Arches pt 6 - Balanced Rock and Courthouse Towers

Driving further back towards the entrance to the park is Balanced rock, which is a rock that is balanced - I love the creative naming that goes on in this place...to be fair it does look pretty precarious...

La Sal mountains again

The first main area on entering the park (or last as you are leaving) is the Courthouse Section, featuring Park Avenue.

Tower of Babel (right). The one on the left is thought to have been an arch that collapsed a long time ago.

The Organ

Park Avenue - the rocks look like the towers on the namesake ave in NYC

Three Gossips

Arches pt 5 - Windows Section

The 'Windows Section' is not an area brought to you by Microsoft, rather it is a cluster of of arches, all in one area.

Garden of Eden

Note the rock climbers!

Double Arch

Cove of Caves and Parade of Elephants

North Window

Me

South Window

North and South Windows

Turret Arch

Arches pt 4 - Broken Arch, Sand Dune Arch, Delicate Arch

Back down the road a little from Devils Garden is Broken Arch and Sand Dune Arch. We kind of got close to Broken Arch, but since it was broken, we didn't bother walking all the way toward it, but headed the other way and checked out Sand Dune Arch more closely.

Broken Arch across the field

Sand Dune Arch is in between a bunch of rocks in a sort of canyon, where eroded sand presumably gathers to create a sandy floor

The next stop was the iconic Delicate Arch -  used as a State Symbol for Utah. We took the lower trail which gives views up to the arch, but not the classic view from right under it.

La Sal mountains visible from the trail - highest peak around 12,700ft

Delicate Arch

Petroglyphs near the trails - carved between 1650 and 1850 AD by local Ute Indians

Arches pt 3 - Devils Garden and Double O Arch

Devil's Garden isn't really that scary - just a lot of knobbly rocks and some very interesting walking.

 

Double O Arch

Looking toward 'Dark Angel' formations (we didn't walk that far)

We also stayed off the 'primitive' trails - the 'high-tech' trails were pretty rough as it was

Arches pt 2 continued...Navajo and Partition Arches

Continuing up the Devils Garden trail, you head towards Partition and Navajo Arches. Here the trail gets interesting...you actually have to walk up and over several of the fins. Dead ahead is the trail...

Looking back from climbing that fin

In many places the only trail markers are these stone cairns. We lost trail at one point but found our way back eventually thanks to the in-built compass.

Navajo Arch

Partition Arch