From the lower parking lot (stop 12), a short walk by paved trail takes us to spectacular Double Arch, shown in [figure 17]. This arch is visible from the parking lot but is best seen and photographed from at or near the end of the trail. Looking westward from near the trail’s end, we see the Parade of Elephants, shown in [figure 41]. This feature is described on pages 16 and 17 of “The Guide to an Auto Tour of Arches National Park” as “whimsical stone statuary resembling a circus pachyderm parade. With tail in trunk, the elephants rumble toward you along a sandstone roadway.”
Ribbon Arch, on the north side of Elephant Butte, is one of the most delicate ones in the park ([fig. 1]). Although it is 50 feet wide and 55 feet high, the rock span is only 1½ feet wide and 1 foot thick.
On the way back to the intersection with the main park road, we pass stop 14, from which may be seen Pothole Arch ([fig. 18]). One and one-half miles north of the intersection with the main road is the Panorama Point parking area (stop 15), which affords fine distant views of Salt and Cache Valleys and points beyond. A roadside exhibit portrays the gradual development of the Salt Valley anticline, which supplements my description on pages [27]-[32]. A parking space a short distance farther down the hill (stop 16) provides good distant views of the Fiery Furnace. I tried several telephoto shots from this viewpoint, but preferred my closeup views, such as the one shown in [figure 44].
LOOKING SOUTHWESTWARD THROUGH NORTH WINDOW, from fin shown beyond left side of North Window in [figure 37]. Turret Arch ([fig. 40]) is seen at right middle ground, south rim of Moab Valley to left of arch, Colorado River canyon forms left skyline. (Fig. 38)
SOUTH WINDOW, viewed toward northeast. Arch is 105 feet wide and 66 feet high. See text. (Fig. 39)
Delicate Arch Area
Two and a half miles northeast of the road intersection near Balanced Rock, a gravelled side road leads northeastward to several points of considerable interest. The photograph in [figure 11] was taken from this side road about half a mile northeast of the intersection. About 2 miles to the northeast, just beyond Salt Valley Wash, is a parking area (stop 17) at the beginning of the trail past Wolfe’s Bar-DX Ranch ([fig. 3]) to famed Delicate Arch, which is featured on the front cover. Although the trail to the arch is only 1½ miles long, it crosses several hills at the outset, then climbs 500 feet, mostly on bare Entrada Sandstone, so is considered quite strenuous, particularly in hot weather. The Park Service advises hikers to carry water. The Walt Disney crew, cameras, gear, cougars, and all climbed this trail in the hottest part of the summer of 1971 (see [p. 16]), while my wife and I were working in the vicinity. Visitors who do not wish to make the hike may get a distant view of Delicate Arch by driving to a parking area (stop 18) 1.3 miles farther east.
