Blazing Hot Arches at Arches National Park

With more than 2,000 arches within its 76,000 acres, Arches National Park is a huge tourist draw.  And given the accessibility and relatively short hikes about their most iconic arches, I knew I couldn’t pass it up during the daytime hours… and during the night time hours.  Which meant two National Parks during the day, and two National Parks at night. 

Though I had previously visited the park in 2010 and hiked to its most famous arch, the Delicate Arch, there was much more to see.  The park boasts the highest concentration of natural arches …in the world (say dramatically).  What is responsible for such beauty?  That ancient inland sea once again.  It embedded sediment to the rock surrounding the sea floor, making these portions of the rock more resistant to the millions of years of erosion.

Enjoy the fruit of my desert hikes–though short, the heat made them strenuous, sending me to my cabin to hibernate until the sun went down.

Broken Arch

What you cannot see is there was a darling family chilling out under the arch, enjoying the shade from the epic arch. We surprised each other.

Double Arch

Sand Dune Arch

Skyline Arch

Turret Arch

Windows Arches