by Mike Graf
“It feels so good!” Morgan called out while catching a few raindrops on her palms.
Raindrops on slickrock
“Hey, there’s a little rainbow,” James noticed, pointing toward the sky.
Then, as quickly as the shower started, it stopped, and the rock pavement immediately dried up.
Farther along, two people had scrambled into a hole in the rock just above the trail. “Look, an arch!” Mom called out.
The trail to Delicate Arch
Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad briefly watched the pair. They were both holding onto their hats. “The wind is really blasting us up here,” one of them called down.
“It looks like they’re getting a Moab Facial,” Morgan said to her family.
Then one of their hats blew off and tumbled right toward the Parkers. James grabbed it before it could whisk off into the nearby canyon. “Let’s get out of here,” the hatless hiker called to his companion.
The two people quickly scurried down. They hopped back onto the trail, next to the Parkers. James handed the hat back. “Thanks,” the man replied.
“What did you see up there?” Dad asked.
“An arch through an arch,” the man replied. “But the second arch is the one we are all looking for, and it’s right around the corner.”
Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad followed the two people up the trail. Just ahead a large crowd of hikers was gathered at a circular, rock amphitheater. The Parkers picked up their pace in anticipation.
The rock wall paralleling the trail gave way to an open bowl. At the far side of the bowl was a stunningly positioned, gigantic arch perched all by itself. The photogenic natural window framed the distant La Sal Mountains behind it.
THE MAKING OF AN ARCH
* * *
The Arches National Park area sits on top of a salt bed that is responsible for the arches, spires, and rock formations in the park. The salt bed was deposited by ancient seas and then covered by mud and water from floods. This mixture eventually cemented into rock. Over time the salt layer buckled and flowed, thrusting some sections upward. This caused parts of the salt layer to dome up and crack. Water seeped into the cracks, eroding away some areas and cementing others, leaving behind freestanding fins of rock. During colder periods, ice got into the cracks, putting pressure on them through expansion. Over many years this pressure caused parts of some fins to break off, forming holes or arches in a few areas, while other fins just collapsed. The process is still going on today.
The Parkers sat on some rocks along with hordes of others who had hiked up for this view at sunset. They all gazed at Delicate Arch in wonder and awe.
“That might be the best of the best as far as arches go,” Dad said.
“Did you know that’s Utah’s state symbol?” Mom asked.
James nodded. “It’s on all the cars’ license plates,” he added.
Mom took out her sketch pad and started drawing. She held the pad firmly, buffering it against the wind.
Meanwhile it had clouded up again. And along with the wind, a few raindrops showered down.
Morgan noticed a bunch of birds darting about in the air. One flew right through Delicate Arch and then flipped over in midair before turning upright, rising up, and whisking away again. “Did you guys see that?” Morgan called out.
“I think they’re cliff swallows,” Mom replied.
“They’re like airborne gymnasts,” Dad added.
Suddenly larger splats of rain began falling. Soon the rock surface became completely wet and the wind picked up. “It’s actually kind of cool now,” Mom said, quickly putting her sketch pad away.
The rain came down harder. Dad examined the sky, noticing dark clouds in some places, but clearing on other parts of the horizon.
The Parkers looked at the arch. “I wonder how long we should stay here,” Dad said. “The area is very exposed.”
Meanwhile other visitors were scurrying for cover. Then Mom got an idea. “Follow me!” she called out.
The family scrambled back down the trail. Mom found the spot where the two people with the hats had been before. She quickly stepped up onto the rock and gave Morgan and James a hand. Dad followed. They all scampered into the hole in the rock. “Our little shelter,” Mom announced.
Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad scrunched together inside the smaller arch. They gazed out at visitors taking photos of Delicate Arch and then dashing for cover as sheets of rain now pummeled the area.
The Parkers waited out the storm, partially protected from the onslaught. Rain kept pouring down, and suddenly water was cascading everywhere off the rocks.
At one point James leaned forward and inspected the area. “Hey, look!” he called out.
A muddy waterfall was pouring down a rock formation across the way.
“There’s another one over there,” Morgan exclaimed.
A moment later the rain let up. The sun quickly returned and everything began to dry. The newly created waterfalls quickly came to a stop, and steam began wafting off the rocks.
Dad crawled outside and checked the sky. Then he crept back in to his family. “I think this is our moment of opportunity,” he said.
“Wait,” Morgan called out. “Let me get a picture first.”
Morgan took a photo of her family looking at Delicate Arch through the arch they were in.
“What a place,” Dad exclaimed as they scampered back to the main trail.
“But it probably wasn’t the best spot to hang out during a storm,” Mom admitted. “We were quite vulnerable to lightning.” Mom reflected for a second. “Let’s put it this way. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. But in that situation, it might have been our best option.”
As Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad trekked back down the trail, the sun continued to shine on the wet rocks. Meanwhile more evening hikers were streaming up to the arch.
“It’s like a little pilgrimage to this place,” Mom said, noticing all the people.
Soon the Parkers came to the dry potholes they had passed on the way up. But now they were full of water, and small cascades trickled down from one hole to the next.
Mom led the family to one of the brand-new miniature pools. She stood over the clear water and gazed into it. Morgan and James joined her. The three of them stared at their reflections.
James patted his hair down. “I look like I’ve been camping in the desert for a long time.”
“Yeah, I hardly recognize myself,” Morgan said, gazing into the mirrored pool.
Mom studied the water closely. “I don’t see anything moving yet,” she announced.
Dad wandered over. “What would be alive in that now? It was dry until a few minutes ago.”
“Lots of things,” Mom answered. “And if we hung around, we’d soon see some of the tiny creatures. We’ll check some other water holes, if they don’t evaporate.”
Suddenly the wind picked up again. Fine particles of sand blasted the family’s faces.
Mom stood up, feeling her irritated skin. “Now I know what the ranger meant by a ‘facial’ out here!” she exclaimed.
“We’re all getting one,” Dad added, covering his face with his arms.
“Soon we’ll all have beautiful, youthful-looking skin again,” Morgan announced, mocking a commercial.
“Very funny,” Mom said sarcastically. Then she led her family quickly down the trail. “I’ve had enough of this facial for now.”
8
Muscle Man Poses
The next morning the family got up before sunrise. They packed up food and hiking supplies and quietly walked out of the campground.
Across the way, a series of towering rock fins were silhouetted against the early morning sky.
Soon the Parkers arrived at the Devils Garden trailhead. “The coup de grâce of hiking in Arches,” Dad exclaimed. “At least that’s what I’ve read.”
“Hey, look, a rabbit!” Morgan called out.
The small animal twitched its nose while looking at the Pa
rkers. Then it scampered into the cover of a nearby bush.
The family stopped at the drinking fountain at the trailhead. The large parking lot was almost empty. “The trail is ours for now,” Mom boasted.
Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad filled their water bottles and began walking on a wide, gravelly path.
They hiked between two large rock fins and entered Devils Garden. Before sunrise the area was a palette of pinkish-hued rocks against a soft blue sky. The Parkers trudged along, hearing only the sound of their footsteps on the trail.
Devils Garden
At the top of a small rise, Dad held out his arms to stop his family. “Look over there,” he said quietly, pointing ahead.
Farther up the trail was a scrawny, tan-colored animal. “A coyote,” Mom whispered.
The mammal crossed the path well in front of the Parkers. “Hey, Mr. Coyote,” Dad called to alert the animal that the family was there.
The coyote turned and stared at the Parkers. Then something else got its attention. Suddenly it bolted toward the bushes.
A tiny rabbit ran out of the brush and randomly zigzagged ahead of the coyote. The coyote lunged after the small furry creature, but the rabbit dashed into the protection of a bush.
The coyote frantically searched around the plant, sniffing and pawing up sand here and there. Then the coyote jumped onto the bush. The rabbit took off again with the coyote in full pursuit.
In the nick of time the rabbit scampered into a hole in the ground and disappeared.
The coyote circled the area and pawed furiously at the dirt, kicking up more sand and debris. After a while it trotted off.
“Well, that was sure exciting,” Dad announced and resumed walking.
“I’m glad nothing gory happened,” Mom added.
After taking short spur trails to Pine Tree and Tunnel Arches, the family returned to the main trail. “I’m going to have to write down the names of these arches,” Morgan announced, “so I can remember them for my photos.”
Suddenly the first rays of morning sun lit up the top of the rock fins. Morgan immediately began snapping more pictures. Soon after, the whole area was bathed in bright sunlight.
Meanwhile the Parkers walked on, approaching a gigantic, thin sliver of rock spanning an expansive stretch of air.
“Wow,” Dad gasped. “Landscape Arch. The largest one on earth.”
The family walked over to an information sign below the arch. They all studied the sign and the arch. “It’s over three hundred feet across,” James read.
How Long Will It Last?
* * *
Landscape Arch really is defying gravity. But it might not for that much longer. The precarious span is over three hundred feet long but only eleven feet thick at its thinnest point. On September 1, 1991, a seventy-three-foot section of the arch fell out of the narrowest area, reducing its thickness from sixteen to eleven feet. Then, on June 5, 1995, another forty-seven-foot mass of rock fell, followed by another round of gravity-induced collapse of thirty more feet on June 21, 1995. Due to this activity, the short loop trail underneath the arch is now closed. Landscape Arch could collapse at any time.
Landscape Arch, the longest arch on the planet
“And part of it collapsed in 1991,” Morgan added.
“Hmm,” Dad said when he finished reading the sign. “I guess ‘shift happens.’ Geology never stops.”
Morgan and James glanced at their father, smirking. “For a second I thought you said something else,” Morgan said suspiciously.
“Not me!” Dad exclaimed. “I’m innocent!”
The family continued on, climbing between rocky fins and a large pile of rubble. “I wonder what came down around here,” Mom commented.
They took another side trail to Partition Arch. Mom took a photo of the twins framed in the window of sandstone.
Navajo Arch
The Parkers then wandered over to Navajo Arch. This thick span of stone had a Christmas tree–shaped juniper growing right underneath the middle of it.
“I can imagine this decorated with lights,” Morgan called out enthusiastically.
“And plenty of ornaments,” Dad added, touching one of the needles.
Mom laughed and then commented about all the holes in the rocks. “Every one of these arches is so beautiful and so unique.”
The family clambered back to the main trail. Now the pathway led right, to the top of one of the rock fins.
The Parkers scampered up. “We’re on top of the world!” Dad announced.
As they traversed the rock fin, James noticed his enlarged shadow, paralleling him to the left. He stopped and made a muscular pose. “Hey, look at me!”
Muscle man pose
Morgan, Mom, and Dad watched James. Then they too posed for the benefit of their shadows.
Finally Mom suggested, “Let’s all hold our arms up.”
The family did, and Morgan took another picture.
Meanwhile the trail continued across the top of the rock fin. The family hiked along, staying toward the middle of the fin to avoid the drop-offs on each side. “This is my favorite part of the trail,” Morgan exclaimed while hopping from one part of the rock to another.
Slowly they began to work their way back down. The Parkers stopped briefly at Black Arch overlook, then turned a corner and saw two large, circular holes in a rock wall.
“Double O Arch,” Mom called out. “We made it.”
They scrambled down to the last named arch on the trail. The family found a shady area to sit in.
“Breakfast time,” Dad announced, and he and Mom began unpacking food.
Double O Arch
9
The Rabbit’s Foot
After eating, the Parkers sat in the shade admiring the two circles carved geologically out of the rock. Morgan got up for a better view. She started climbing a small sand dune, then glanced down at the fine red sand.
“Hey!” Morgan called out. “Look at these!”
James immediately jumped up to join his sister. Together they stared down at the jumbled mass of tracks crisscrossing the sand. “Boy, something sure has been busy around here,” James reported.
Mom and Dad also hurried over. The Parkers studied the maze of markings in the sand. “It looks like a convoluted series of miniature freeway junctions,” Dad described.
“And from different creatures,” Morgan added. “The tracks aren’t all the same.”
“What do you think they’re from?” James asked.
“These look like lizard,” Mom said. “We’ve seen so many of them.”
Rabbit tracks
“And this smooth trail. That could be a snake,” Dad pointed out. “I know they’re out here.”
“This one looks like little paws,” James called out.
“Rabbit!” all four Parkers said at once.
Morgan followed the rabbit tracks up the mound of sand. She noticed a different pair of tracks near the top. “These look like dog tracks.”
Mom came over. “Most likely they’re from a coyote,” she reported. “Remember the chase we watched earlier?”
Dad surveyed the whole area. “One more reason to come out here early. Not only did we beat the heat, but soon this whole little pile of evidence from last night’s action will be trampled by hikers.”
Morgan continued along the rabbit track’s path. She searched until she reached a small bush. Something furry with red blotches on it caught her attention. Morgan bent down to inspect the object closer. “Oh, no!”
“What is it?” James asked.
“Part of a rabbit,” she replied.
The whole family clambered over. A mangled leg and foot was partially covered by sand and the small bush. The part of the leg that was visible was coated in dried blood.
“Poor thing,” Morgan said sadly. “I wonder where the rest of it is.”
Mom scanned the area for any predators. “I don’t think we want to know all the details.”
James also looked arou
nd. “Seeing the dead rabbit makes me nervous, but these tracks also gave me some ideas.”
James scrambled back to his pack and pulled out his story. “My next chapter starts right now. Okay?”
“Okay,” Mom replied. “That’ll give me a chance to sketch these two arches.”
Meanwhile Morgan and Dad looked at the park map. “Hey,” Morgan said, noticing a nearby spur trail to Dark Angel. “Do you want to head over there, Dad?”
“Sure,” Dad replied. He looked at James and Mom. “Do you two want to come?”
“I want to write now while my thoughts are fresh,” James answered. “Can Mom and I wait here?”
“The trail comes right back to this spot,” Morgan said.
“Perfect,” Dad added. “We’ll be back in about thirty minutes.” James began to write . . .
“Sir. There are large tracks heading up this wash,” the young crew member, Parker, reported to Major John Wesley Powell.
James paused from his writing, wondering whether all his characters had been introduced to each other by now. Oh well, I can always change that later if I need to, he concluded. Then James smiled, realizing that he had just added himself to his story.
Major Powell inspected the tracks. “Deer,” he said. “Well, it might be worth a try. The crew could use some meat.”
“Shall I head up there?”
“Yes. But this time I’ll go with you.”
Major Powell informed the crew of their plans. “We’ll be back in time for supper. After all the food we’ve lost, I want to take advantage of every opportunity to try and find some game,” he explained. Then Powell pointed. “But search for us up there in case we don’t return on time.”
“That’ll give us some time to repair the boats,” a crew member said to Powell.
