Last night I drove up to the parking lot of the Landscape Arch trail-head, put on episode 3 of Twin Peaks on the laptop ( I never watched it when it aired) mellowed out and then went to sleep. Six AM I was up and hoofing my ass into the small canyon about 3 minutes behind two other photographers that had pulled up and took off into the trail.
Upon arriving at the end of the trail where the Landscape Arch stands I met two young ladies from Cleveland and another from L.A. Soon joining us were four gents who were all traveling together as part of a photography group/road trip.
As the sun rose behind us we all anxiously awaited the coveted morning light. Hoping that the present clouds wouldn’t ruin our fun. We had to be patient at times, for breaks in the cloud but when they parted it was amazing. I believe we all got some amazing shots, strictly based on the audio responses I was hearing from everyone.
After that I wandered around the park again. Had seen most of the easy-medium accessible arches I began checking out some of the viewpoints. Taking shots of the Delicate Arch from the other side etc. I spent a lot of time today waiting for some light, sometimes it came sometimes it didn’t. At the end of the day I decided to wander through what is known as Park Avenue, a canyon with tall narrow “fins” from beginning to end. I got a few good shots before the clouds came rolling in. Because this trail basically cuts through the road that goes around it I decided to do the trail and walk back along the road. As I came out of the trail the dark thick clouds let loose and as I walked along the road back to my truck I got drenched. Pelted with wind driven rain drops that at times were none too warm. The odd thing was…it was just what I needed. I decline a ride back to my truck from a couple good Samaritans and enjoyed my rainy walk.
Once back in the truck I made my way back to the restrooms at the visitors center where I got changed into some dry clothes and washed up a bit. Now back in Moab for a sandwich and some Wi-Fi to check me email and do this post. Next I’m going to check the forecast to see if an early morning at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park may be in order.
If the weather doesn’t look good it’s an editing day in the Moab library but the sky is currently pretty clear so.
An amazing day again, all is well.
W
