The alarm today went off at 5am, over two hours before sunrise. The reason for the early alarm was the drive to Canyonlands National Park and the ensuing walk to Mesa Arch would take nearly an hour and I wanted to be able to plant my tripod before everyone else arrived. Driving out of Moab the streets were void of traffic and after turning onto the road leading to Canyonlands there weren’t any headlights in the rearview mirror or were there taillights visible ahead. I was confident that I had departed at an appropriately early enough time.

After entering the National Park I noticed a few taillights ahead of me in the distance. “OK, I guess there may be a few early risers there,” I thought. How wrong I was, for as I crested the rise in the dark with my headlamp guiding my way along the path to Mesa Arch I could hear many voices coming from ahead. I wasn’t alone and it wasn’t just a couple of early risers either. There were already 15 to 20 tripods with accompanying cameras and photographers set up waiting for sunrise! Fortunately, the location I had scouted out the day prior was still available, so I joined the masses and added my tripod and camera to the mix. Note to self: rethink the starting time for my next visit!

The beauty of the sunrise here is something one truly needs to witness in person. As the sun broke the horizon the first sunburst occurred, but the best was yet to come. Initially there is the lack of reflected light on the underside of Mesa Arch. But as the sun continued to rise and began to cross the underside of the arch a 2nd sunburst occurred while the reflected light illuminated the underbelly of the arch turning the sandstone a glowing red. While some photographers had already started packing up, the patience of ‘waiting for the light’ was rewarded with this image.

Highlighted by the rising sun is the Washer Woman (derived from its resemblance of a tall and slender woman reaching her hands into a tub) and to its right is the taller Monster Tower. Washer Woman and Monster Tower are each over 600 feet tall. Behind the Washer Woman is the Sandcastle.

This is the second image I’ve posted from that wonderful morning, but this one was taken moments earlier than the previous one. The sunburst is larger in this image as the sun has yet to rise high enough to be partially hidden by the arch.

From the earlier image, Kathleen had commented . . . “I can see an Indian lying in repose, hand in his lap and his legs crossed........lying in the opening, do you see him?” Yes, I could! Can you?

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Tags:   Utah Canyonlands Canyonlands National Park Mesa Arch Washer Woman Monster Tower Sandcastle sunrise sandstone arch sunburst blue sky landscape waiting for the light patience red glow dramatic beauty beautiful rock rock formation outdoor Brad Eide Nikon D7100 Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 Gitzo tripod remote release neutral density Lee filter September 2016 fall geotagged

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