“This is the most beautiful place on earth,” wrote Edward Abbey to begin his book Desert Solitaire. I had already seen Arches National Park, the place Abbey was praising, before I came to his book, but it was when I read his book that I knew he and I were buddies, notwithstanding that he had died fourteen years before I even made it to Utah. Abbey served as a summer ranger at Arches when it was a national Monument, before it was upgraded to a Park and became infested with an overabundance of gawking tourists that he deplored. The place is a stunning visual experience that stimulates contemplation in anyone with a grain of sensitivity. There are over 2,000 natural arches in the Park, plus multiple other geologic wonders. The one that struck me the most, even more than Delicate Arch, was Balanced Rock. Although I am not a religious person, I had a religious experience staring at this massive 128 ft. high rock marvel. To my awestruck mind, it was a godhead. I could have sat and stared up at it for days, perhaps moving around it for different perspectives. I even tried, unsuccessfully, to find a home in Moab, where Arches is located. The geologic magnificence and the desolate beauty of much of Utah is what attracted me to it, as it did Abbey. He wandered around in it alone and accepted its quiet mastery. In Desert Solitaire he wrote: “If my decomposing carcass helps nourish the roots of a juniper tree or the wings of a vulture – that is immortality enough for me. And as much as anyone deserves.” *Note[I’ve just added photos to go with this post.]
Hello HenryM.
Thank you for your description of this beautiful and awe-inspiring place. I could not find the photo's you refer to, but the description is enough to allow me to appreciate the wonder.
Best wishes
Bill
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Hello HenryM.
Thanks for the site-guidance which took me straight to your photos. I can still appreciate the beauty of the scenes you described. However, when envisaging them without the visual aid of photos, I inadvertently included magnificent greenery and abundant wildlife surrounding the rocks. It just shows how one person's imagination can completely distort what someone else has seen. This mental perspective of mine, obviously reflects the sorts of places I prefer to walk and enjoy. However, that does not mean that I do not appreciate the scenery you describe, it's just that I prefer the descriptions and photos to the actual places, which it is doubtful that I would ever choose to visit for myself as the surrounding countryside seems so barren.
In places like New Zealand, for us to get to see those sorts of geological masterpieces, we need to walk through miles of rainforest, filled with vegetation such as ancient trees, mosses and wildlife. This contrasts with the bare rock formations to make them seem even more pronounced. Even those on the coast are surrounded by the ambience and colours of the sea and its own unique wildlife and vegetation. Some of the more spectacular rock formations are formed by the sea forcing its way up through the rock itself.
In these places, the natural life-forces that shaped the rocks still seem to be present and somehow bring the place to life, leaving the same sort of lasting memories that you so eloquently describe in your own preferred places.
Best wishes
Bill