Our second day at Arches also had a 6am entry time. This time we arrived closer to 6 am. While the sun was up, it was low on the horizon. We got some interesting lighting effects while traveling to Devil’s Garden at the far end of the park.
The sunshine and darkness contrast on these hoodoos increases the mystery of their shape.
Backlighting on an arch gives it a whole new perspective.
This landscape photo gives a sense of sunrise to the shot.
The low shadows and blue sky makes the boulders stand out in the next two photos..
Our first hike for today was part of the Devil’s Garden Trail. For the portion that we hiked, the Landscape Arch was the most impressive view.
We might have seen more arches on the trail until we reached this climb. It was here that we discovered the hard rating for the trail was not its length of 7.5 miles, but rather the challenging rock scrambles that you have to clear.
On our return hike to the start of the trail, we discovered this interesting rock formation that resembles an ocean liner.
There were two smaller arches found on side hikes from the main trail. The first one is called Tunnel Arch.
On our way to the second arch on a side trail we found this very large tiki totem rock.
Then there was the submarine rising from the depths.
Much of the Devil/s Garden is structures called fins. They are large blocks of sandstone that are close to or touching each other. This photo shows a few fins lined up.
The second arch on a side trail is called Pine Arch. It provides a view out to far distant mountains.
Here is a photo of some larger fins.
You can use the fins as an interesting frame for a photograph
Our next hike after Devil’s Garden was a short hike to Skyline Arch. The sign at the beginning of the trail says most arches grow slowly over time. This one grew quickly in 1940. One day that year a large boulder fell out and doubled the size of the opening.
My mom, Joan, visited Arches National Park on a western trip with her father in 1940. We now wonder which version of this arch she might have seen.
This is the rubble from the boulder that fell out of the arch.
Our next hike was a two mile hike that included two arches. On the way to the first arch, we saw these two beautiful desert flowers. These are both very close pictures because the flowers were less than two inches across.
The first arch on this hike is named Broken Arch. Apparently the name comes from the large crack near the top.
This is a view of Broken Arch from the other side. It looks totally different.
We decided to do a selfie at Broken Arch.
Sand Arch, the second arch on this trail, is very isolated. You must enter by a very narrow passage to gain entry to a hidden sand dune. Marlene took the easy route through the narrow passage. Steve preferred climbing over the rock on the left side of the passage. Maybe we should have said “Open Sesame.”
On the other side of the narrow passage, cliffs define a slightly wider sand dune you need to climb.
For your efforts you are rewarded with an arch that is hidden in a cove. The whole experience is unique.
The entire Sand Dune Arch is hidden in the narrow openings between some giant sandstone fins (the opening is just to the right of the center pillar seen here.)
Our second day at Arches was a great day, in spite of the soaring temperature. The secret passage to Sand Dune Arch was the perfect ending for the day.