Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Monday, October 23, 2017

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK ---9/12/17

DELICATE ARCH  
Hello Friends,  Here is another post from our wonderful 16 day trip to Utah and Arizona  (September 6-21, 2017).      We visited the ARCHES National Park on 9/12/17...   Because of the crowds,  we almost skipped this park since we had been there in 2011 --but decided to go REALLY REALLY early in the morning and try to 'beat' the huge crowds...  SO--that is what we did...  We got up that morning in Moab, Utah,  about 5 a.m.  ,  had breakfast and then headed to the Arches.    We saw everything we intended to see and were out of the park by noon...   That worked well for us!!!!!

We had a gorgeous morning to do some hiking at Arches so I hope you enjoy our photos today... We love seeing arches ---so IF you enjoy that,  you are in the CORRECT park!!!!!  But there are plenty of other things to see there.  I guess that is why the ARCHES are so popular...


Early Morning Sun hitting the rock cliffs --on the road to the ARCHES



How many times have you seen a "DOUBLE" ARCH????   Here's one for you --and  we were thrilled to see it  up close and personal.



The THREE GOSSIPS   (wonder what they are saying????? ha)



PARADE of the ELEPHANTS   (maybe that is what the 'gossips' are talking about!!!)



Another nice hike that morning was to the NORTH and SOUTH WINDOWS 



We could hike close to the NORTH WINDOW.



We hiked to the back of the SOUTH WINDOW---but couldn't get as close as we did to the North Window.



After seeing the North and South Windows,   we hiked to another nearby arch,  TURRET ARCH.



One of the most popular rock formations at the Arches is BALANCED ROCK... They had the area closed around Balanced Rock while they were working on it when we were there --so we had to see if from several different areas..



Here's a close-up of BALANCED ROCK --which we managed to get, using  the zoom lens on our Canons.



You could probably give this one several names ---but its  official name is HAM ROCK... (I see a big ham,  don't you?)



The FIERY FURNACE area at Arches;  We have never hiked here --but 'seasoned' and much-younger-than us  hikers love this area!!!



This formation is named  SHEEP ROCK  (but some of my Facebook Friends said it looked more like a Dog).



Look-y here!!!!!   Betsy found an arch just for HER....  Neat, huh?



Our last ARCH of the day is  SKYLINE ARCH.  Even though there were a few people around on that morning,   we were so glad that we did go there --and see what we wanted to see before it got hot and before the HUGE crowds arrived.

I hope you enjoyed our pictures today from the ARCHES NATIONAL PARK in Utah...  Even though we don't like being with crowds,    I would still recommend this National Park to YOU...   We had a great time there.

Have a wonderful week...  We are hoping for some cold weather here (it's been very warm) ---so that the leaves will change to some gorgeous colors --before they just turn brown and fall on the ground (which is what they are doing now)... So far,  it has not been a good Fall season for us..  This makes that trip to North Carolina we took recently even more special,  since (if you saw last week's post) you know how pretty some of the trees were while we were there. 


Hugs to all,

 

35 comments:

Ann said...

What a fascinating place. I can see why they call that one sheep rock.

Linda G. said...

Bob and Imdo not like crowds either. You did well getting there so early in the morning. Did they have signs leading you to the various rock formations?

A Colorful World said...

We missed so much of Arches because we could only drive through..but it was late in the day with a threatening storm which gave us some interesting views! After our drive through, we stayed at Arches Campground that night in a tiny cabin and then continued on. This was three years ago, taking our grandson to Utah and Colorado before returning to AZ. Loved your wonderful photos! Wish we could have seen more.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, Betsy, going to the park early in the morning was a great idea. Hubby and I try to avoid the crowds too. I have some photos of these same arches from our visit to this parks years ago. It is great seeing the arches and park through your eyes and photos. Beautiful photos, a great collection.

Happy Monday, enjoy your new week ahead!

Liene said...

Beautiful! I had scheduled a Fiery Furnace tour when I visited Arches, and found it fascinating, as well as a good option to get away from the crowds. I also loved the double arches, and by hiking to the delicate arch overlook I could make the people 'disappear' in my photos (as they were really, really small!) using a little bit of editing. Love your photo of skyline arch!

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed going through your blog. Amazing shots. I too love to visit places and get photos of them.

Silver in AZ said...

Great photos, and kudos to you for not only doing all that hiking, but getting up and out so danged early in the morning to do it!

George said...

You did a beautiful job of summarizing our visit to Arches National Park. It really is a beautiful area, and your photos are gorgeous.

Marcia said...

Thanks for these lovely photos. I have never been to that park. We did get to Zion one summer when the 4 of us went cross country camping in the 90s. It was extremely warm there but we did get up early to hike the Virgin River, and as you did beat the crowds and tour buses.

Chatty Crone said...

I have never seen any rock formations like that - I could even see the 'elephants' there!

Fun60 said...

'The early bird catches the worm' as the saying goes. Good for you making the most of the park before the crowds arrived. The colours and formations are stunning. You can see where the names came from.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

We love Arches, too; and your pictures from this trip are wonderful. Did you hike all the way out to the base of Delicate Arch? We've never done that, but we've hiked to the viewing point. Even that shorter hike is tough in the hot weather. Did you visit Sand Dune Arch? It's the best place to cool off on a hot day.

David said...

Betsy, Thanks for the great photos of Arches National Park. We have it on our list of parks to visit and, like you and George we will have to go early as we do not like crowds. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Betsy said...

Betsy these photos are fabulous. Arches is one of the few National Parks in the west that I haven't been too. I'm not sure if it's Arches or Zion where there is a hike to "Angels Landing". It looks absolutely terrifying to me but the views are stunning. We've seen videos of braver, (and younger) people who have made the hike. Oh my! Thank you for sharing these gorgeous photos. Our dream is to start full time RVing in just a few years when Dennis retires. Then I'll see all of these amazing places I've missed for myself. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy your pictures.
Blessings,
Betsy

Buttercup said...

Definitely need to put Arches on my to-visit list. We've had almost no color here. It's just too warm.

Ginny Hartzler said...

My favorites are the North window and Ham rock. I just love the way the sun is shining on the rocks! Only in the MORNING, so you chose the best time!

Arkansas Patti said...

Interesting how the shapes of the rocks really did look like their names. However, I too see more of a dog that a sheep.
Some cracked me up like the gossips and the elephants. Looks like you got lots of hiking in also.

Ruth Hiebert said...

WOW! Not only did you beat the crowds at that park, but the early morning light is so pleasing in photos. These are all spectacular shots.

Lowcarb team member said...

Oh Betsy, I am just so pleased you got up early and were able to see these wonderful sights and share your photographs.
Simply breath-taking.

All the best Jan

The Furry Gnome said...

Fabulous place to visit. Wonderful pictures!

Happytrails said...

I always wondered why the balanced remains in tact, as it seems it should slip off. Betsy, thanks for sharing such beautiful pictures of your trip to Arches. You and George sure were early risers to get there and back out by noon.

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

What a wonderful trip Betsy and you captured fabulous photographs that will be great memories when u decide to be older1 You both look great.

BeachGypsy said...

Hi there Betsy, so glad you stopped in. Thanks so much for your compliments on my outfit and all your sweet comments you leave. Looking forward to a new post from you here soon I hope! I loved the last one!

Linda P said...

Getting up early sounds like a good way to avoid the crowds and heat that you would experience later in the day. The rock formations are amazing and their colours look wonderful against the clear blue sky. I'm sure the trip away for that length of time helped you relax. All the best to you and George.

LV said...

You make us all feel as tho we were right along with you on your presentations. As always, well done.

Pam said...

Love all those great rock formations, Betsy! I wonder also what the Three Gossips are saying! It definitely looks like gossiping to me. :-) Thanks for sharing, the photos are all perfect! Take care

Barb said...

I love arches, but the last time we visited (in late ,Nov!), we tried riding our bikes through and THAT was a mistake! We thought we would be killed by tour buses. Love all the pics. Fantastic!

Betsy said...

My favorite is the arch you found. It is pretty neat out of all of those huge stone arches that you found a piece of what looks like drift almost among them all. What a beautiful place.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Look at all that fun! It's so beautiful there. We always like to get up super early out west too. Beat the crowds and the heat. So we just try to stay on eastern time. It works out pretty well!

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Hi Betsy, I really enjoyed your photos of the arches. They are really amazing. It's hard to choose a favorite this time.
Thanks for your nice comment, I'm glad you enjoyed my post. Sometimes I think why do I blog as my life is just so ordinary, but it's kind of a journal for me. I put up a new post yesterday if you want to check it out. Have a nice day! We're really chilly here today.
Hugs, Cheryl

Beatriz said...

Hi Betsy
Simply amazing! I love places like that, and you're very lucky to have this landscape near you!
Many hugs

Bia
www.biaviagemambiental.blogspot.com

Linda said...

Great shots! You really captured the features that gave them their names.

diane b said...

What an amazing park. Great idea to go early and miss the crowds. The photos are super. You are lucky to be able to experience the arches up close. I will have to be happy with your photos.

Kim said...

These are amazing rocks! I didn’t know if they would let people get near them because of vandalism. That may have been another area I saw on tv. I enjoyed your trip!

Pat Tillett said...

Really nice photos Betsy! So much to look at. You outsmarted the crowds, that's for sure. Maybe we need to do another Utah trip this year.