Our first stop was at the Visitor Center. Mike went in and watched a movie and looked at a few displays before we headed up into the park. It is beautiful right from the start.
Our first stop in the park was at Park Avenue trail. Mike hiked for about 40 minutes while I waited in the car. He took the camera along with him and got some beautiful shots. They call it Park Avenue because it looks like you are walking through all the skyscrapers of New York.
It was amazing how tall and skinny the rocks were. They were only about 10 feet wide and 200 feet tall.
I don't think you can see them but on top of the ledge but at the base of the two rocks sticking up are a couple of people...just to give you an idea of the size. But I think the people are so little that you may not be able to see them.
We didn't stop here but from the road we could see what they call the "North and South Windows." There is a really nice trail that leads right up to the arches here but it would have taken Mike over an hour and he didn't want to leave me that long. But what a cool sight.
The next trail we stopped at was an extremely short disabled-access trail (about 100 feet) so I decided to get out to see a little for myself. This is called the Balancing Rock. As you can see, it's not really balancing...but they do expect it to fall at some point.
I didn't want it to fall while we were here so I decided to hold it up. As you can see it was no problem for me....I could do it with one hand in my pocket.
The view from the end of the trail was gorgeous.
This is the view off to the side.
When I first looked at this picture I was stumped as I just didn't remember there being any clouds. It finally dawned on me I was seeing the mountain in the background. As you can see, the scenery here is amazing.
I spotted this little rabbit sitting beside the trail. He wasn't at all worried about all the people passing by.
We continued on up to a spot where you can hike up to the Delicate Arch. According to the sign it is about a two hour hike round trip. Maybe some other time. Those little dots you see on the ledge toward the left side of the picture are people.
Mike's next hike was around the Fiery Furnace.
There is a half day hike down into the Fiery Furnace but you are only allowed in there with a ranger during pre-scheduled hikes. Mike is hoping to do that on Wednesday.
Mike had planned to continue on up and do a couple more hikes but all the parking spots we had been on at the previous stops were all sloped and by now I was in agony. So unfortunately, we had to turn around and go straight home.
I sure hope someday we can come back and explore this beautiful part of the country.
Debbie
4/21/08
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