After a long journey by car from Minnesota to Fallbrook California for our grandson’s wedding, Ramona & I, along with our daughter and son-in-law, chose to make a couple of stops on our way back home. First, we spent a couple of days at Joshua Tree State Park in California, and then on to Arhes National Park in Utah.
At Arches, we spent but a day, but that was plenty for us to take in the spectacular surroundings that we were to experience.
Utah has five national parks. Because of our limited time, we chose to visit only arches national park.
Scenic Drive is the main road that passes through the heart of the park. The main sites run right along this road, or on short access roads. Scenic drive is 19 miles long, beginning and ending at The Devils Garden Trail head. Many of the arches could be seen from our car or by taking short walks.
During high tourist season, an entry permit is required. The two dollar cost was well worth the investment. Although we were not able to capture a time slot earlier than 2 PM, we still had sufficient time to get a sense of the majesty of the area.
I had thought that, but a few arches, were in the park, Delicate Arch being the most famous. In fact it is the most famous in the world. But, we saw only a few of, what I now know, are nearly 2000 arches.
How did these structures form? “In winter, snowmelt pools in fractures and other cavities, then freezes and expands, breaking off chunks of sandstone. Small recesses develop and grow bigger with each storm. Little by little, this process turns fractured rock layers into fins, and fins into arches”. - from the National Park Service.
Glad we stopped to see such a phenomenal display of unusual scenery.