Every morning, exactly at sunrise, something special happens at Mesa Arch. For a few minutes, the bottom of the arch takes on a bright orange glow, giving photographers who get there early enough, a chance to take a special image they will treasure forever.
On this day, only a few days ago, I got my second chance to see the glow. Two years ago, I was there, but the sun rose behind some clouds, giving the glow a very muted glow. But on this day, the sun rose in all its glory, unobstructed by clouds, or anything else for that matter…and Mesa Arch lit up.
Mesa Arch is located in the “Island in the Sky” section of Canyonlands National Park, on the edge of a cliff that overlooks some marvelous Canyonlands scenery. It is off the road by about 1/3 of a mile and requires a hike in darkness to get there before sun-up. My friend Dave and I made the hike and arrived in plenty of time to set up our tripods, mount the cameras, and select our lens and image settings. We were not the first to arrive as another photographer had beaten us there and was set up, ready to go. Before the sun came up, we were joined by 8 other photographers.
You see, Mesa Arch is not unknown in the photography world.
Never-the-less, we were ready for the sun to make its appearance…and it finally did, in all its glory. The arch lit up and soon thereafter, the canyons below also got enough light to make a great image. We all shot and shot and shot until the glow finally started to fade.
It was a glorious morning made better by the fact I got the shot I always wanted to get. By the way, this was Dave’s 4th attempt to get the shot and he was happy also to finally achieve his goal. Life is good.
I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!!
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