We're off again!

This next expedition is through the wilds of the American Southwest. The linchpin was our two week rafting trip through the entire length of the Grand Canyon (reserved 2 years ago!). So, since we were driving so far, we padded that with over 2 weeks of exploring Utah, California and Arizona before, and planning nearly 2 more weeks after coming off the river (before we head back to Nashville in time for a concert that we have tickets for!).

As we drove through Colorado, we happened to spend the night near Red Rocks, and so hiked around it before heading off to Utah.

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The colors and angles were awesome.

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We had never been to the amphitheater -

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but we really want to go now!

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This picture is from the road below Red Rocks Amphitheater, showing the gorgeous natural setting -

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What a great start to our trip!

Next stop was Moab, UT, where we stayed for 4 glorious days exploring Arches National Park, as well as Canyonlands National Park. Because we were staying essentially just outside of Arches, we could hop in and out of it, especially to capture the “golden” light of morning and evening.

(you’ll see Balanced Rock again, later)

(you’ll see Balanced Rock again, later)

That first day, we hiked over 7 miles to see 7 different arches, that you can’t see from the road. Tunnel Arch was the first:

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Pine Tree Arch was named for the pine tree that used to be in the middle of it:

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Landscape Arch is the largest in the western hemisphere with a 290 ft span.

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This is one of only a few arches that people can’t walk under or around, because a huge slab of rock fell from that narrow point about 25 years ago, and the trail under it was closed.

a zoom lens comes in handy sometimes!

a zoom lens comes in handy sometimes!

As we traveled through this park (and others), I kept being torn between frustration at all the people around things I wanted to get pictures of, and satisfaction to have them there for scale.

My favorite arch on this hike was Navajo Arch because it was so different with having a cul-de-sac behind it.

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The greenery around it and its dark coloration made it quite photogenic.

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Partition Arch is easy to see how it got its name:

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…as does Double O Arch -

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The striations of color kept grabbing my attention (and lens):

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And that was just our first morning!

Here’s the big picture that I’ll pursue further in future posts.

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