Friday Picture(s)

More from Arches:

The trail to Delicate Arch (the most famous arch, it's used as the backdrop on Utah license plates) is unprotected. Hikers are exposed to the hot desert sun for the entire way. As a result, the National Park Service put this up:

"Please! Carry with you enough water for each member of your party. And then some. We recommend 2 Liters per person. We rescue a person each week from this trail due to dehydration. DRINK WATER AND EAT SNACKS! Thank you. Arches Rescue."

I started at 8am and it was >hot<. As you can tell:

That little blue dot on the left is me. Gives some perspective on how impressive that arch is! Also, the area between me and the camera (held by a very nice Indian man from Detroit) is a large hole. One has to walk around the far sloping edge of the hole to get to the arch. For you Star Wars fans: it reminded me of the scene when Jaba is going to throw Luke, et al into the sand pit that's really just a giant mouth. Less sandy in Utah, and no Jaba, but still a bit treacherous.