Utah became the 45th state to join the United States on January 4, 1896. The capital city is Salt Lake City. The highest point is Kings Peak at 13,528 feet.

Road Trip 2013 - Day 10 - June 20 - Utah (Previous 2013 Road Trip posts: Indiana Dunes, De Immigrant, Amana Colonies, Des Moines, Madison County Roads, Bridges of Madison County, White Pole Road, Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Golden Spike Tower & Union Pacific's Bailey Rail Yard, Loveland Pass, The Resting Day at Powderhorn, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Cimarron, Colorado National Monument, Fruita Rodeo)

Moonrise over Delicate ArchArches National Park Road Trips and any extended travel are great. Great from many points of view. Just the change of pace alone is wonderful to get out of the daily groove and go and do something else, to put your mind on other challenges, like what turn to take next. These trips are also wonderful for photography. Being somewhere else and in unfamiliar places provides a whole different inspiration. Sure, with today's technology you can research your destinations to death and pretty much feel like you've been there before you aver leave your couch, ... but can you? Does it really compare? Nope, it does not come even close. Sure, you can plan for places to visit and see what time of the day will work best, see if there are opportunities with the sun and moon, and all of that. But it is only when you show up that the location can speak to you. I like to take the research only as my starting point and let the places guide me from there. That way, I don't get stuck with shots I've seen million times before. And other times, I skip the research all together. Sure, there's risk involved and I may end up with few usable photographs but the experience makes up for that.

So having said all of that, here's day nine of our road trip and we're driving from Colorado to Utah to spend a day at Arches National Park. Yes, The Arches National Park with all of its natural wonders. Yet, we hit the road well after sunrise and I have absolutely no plan, no list of must haves, no idea what's better sooner or later in the day. I am completely unprepared, yet, somehow feel good about the newly gained freedom. It all comes down to visiting, spending time with the family, doing some hiking, and having a blast!

Now that I said all of that you're probably looking at the opening photo thinking that was planned for sure, a photo of the park's icon at sunset and with a moonrise over it. Believe it or not, no plan at all. We suspected we'd want to make it there but were not sure until the very last minute. The park is large with many sights and hikes to take, we arrived rather late, and it was quite possible we'd simply run out of time. In the end, we parked and set out. Even if we planned it, it could not have worked better. We made it to the Delicate Arch just as the sun was approaching the horizon and the shadow at bottom left started heading for the arch. And look, the moon positioned itself nicely in the frame as if to say here's a bonus for your effort. This was one of my last photographs that day and I threw it first here just to get it out of the way, to meet the expectations for a post from Arches.

The Windows of ArchesArches National Park So what else is there to post? Some of you may be able to recite a list of other icons of this marvelous location. I may hit on one more, but that one to me was about something completely else than taking a photo of a must have sight. I still can't really wrap my mind around the power of erosion. It's simple, right? You get water, you get wind, and over time, the forces carve out the landscape. Well, I can see that with Zion, or Bryce, or even the Grand Canyon. It's just a matter of time and the forces of nature dig a hole.

Now back to Arches. There are no holes. The rock formations are standing tall over a flat plateau. That can't be erosion! A different force had to somehow erect these rocks, push them out of the ground. Nope. It was erosion, only everything around eroded short of the formations themselves. Baffling when you look around and see miles and miles of flat high desert with rocks randomly scattered around, and as a bonus forming arches, windows, or bridges.

As strange as it may sound after several thousand miles in a car, even driving through a place like this feels very special. The American Southwest provided quite a few memorable movie scenes with roads leading to or passing by some gorgeous rock formations. Remember the spot where Forrest Gump stopped running with the Monument Valley serving as the backdrop for the road into the distance? Remember the end of the road for Thelma and Louis? Where am I going with this? Let me answer with a photo ...

Destination: The OrganArches National Park

Destination: The Organ - Arches National Park

Have fun looking for your destination!

References:

Utah on 50states.com - Arches National Park - Arches National Park on Wikipedia - Utah: Arches National Park - Road Films - Road movies on Wikipedia

Equipment Used:

Nikon D600 (replaced by Nikon D610), Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens, Induro Carbon 8x Travel Tripod (CT-014) and Manfrotto Ball Head (496RC2), Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack,  Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), Jackery Bar 5600mAh (usually o hand to keep the smart phone going), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards, Nikon Capture NX2.

Using my links to buy your equipment keeps me going and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!