Arches National Park

I think one of the reasons it’s taken me so long to finalize work on this set is that I care about the look of these edits so much. I took a lot of great pictures on our summer vacation, but Arches to me was the most beautiful place we visited, and the most aligned to my tastes. We were only there for a short amount of time compared to the other big spots we hit, but man did it make an impression on me. It’s number one on my list of places to get back to, and to try some more serious hiking.

This was a place that Kassi and I got to explore on our own, while the kids enjoyed some downtime at the hotel. We were grateful for the opportunity to have a little solo adventure in the middle of the family trip. I remember walking down what they call “Park Avenue” in the early afternoon and just being deeply impressed by the steep rock walls and monolithic stones that surrounded you on all sides. It was like walking among giants. It all inspired a kind of reverence. You can understand why native peoples considered the land sacred. Kassi and I got to do a small bit of climbing on the Double Arch as the sun was setting. The view was just gorgeous. You can see some of those pics here.

I remember this guy at the park entrance, about middle aged, who was bitching about them not having any ice cream at the visitor’s center, and about how Arches is shit compared to Yosemite, where they knew to have ice cream for people. So there’s that to keep in mind if you ever want to visit.