Arches National Park.
Double Arch is another place I had only ever seen in books or on tv. It seems to be bigger in person. Set into a sort of alcove or cave, any sound echoes off the rock walls, giving off the impression of a giant room. I felt energy here too. I sat down and listened to the silence for a few minutes. I walked back to the car at dusk with a smile on my face, feeling stress free and grateful for the day.
The second instance was at the Devil’s Garden trailhead in the afternoon. I had returned from my 2 mile walk to Landscape Arch, the longest arch in the park. The trail leading directly underneath the arch is now closed due to safety reasons. In 1991, a 60-foot slab of rock broke off from the underside of the arch forcing hikers who had been sitting underneath it to flee, thus inspiring the closure. The trail now gives the arch a wide birth.
Two courting ravens were perched on branches near the parking lot. I heard one of them make a throaty sound; I later learned that the raven was singing. As I walked to my car, one flew down and landed in front of my car. The other soon followed. I crouched near my car facing them. Like with the first raven, I talked to these two, complimenting their colors and size. I asked if they were together. One flew up on the hood of my car and the other soon followed. They pecked at the leaves caught under the hood while I stood 3 feet away, photographing them. I noticed how purple some of their feathers were.
The two would talk, making cute honking sounds. They would affectionately nibble and scritch each other. I took a video and showed it to them. They seemed interested. As I sat in the driver seat, one flew up and perched on the open door. I gave both of them some peanuts from my trail mix. I had never had such an experience before and again wondered what this meant in the grand scheme of things.
Ravens can symbolize different things, positive and negative. The can be symbols of death and destruction in some cultures while in others they are seen as spirits in the mortal world acting as messengers. Some also see them as symbols of insight or rebirth. I'm still not sure exactly what they meant but considering the day I had in the park, I took it as a good sign that these ravens approached me and felt comfortable enough to talk.
This was my first visit to Arches National Park, considered one of the Mighty 5 national parks in the state of Utah, along with Zion, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Canyonlands. Approximately 2,000 entrada sandstone arches are documented here, some tiny, some enormous. Most of the arches I saw were just that: holes in sandstone created from eons of erosion.
But there were two arches in particular that emitted some sort of energy: Delicate Arch and Double Arch. These formations are iconic to the park, massive arches that boggle the mind. I spent several hours at Delicate Arch and the bowl below it, photographing it and exploring the area. I can’t explain exactly what this energy was or where it comes from, but I noticed it. Perhaps it’s spiritual or cosmic. I spent a few minutes meditating and had the impression that my body’s energy was gently oscillating. It was a positive, calming energy. I felt at peace in that moment.
On the way back to the trailhead, I began to think about petroglyphs I had seen of a single oscillating line. Maybe the people of long ago had the same experience I had when they felt their body's energy oscillate while meditating near certain arches, so they drew that petroglyph to mark the spots for other people to find and have the same experience. It was my own little hypothesis in an attempt to make sense of something that does not make sense.
Double Arch is another place I had only ever seen in books or on tv. It seems to be bigger in person. Set into a sort of alcove or cave, any sound echoes off the rock walls, giving off the impression of a giant room. I felt energy here too. I sat down and listened to the silence for a few minutes. I walked back to the car at dusk with a smile on my face, feeling stress free and grateful for the day.
In the summer of 2022, I read a book called Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. The book was about his season as a park ranger inside Arches National Park before it had paved roads taking tourists right up to the arches. He wrote about how much of a shame it was that the National Park Service was going to build paved roads in the park. These roads ruin the feel of wilderness in these parks, he argued. After visiting the park, I saw what he meant. Arches National Park does have some sort of energy. I could really feel it in certain areas I've already mentioned; it's a mystical place. I imagine that I would not be able to feel it if the park was too crowded with people. I wish the road didn't make the park so accessible; people should be required to hike more to see some of the arches.
During my visit, I encountered rain, snow and wind. It was a cold, miserable day to be outside, but this seemed to keep a lot of people away. Arches is normally a very popular place to visit, so much so that the park has to limit how many people get to enter during the warmer months. I didn't have this issue during my January visit. I just flashed my park pass to the ranger at the entrance and drove up the steep switchbacks that lead people into the park proper. I think the lack of people contributed to my overall enjoyment.
In addition to the energy I felt, the day was special because on two separate occasions a raven flew right up to me and allowed me to take its portrait. Perhaps they just thought I would give them food since tourists in the park probably do it all the time, but I had the feeling there was a deeper meaning.
These beautiful black and purple feathered birds are quite large up close. The first time it happened, I had hiked up to a viewpoint overlooking Delicate Arch, an icon of Arches National Park. There was no trail to this point. I had tenuously perched myself on the cliff edge to take photos of the arch. That’s when the raven flew up and landed about 4 feet behind me, spooking me. This bird was probably flying around the bowl and arch to other tourists. But this close? The raven’s beak was coated with red sand, as if it had been digging for food. It stayed on that rock for a few minutes, enough time for me to take its portrait. I talked to the raven. As soon as it flew off, I wondered what the meaning of it was.
These beautiful black and purple feathered birds are quite large up close. The first time it happened, I had hiked up to a viewpoint overlooking Delicate Arch, an icon of Arches National Park. There was no trail to this point. I had tenuously perched myself on the cliff edge to take photos of the arch. That’s when the raven flew up and landed about 4 feet behind me, spooking me. This bird was probably flying around the bowl and arch to other tourists. But this close? The raven’s beak was coated with red sand, as if it had been digging for food. It stayed on that rock for a few minutes, enough time for me to take its portrait. I talked to the raven. As soon as it flew off, I wondered what the meaning of it was.
The second instance was at the Devil’s Garden trailhead in the afternoon. I had returned from my 2 mile walk to Landscape Arch, the longest arch in the park. The trail leading directly underneath the arch is now closed due to safety reasons. In 1991, a 60-foot slab of rock broke off from the underside of the arch forcing hikers who had been sitting underneath it to flee, thus inspiring the closure. The trail now gives the arch a wide birth.
Two courting ravens were perched on branches near the parking lot. I heard one of them make a throaty sound; I later learned that the raven was singing. As I walked to my car, one flew down and landed in front of my car. The other soon followed. I crouched near my car facing them. Like with the first raven, I talked to these two, complimenting their colors and size. I asked if they were together. One flew up on the hood of my car and the other soon followed. They pecked at the leaves caught under the hood while I stood 3 feet away, photographing them. I noticed how purple some of their feathers were.
The two would talk, making cute honking sounds. They would affectionately nibble and scritch each other. I took a video and showed it to them. They seemed interested. As I sat in the driver seat, one flew up and perched on the open door. I gave both of them some peanuts from my trail mix. I had never had such an experience before and again wondered what this meant in the grand scheme of things.
Ravens can symbolize different things, positive and negative. The can be symbols of death and destruction in some cultures while in others they are seen as spirits in the mortal world acting as messengers. Some also see them as symbols of insight or rebirth. I'm still not sure exactly what they meant but considering the day I had in the park, I took it as a good sign that these ravens approached me and felt comfortable enough to talk.
I spent the entire day inside the park, thrilled with my spiritual experiences. I returned to Moab under cover of darkness, picking up some fast food and most importantly, some ice cream.
Some great writing, as usual! The raven is a harbinger of death in Cwltic mythology. One of the best stories is that the Ulster champion Cú Culainn bound himself to a tree so that he could continue to fight his enemies although he was wounded. They held back until Morrigan, the goddess of death, perched on his shoulder in the form of a raven and they realised that he was dead.
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