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Arches National Park 2013, Part II

Click here for Part I.

I decided to only get up for one sunrise this trip. The photography page on the Arches National Park web site has a great section outlining which features are better to shoot in the morning and which are better in the afternoon. And after some careful consideration I decided to try my fortunes with Double Arch. I'd never shot it before, so if nothing else it would be a completely new experience. I work up earlier than planned and the drive didn't take as long as I'd expected.  So I was at the trailhead right around 6 a.m., and immediately sorry I'd forgotten to pack my headlamp.  It was dark.  Fortunately my trusty iPhone Flashlight app lit the way and I made it to the general vicinity just as the skies to the east were starting to brighten. Double Arch is tricky to pick out from a distance.  It's hard to tell that it's even one arch until you're quite close to it, let alone two. The feature is an interesting anomaly, with two different spans emanating from the same point.  Feels a little like an M.C. Escher drawing. The rising sun gradually began to light up some of the other rock faces in the area.  But not the arch. More sun.  More formations lighting up.  Double Arch still in shade. After two and a half hours, it was obvious that the actual arch wouldn't be getting any direct sun for a while still.  The Windows formation to the east just shielded it a little too well this time of year.  So I headed back to town for some breakfast and to continue to our other planned destinations for the day.

Was I sorry I didn't get the exact shot I was looking for?  Sure.  I always am to some degree when that happens.  Did I regret my decision?  Not for a second.  Having that much time to yourself in a setting like this is absolutely priceless!

Click here for Part III.
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