? It's not me! I just wanted you to see how HUGE this arch is, looming over her!

This was the scenery to the right of the arch. It was refreshing to see the snow-capped mountains and the evergreens - a nice change from all the red rock.

My last picture to share with you is Angry Tribal Man. That's MY name for this rock. Doesn't it look like a face to you with eyes, a big nose, and mouth? Do you see it?

I hope you've enjoyed your tour of Arches National Park. It is well-worth your admittance fee and I would HIGHLY recommend a visit to the park. Tell them "Pat & Jim" sent you. I'm sure they'll give you a discount! (Yeah, right!)