A Snapshot and The Scoop: Delicate Arch

What's a trip to Arches National Park without stopping to see the arch, Delicate Arch itself? I mean, it's even featured on Utah's license plate! This particular visit to the arch was way less crowded than I expected it to be, though that may be in part due to thunderstorms in the area, and sunset was still more than an hour away. We were actually able to get photos of the arch without someone standing under it for once, with no need to get creative with camera angles! I still circled around the edge of the bowl that the arch perches on, and climbed down to the sandy bottom to get a few shots looking up at the monolith, but that was purely for pleasure. I don't think it's possible to have too many pictures! In fact, it was this arch that Jared asked me to bring him back as a gift after one trip. Like, the actual arch, not a decal or a figure of it. He wanted the arch. Becuase that's a normal thing to ask for. But hey, shout out to my wonderful, loving, goofy husband on his birthday! Happy Birthday Jared, I love you!!

On the Topic of Feeling Safe

Uncomfortable. Okay, I've got a random one for you, but then again when are my musings not a little off the wall? Have you ever been in a place or situation where you get the feeling that it's not safe? I'm not talking obvious danger signs like exposed cliffs or the bad part of town. I mean a perfectly ordinary location, but something just feels a little off and you can't put your finger on what it is. I recently had a weekend to myself in Arkansas and I had this idea of camping somewhere in the northern part of the state, only when I got there and began driving the forest roads it just didn't feel right. I have no idea what it was; I was there for some leaf-peeping and it was a beautiful area and by all accounts a great place to spend the weekend, but I was edgy and generally dissatisfied with everywhere I stopped to consider as a camp site, so much so that I added extra hours and miles to drive to a place where I felt a whole lot more comfortable. Even though that meant I set up camp in the dark. And ended up dealing with a thunderstorm and a leaky tent. How in the world do I explain that I felt more safe sitting in a leaky tent while in the middle of a midnight downpour with almost immediate flash-booms of lightning and thunder echoing off the mountains around me, than I did in broad daylight in a forest just a few hours distant from where I ended up? How do I explain that one time I felt more safe sheltering in my tent as an electrical storm razed the desert around me, whipping sand under my rain fly and coating every one of my possessions, than I did taking a guided tour to a set of ruins that I ended up bailing out of early? Perhaps I could explain it away as familiarity with one location over another, but that doesn't explain why one backcountry campsite feels safer than another one less than a mile apart in a place I've never camped before. That doesn't explain why I crave to visit places I've never been.

My mom always taught me to go with my gut feelings, my instincts, and to her credit, my gut has never yet been wrong. Sure, I've ignored what my gut (subconscious?) was trying to tell me on more than one occasion, and I ended up paying the price, in whatever form it took, when things turned out badly. I've taken to listening to my gut a whole lot more as I've gained years and knowledge, so when it tells me to not stay in one place, because it isn't safe, then you'd better believe I make for friendlier territory. On the note of mother-to-daughter wisdom, I was curious to know whether this phenomenon of listening to your gut was a female-related instinct. I can't say I have a huge sample size, but when I broached the subject with my husband he said he gets those feelings occasionally as well, and tends to listen to them. So, it's human nature to want to go somewhere they feel safe, but what is the deciding factor on what exactly "safe" is? How does my brain tell me what is safe vs what is not, compared to what my husband's brain tells him? Of course, I don't really expect answers, though I suspect it has something to do with experience.

I'm interested to know if any of you out there experience this kind of feeling, and if so, in what situations? Guys especially, do you follow your gut? Leave me a comment or message me directly, I'm burning to know!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Skyline Arch

A half day spent in Arches National Park didn't leave my sister and I a lot of time during our summer adventures, but we made sure to stop at a couple of arches along the way. This one, Skyline, doesn't seem to be as popular as some of the other, easier accessible arches, perhaps in part because you can't see it from the road. Still, it is only a half mile or so round trip walk to the arch over easy, sandy earth that Lisha and I refused to put real shoes on for. You can get right up to the base of the sandstone fin the arch  is carved out of, and if you're feeling adventurous you can climb fallen boulders scattered here and there in the shade. I'll be honest, as many times as I've been in the park, I've never stopped to see Skyline, so I guess that's another one I can check off my list!