The development of an arch

 We have seen so many arches! Here is a snapshot of how we have experienced them.

A 'recent' arch forming at the base of a sheer cliff face.

A small opening peeping through this sandstone monolith

The arch starts to erode, opening up more and interesting shapes emerge.

Eventually a monumental arch has been formed and the next phase will be the collapsing of the arch.
I an fascinated by this arch which is called Broken Arch - can you also seeing the two dinosaurs touching noses!

And perhaps this would have been an arch! Sheer walls of the canyon along the Park Avenue Trail

We are not the first at Delicate Arch

 

A geologist pointed out these Jurassic era dinosaur footprints along the trail!

American Indians have been here for thousands of years. Petroglyph panel on the trail to Delicate Arch

The weathered log cabin 'Wolfe Ranch' settled in the late 1800's. A peep into the past when explorers came looking for minerals and ranchers found grasses for cattle and sheep

The many attitudes of Delicate Arch

 

Fred clambering up the slippery sandstone to get an unusual angle to Delicate Arch.

The classic angle.

Delicate Arch from a window in the rock along the trail, another climbing moment from Fred and patiently waiting for a people free moment.

The Kersten's at Delicate Arch

A magical moment, taking in the magnificence of Delicate Arch.

In planning our stay in Moab, I figured we would use the 4 night stay to to do a whole lot of different outings. Once we spent our first day in Arches, it was not even a debate, we would spend all our time in this one park. We have travelled extensively all over the world and into many natural wonders and hands down Arches has completely captured our souls. 

Our return to Delicate Arch was along a fabulous trail, rated as difficult because of the 5 kms with a steep 150m elevation gain and the exposure to heights. 

We relished being on the trail. 

There is no sign of the Arch until you round the exposed cliff path and then there it is. 

Delicate Arch floats high above the valley on the brink of a canyon, with the dramatic snow-capped Le Sal Mountains as a backdrop. 

Fred at the Arch in what we called the TikTok generation pose.
It's what most of the youngsters do, whizz down, take a photo and leave.

Bird of Arches National Park: Common Raven

The sound of Arches is the croaking of these huge ravens

From crows in Seattle to ravens in Arches, the family Corvidae certainly making their presence felt on our trip.

Mighty geology of Arches National Park: Sandstone is the scenery maker.

Arches is dominated by exposed bedrock, featuring cliffs, spires, canyon walls, hoodoos, rock domes, plus the famous windows and arches, all made of bare rock. These erosional phenomena are all carved from the sedimentary rock layers with sandstone being the major rock type. Its beautiful shades of reds to oranges, interspersed with cappuccino white, give the park its special palette.

I am fascinated that sandstone is strong enough to form cliffs and domes and yet able to support spans to create magnificent arches like Landscape Arch, the longest arch in North America - almost 100 meters! At its narrow point it is just under 2 meters in diameter. 

A huge chunk fell off the arch in the 1990's and it feels like it is hanging on by a thread. 

The spectacular Landscape Arch

Each angle is quite outstanding.

The approach from the Devil Garden Trailhead is quite surreal.

The walk is an easy 3km, but the temperature was barely 1 degree and with the windchill we were cold. 
This first view is a just a taste of how incredible the views are along the approach.

Arches National Park: Mule Deer

Our first sightings of Mule Deer which is indigenous to western North America. In the northern section of Arches National Park we were coming back from Landscape Arch and found these deer in the grasslands near Tunnel Arch.

Mule Deer buck on the trail around Tunnel Arch.
These deer have white rump patch and a small white tail with a black tip. 

Keeping a keen lookout to see what the buck was up to. The gentle looking does with their 'mule-like' ears

Arches National Park: Double Arch

With more than 2000 arches this park is a geological marvel. National Parks in America are so well designed and here in Arches each destination is a mindfully curated experience. Being here in winter is a joy too as the park is not busy at all. 

Our visit to the Windows Section of the park was a revelation starting with the spectacular Double Arch. There is no hint of what you are going to see at the start of the short hard-packed trail and then the blue sky starts to peep out as does these two stone arches.

Approaching Double Arch, its scale is spectacular.

Double Arch is a pothole arch, they were formed from a small depression on the top of the rock mass merging with an alcove on the rock face. I do not always understand these geological forces but they are they quite awe inspiring.

Fred sitting high up in Double Arch. 
a rather precarious adventure with the slippery rock and the fall off behind him!

The Double Arch in all its grandness.

The Windows Section of Arches National Park

 

Arches National Park, Utah: and our first viewing of the iconic Delicate Arch.

Delicate Arch from the Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint, a short sharp trail to view the Arch from across a ravine.

Our first day exploring the Arches National Park on a clear, big blue-sky day. 

Our road trip to Moab, which lies just south of the park, brings us to this time and this place-both Fred and I have always spoken about coming back to Utah and taking in the magnificence of Arches. Fred already has hundreds of photos but it's perfect to start with Delicate Arch. It is synonymous with Utah, from stamps to vehicle license plates and everything else imaginable. 

And it is completely magnificent. 

Delicate Arch in context from the viewpoint.

A quiet meditative moment, completely at peace and marvelling at the beauty of Delicate Arch.
The special aura of time, silence and scale.

PS: Thank you Adrienne for this Tennyson quote, it resonates on all levels

On the road: good morning Utah

 

The beauty of Utah

Our road trip from Denver to Moab in Utah is underway. 

Some adjustment needed to winter road tripping, it's very cold. We would normally be out and about very early, walking shoes on and finding a trail, but minus 5 is just too harsh. So a more relaxed start is needed and warm coffee shops are a pleasure.

Bucket List: Seattle Kraken Ice Hockey game at the Climate Pledge Arena

Bucket list: our first Ice Hockey game!

Walking into the Climate Pledge Arena in Downtown Seattle and seeing the hockey rink was such a thrill. 

The arena throbbed with noise and the excited fans were dressed up and ready to party. We had a birds eye view of the game and it is a true skill. The speed and agility of the players as they finesse the puck with their hockey sticks is so impressive. American live sport is certainly unique and entertaining. 

I am a fan and was shouting 'go go Kraken' right from the first shot.
 

Remarkable! Noise, music, lights, extraordinary fans, speed and skill is quite breathtaking.
Go Seattle Kraken, a 3: 2 win over the NY Islanders.
Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, 

Bird Connect Seattle

 

A Song Sparrow, a morning outing with Bird Connect Seattle.

We joined our second bird outing with Bird Connect Seattle this morning. Conditions were not ideal between the noise of the highway construction underway and a typical wet Seattle morning. We did however manage to id another new bird for my list, the Spotted Towhee, I also got more insight with the difference between the two Kinglets and Fred got this nice photo of a Song Sparrow.

Seen on our walk along Portage Bay, Seattle
It is a fine way to describe Seattle.

Big and small circles, a Monkey Puzzle hunt

Being away from home for long blocks of time requires a slightly different way of travel. And I think about my days as 'big circle' or 'small circle'. 

Big is where we boldly venture out, explore and take in the place we find ourself. Small is needed to regroup, gather myself together, do some laundry, some admin, blog, sort photos, cook, read, knit, research, spend time with the family... The small circle days we find ourselves walking around the neighbourhood, looking at the different styles of homes here in suburban Seattle, having a coffee, provisioning for a meal and these last fews days I have been on a hunt for the Monkey Puzzle.

Taha Ebrahimi's illustrated walking guide to street trees in Seattle got me going on my small circle day today. The rather amusing part is that the Monkey Puzzle tree mentioned in the book is a rather poor specimen and I then noticed them much closer to home, in fact over the road!

Now to fetch the little ones, take Kirstie to swimming and James to his soccer social, dinner, reading and then bedtime. 
 

Araucaria Araucana, an evergreen conifer from Chile with an interesting story and a rather bizarre look.
The sharp triangular leaves that shape the upturned spiny branches are fascinating as are the upright cones. The tree also has a perfectly rounded crown.

Extract from Street Trees of Seattle by Taha Ebrahimi. 

And Bryant is our neighbourhood, hence the search for a monkey puzzle.