Barefoot Soul
Arriving at the entry gates to Arches National Park in the Utah mid-east one gets a sense of grandeur even before its true nature reveals itself. The entrance is kind of akin to entering the Batcave, as the park sports a grand but concealing entry. But even still, I had arrived a little already overawed, having spent time over the past month in some extraordinary national parks: Sequoia, Yosemite, Olympic and only days prior, the other worldly and wondrous wilderness of Yellowstone National Park. And so a part of me was expecting to be slightly numb to, or perhaps fatigued by, the specialness of Arches. Nevertheless, I was still enthusiastic, as I often am when embarking on my own personal undiscovered frontiers. Where this enthusiasm derives its energy is somewhat elusive to me, but I am delightedly grateful for it. Arches is home to thousands of natural red-hued sandstone arches and many other formations that hover about governing this desert landscape. As I meandered my way through ...