Arches and Canyons

So from Page we moved to Arches NP and Canyonlands NP.  This sounds like a really boooooring area and it's anything but.  Our first morning we caught Mesa Arch, but it took three tries to get it right. 

 

And this looks like a little snappy and then we're done......not so fast......

 

 

There are always a few other folks around trying to get their shot.  What they don't know that we do (this is our third morning there) is that the real show starts after the sun has been up for about an hour.  What's going on is that the sun is lighting the rock below and reflecting on the under side of the arch, and that reflection on to the red stone is what's causing the gorgeous glow!

 

 

I'm naturally preoccupied with the gorgeous sunrise.  We've been very lucky to have clouds abound around  during our stay, and that may sound like a photographer's nightmare, but it makes the sunsets and sunrises beautiful as well as the landscapes much more interesting than a plain ole blue sky.

 

These are some of my shots from a different angle but also shows the beautiful glow of this arch in the morning. 

 

 Here's another angle.

Obviously Walt is the artist here.