Our first view of the arch

Double O Arch

Our lunch spot

The back side of the arch

Next we headed out to a set of formations in the distance. Among them was something called Dark Angel.

Dark Angel is the one on the very far left.

Perception...

... it's all how you choose to view something.

We backtracked to Double O Arch, then followed the primitive trail back. It was indeed an adventure! It swung us first past Private Arch, then out over some VERY intense slickrock.

Making our way back

Private Arch

The start of the slickrock trail. Yes, the log was part of it.

We basically need to get around the smaller fin to our left, then continue down the canyon in front of us.

Down...

... up...

... over and down again.

Looking back up the 'trail" we had just navigated

Not wood. Definitely not wood.

At the bottom of the canyon, there were many trees... our first shade in a long time!

We were finally allowed to rest a bit as we walked along the bottom of a wash.

Ouch!

Ouch again!

Erosion from small...

... to large scale.

After a while, the path pulled us back up to some sandy terrain. Animal tracks flowed every which direction.

A distant view

A yucca surrounded by many lizard tracks

Large cat prints!

We turned the corner and found a young man standing far off the trail to one side. He said he had almost stepped on a large rattlesnake that had been lying on the trail. It had crawled up a small hill and was now disappearing into a shrub. We thanked him profusely for having been walking ahead of us!

The disappearing snake

We didn't have too much farther to go, but in the intense heat, it felt like forever! At least the scenery was lovely.

When we left the primitive trail, we encountered crowds of people pouring in, mostly just to see Landscape Arch. We took in two more quick arches, Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch, then headed back to the car to grab something to eat and drink.

The end of the trail!

Pine Tree Arch

Tunnel Arch

The parking lot was beyond packed full now. People vultured our spot but we refused to be rushed. I desperately needed some sustenance before driving. While the hike wasn't super far in terms of distance, it was extremely exhausting from the heat, the reflecting rocks and the concentration while climbing.

We left the crowded parking lot (we had to wait in the long stream of vulturing cars) and were back on the road heading out of the park. We tried to stop at the Fiery Furnace Viewpoint, but it too was brimming over with tourists. So we drove to the next viewpoint, the Salt Valley Overlook, just on the other side of the narrow valley. This one was completely empty even though the view seemed to be almost identical. What's in a name, I suppose.

Our view of the Fiery Furnace

We left around noon, headed to Moab in quest of something cool to drink.