Windows Section, Arches National Park

November 1, 2016

On our second day of exploring Arches, we are taking the side road into the Windows Section of the park.

This area is said to have the most arches, and we are immediately impressed with the massive red sandstone formations. You can see two arches in the rock formations to the right of the road.

It was a short drive to the main area of interest where there was a parking lot. To the north were these two arches. There was a trail from the parking area out to them and we could see the tiny figures of people climbing around under the left arch.

To the left of the arches is a set of massive formations that is named the Parade of Elephants.

A closer view of the left arch shows some of the people exploring under the arch.

We decided to take the trail to the North and South Window arches. In trying to copy the instruction sign, Rod captured the reflections of Brenda and Rod. It was certainly a natural pose for Rod, with the camera to his eye!

Brenda makes her way up the trail to the North Window Arch.

There were also two arches to our left side as we climbed toward North Window. One of them can be seen only as a dot of light to the left of the larger arch in the photo above.

We made it to the North Window arch and this is the view to the other side while standing in the arch. I always like wilderness views where you can look to the horizon and see no sign of human habitation!

Rod under the north arch.

Brenda with a view of the arches near the parking area and the Parade of Elephants. This is taken from the North Window.

Brenda with Turret arch in the backgound. It is just a short distance to the west of North Window.

A wider view of Turret arch to show more of its setting.

We walked the short distance around to the South Window arch.

I kept looking back at the Parade of Elephants formation to see how much it looked like elephants from different angles. I liked this view because the road in the background gives you a sense of the enormity of these formations.

The North Window and South Window arches with Rod and Brenda. We swapped picture taking with another couple there so we could have pictures with the pairs in them. This is from close to the Turret Arch.

A straight view of Turret Arch to show its features.

Brenda with a full view of Turret Arch.

As we start the return path from the Windows area, we get nice views of the arch close to the parking area and the Parade of Elephants.

A final view of North Window and South Window as we make our way down the trail.

We enjoyed another nice view of these arches and the Parade of Elephants as we returned to the parking area. We had certainly seen some arches!

We walked the trail back to the parking area and prepared to leave the arches and the Parade of Elephants and head back into the open desert.

We headed back out the side road we had taken to the Windows Area. I continued to be enamored of the long roads stretching into the distance, particularly when you have beautiful scenery beside them. That side road joins the main road very close to Balanced Rock, which we now considered to be an old friend. We turned left toward the park entrance and prepared to leave Arches.

We are now headed for the exit along the road with the great walls of red sandstone.

We approached the exit at about 1:30pm with the plan to continue to Canyonlands.

In addition to the large red sandstone formations, there are regions of smaller columns like these. We were thinking that if we come back in a hundred thousand years or so, there will be more balanced rocks here.

We bid a fond farewell to Arches National Park. We were grateful for good weather and good fortune to be able to see the beauty of this place. Praise the Lord!