Moab, Utah Day 5

A very cloudy day so we decided to spend the afternoon in Arches National Park.  There are photo oportunities that do not require good skies so we focused (no pun intended but hey!  If it works why not?) on these.  While parked near the formation known as The Tower of Babel I noticed this road sign indicating Hula Hoopers in 1000 feet.  We never did find them though...

We headed out to a place known as The Fins-so named because they are very narrow outcroppings of rock seemingly stacked side by side.  In some places you could barely put your hand between them but in others you could walk between them.  These narrow walls rise about 100 meters above the sand.

The ground is covered in a fine red sand which the wind easily picks up.  There are many surprises awaiting any explorers.  Some passages opened up into courtyards where the vivid greens of Junipers and Piñon Pines contrasted beautifully against the red rocks and sand.

The biggest and best surprise is a hidden arch appropriately known as Sand Dune Arch found in another passage.

Everywhere one looks evidence is found that shows just how arrid this area is.  Junipers only 3 meters tall are probably hundreds of years old and once dead may stand for another hundred years.  Their wood, dry and cracked, displays another kind of beauty all its own.

Like reading cloud formations the rock outcrops in this park take on many shapes.  Many well known ones- some already shown in this blog- have names like the Three Gossips, Courthouse Towers, and Balanced Rock.  Other, less well known ones may be found if one looks.  This tiny one appears to be a Cheshire-like Cat holding up a much larger rock.  Use your imagination- Can you see the eyes and big smile?

Another area we stopped at was the Fiery Furnace.   The Fiery Furnace is a mazelike labyrinth of narrow sandstone canyons.  Here is a view from the overlook.