And then, the skies opened up...

I was up early this morning and left my hotel in Moab, UT by 6:45 am. I wanted to get to Arches National Park before it got busy. When I reached the Devil's Garden parking area, it was almost empty, which was no big surprise. By 7:30, I was walking the trail and feeling good.

My plan was to hike to Landscape Arch, Partition Arch and Navajo Arch, which would be roughly 2.6 miles in and back. I had done this hike six years ago, and decided it would make a nice, relaxing morning. Landscape Arch is the largest arch in the park, and precariously thin. No telling when it will finally succumb to nature's elements.

After climbing up the challenging slick rock, I took the side trail to the other two arches. As I did, the dark clouds to the north looked ominous. I had checked the weather forecast last night and it only said about an hour of rain around noon. I know I should have checked again this morning!

After checking out Partition and Navajo arches, I had been planning to eat an early lunch...I had brought food with me...but, as some raindrops fell, I changed my mind and decided to make my return.

Just before I got to the junction that would take me back to the parking lot, I stopped to snap pictures of a couple of mule deer feeding right next to the trail! They showed no fear of myself and a few other people who were there. Look at the ears on that young one!

There was an old couple I had run into earlier that decided to keep going to Double O Arch rather than cut their day short. I told them I wanted to get back before it REALLY started raining because wet slick rock is...well, slick. As I passed Landscape Arch again, the skies really looked angry.

I kept walking and it started to rain lightly. I quickened my pace, but about 500 yards from the parking lot...the skies opened up and it poured! I was only wearing a denim cover shirt and my sun hat, and I got pretty wet. I hope that old couple were okay...they seemed to be better prepared for weather than me. And, I wonder what the deer did when the heavy rain came down? Thankfully, since I was road tripping, I had dry clothes in my car. My T-shirt was only slightly damp, but the lower half of my pants was soaked.

As I ate my lunch in the car, the rain dissipated and the skies lightened. I changed into dry pants and put on my raincoat, then headed down the road to Skyline Arch. This arch once had a smaller opening, but in 1940 a huge section fell out, and the result is what you see today. I walked a short trail to the base of the arch, where you can see the broken pieces of the boulder.

It was sprinkling lightly as I left Skyline Arch, but it was far worse elsewhere...we were surrounded by thunderstorms. I made two more stops before calling it a day...Double Arch and the La Sal Mountain viewpoint. The rock formation to the left of Double Arch is called Parade of Elephants. I have no idea if that "thing" in between has a name! At the viewpoint, I walked through potholes filled with rainwater and was treated to a spectacular vista amid sunny skies!

Kind of reminds me of Monument Valley. Before leaving the park, I purchased a new Interagency Annual Pass, which will get me into national parks for another year. It's a great value at only $80, and it pays for itself pretty quickly if you visit as many parks as I do. Tomorrow, I'll continue road tripping through Utah and seeing more natural sights. And, I'm pretty sure no rain for awhile.