OK, I guess we need one more blog from Arches National Park. We recently camped there for several nights which as usual was a lot of fun. Arches National Park has a great campground. You do need to make reservations. Without a reservation your chances of getting a camp site are basically zero.

This photograph of sunset was taken from the campground. It was very relaxing just sitting or laying on the rocks and watching the sun go down.

We plan to go back again sometime this fall. During the summer the park is too hot and worst of all it has too many tourists.

Click on the image to enlarge.

I decided it is time for another visit to Arches National Park. This is one of the most popular national parks in the country. There is good reason for the popularity of Arches. It is a very impressive place to visit with not only many wonderful arches but also other impressive rock formations and natural wonders.

This image is one of Broken Arch. Broken Arch is one of my favorite arches. In my opinion the best view is from the back side of the arch, in other words you need to walk from the parking area and go through the arch and look back in the direction you came from.

The arch is located toward the back of Arches National Park. The parking area is on the right hand side of the road and is for both Sand Arch and Broken Arch. Be sure to stop and look at Sand Arch before continuing on down the trail to Broken Arch. Sand Arch is also well worth seeing. You can also get to Broken Arch from the campground. It is a fun hike and the trail brings you up to the back side of the arch. If you are hiking in the summer months be sure to carry lots of water. It can get hot. Also trying hiking early in the morning when the light is better for photography and it is cooler.

Here is a link to Arches National Park:  http://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm

Click on the image to enlarge.

This time I thought it would  be a good idea to visit the San Rafael Swell in the state of Utah. The San Rafael Swell is an amazing uplift area of sandstone rock dating back millions of years. It has canyons, arches and strange rock formations. There are also a number of petroplyphs which show human involvement in the area thousands of years ago.

Interstate 70 runs through the San Rafael Swell. This photograph was taken just off of I-70. As you can see, there are places when you are on top of the swell where you can see for well over 50 miles in the distance.  When the lighting is just right with nice clouds in the sky the photographic  opportunity is fantastic. This shot was taken late in the afternoon when the sun light was at a low angle.

Here is a link to more information this fantastic part of Utah.

http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/price/more/san_rafael_swell.html

Click on the image to enlarge it.

OK, here we go again.  I know, you are saying Steve where have you been. Remember, I would rather be out somewhere shooting more photographs than sitting in front of a computer. That is exactly what I was doing. We just returned from a camping trip to Arches National Park. No, this post is not about Arches. Maybe next time.

We are going  back to Sedona, AZ for this posting.

We had a great time in Sedona. The red rock formations in this area are wonderful. I can truly understand why people love Sedona. They also have some great restaurants. Sorry, but you will have to wait to another post to find out about our favorite place. This is a hint, it is not in Sedona but just slightly west of there near the wine growing region. Stay tuned for more information.

By now I am sure some of you are saying,  Steve, what about the Colorado National  Monument. I have not forgotten since we live right up against this national park. It is just as beautiful as the Sedona, AZ. But don’t tell anyone because we don’t want to increase the tourist traffic in the area.

Here is  photograph of  Cathedral Rock. It is probably one of the most photographed places in Sedona. Check out the main pages in may website for more Arizona pictures.