It's not often that, upon pulling up to a national park's entrance gate, your arrival is applauded. That's what happened to Victoria Carlson, though, when she arrived at Arches National Park and became the park's 1 millionth visitor of the year.
Upon reaching the entrance station on November 20 the Santa Fe, New Mexico, woman was greeted with extra excitement from park staff who shared the good news. Ms. Carlson told rangers she had visited the park several times before and that as an artist found its beauty inspiring.
Never before had Arches counted 1 million visitors in one year, so when Ms. Carlson arrived park staff had a gift or two for her. Employees gave the woman an America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, a coffee table book about the park, and an Arches National Park t-shirt and ball cap. All gifts were provided by the Canyonlands Natural History Association.
Located in southeastern Utah, Arches claims more than 2,000 sandstone arches and other unusual rock formations. Prior to this year the most visitors counted through the park's entrance gate were the 996,312 tallied in 2009.
Comments
This is a great park right in the middle of slick rock country in Utah. When my wife and I first drove into this park, we thought we had landed in a Roadrunner cartoon. We expected to see Wile E. Coyote pop up at any time. All kidding aside, there are opportunities for windshield tourists, walkers and serious hikers alike.
I have placed a few pictures at http://henrymoore.org/Arches_NP/arches_np.html for those interested. The last picture is not in Arches NP but nearby. Can anyone tell me what it is???
It's the Monitor and Merrimack formations on BLM land between Arches and and the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands NP.
Anon is correct. This whole area covering the southern half of Utah and the northern part of Arizona, from a geologic standpoint, is fascinating and I can't get enough of it.
I agree, Bogator. The bulk of this area is actually in the Colorado Plateau, which has long been my favorite geologic region.