Magic Cottage Creations

Magic Cottage Creations
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February 17, 2017

Arches, Utah

By Maryanna Gabriel

Delicate Arch
It was such a canvas of beauty. was unprepared for what I was experiencing. I had no idea. I was not sure what was hitting me the hardest. The colours in the rock formations against a breathtakingly  turquoise sky or the windswept sculptural formations themselves. It was almost hallucinogenic. And vast. In the distance were snow capped mountains. The truck wove in and around the formations as I climbed in altitude. It all felt so potent, magical, as if it was breathing,  the formations themselves seemingly imbued with spirit. The shades of red in the rock strata fairly throbbed. 

I felt despair for my camera felt inadequate. It was so beautiful that any photograph failed it. 
 It was majestic. Unique. Unlike anything I had ever seen. For all of my life this place will be with me.There are over 2,000 natural sandstone arches in Arches National Park that is over 300 square kilometers and which was 65 million years in the making. Trying to understand the hallowed ground I had just visited I perused the book section in the park gift shop and found author, Edward Abbey. He used to be a warden here and he had published books and short stories about the experience. I came away with an armload and much quieted by what I had just experienced, I thoughtfully  made my way to Canyonlands. Utah was proving to be a most amazing and surprising place to see.

Arches National Park (photo credit unknown)