"In the Utah sky," Arches National Park, March 2010

Worth the walk

The beauty of Delicate Arch explains nothing, for each thing in its way, when true to its own character, is equally beautiful. ... If Delicate Arch has any significance it lies, I will venture, in the power of the odd and unexpected to startle the senses and surprise the mind out of their ruts of habit, to compel us into a reawakened awareness of the wonderful — that which is full of wonder.

-- Edward Abbey, "Cliffrose and Bayonets," Desert Solitaire

The walk to Delicate Arch takes you up into the higher elevations of Arches National Park and when you reach the formation, the adjacent canyon gives you the feeling of being high in the sky.

"Juniper light at Arches," Utah, March 2010

Juniper light

This became one of my favorite photos from out weeklong trip through northern Arizona and southeastern Utah. It was the end of a long day of hiking at Arches and we hoped to get one more loop in, out at the end of the park road near the big campground, hiking to Broken Arch and back to the car. But as we made our way along the path, we found ourselves alternating between dense sand and snow drifts up to our shins, even our knees. We grew tired quickly and decided to double back to the car, rather than finish the circuit.

But at least it got me this shot of the late-afternoon sunlight on the arches in the distance and the top of the tree in the foreground. If only I could drop everything now and go back out there ...

"The ghost of Ed Abbey," Arches National Park, March 2010

The ghost of Ed Abbey

After Casey and I passed through Turret Arch at the start of our day at Arches, I turned and saw this older gentleman had followed us up the path and I took a photo to use him for perspective on the size of the arch. Then I took this one, but after seeing it along with the previous one, I decided to try this in black and white and that's when this title hit me.

Having read Abbey's The Journey Home and Desert Solitaire before, during and after the visit, I felt more immersed in the words than I have for just about anything else I've ever read. And because of that, this photo not only takes me back to that morning two weeks ago today, but also to Abbey's country, to his time in the Utah desert.

2011 update: In the end, I felt that this was my favorite photo of 2010. It may not have been my best, but it wasn't far off.