3

LUMINOUS
LIGHT
Southern Utah is home to hundreds of natural
wonders but none more extraordinary than
Arches National Park. Carved from the rolling
landscape over 65 million years in the making,
its 2,000 natural arches were formed through the
persistent erosion of desert winds, rain and frost
steadily chipping away at the sandstone terrain.
Mind you, other parks may boast a few arches
here or there, but in number and spectacle there
is no close second to this park. You wander past
these towering formations …the Double Arch,
the North Window, the Turret, the Double-O…
envisioning how these once were part of some
larger solid thing - a mountain, a cliff, a hillside.
And you ask: why here and nowhere else? How
did it happen and how long did it take? Lifetimes
come and go but this place is ageless. Truly,
Nature’s patience is awe-inspiring.
ABOVE MILKY WAY OVER DELICATE ARCH, ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

2 Luminous Light
…And then you come to the Delicate Arch, the great wonder of the park, which nearly defies
explanation by natural causes. It stands on its own hill shooting 63 feet in the air before arching down
along an almost flat plane of sandstone.
You can’t help but wonder: What geologic formation gave way to allow for this
towering beast to dominate the landscape? In a land of oddities, this is the one
that takes your breath away.
When night comes to Arches National Park, the sky stretches out to infinity and you might just be
able to see every single star in the firmament. I lay down beneath the Delicate Arch, my head against
my pack and stared up through the great circle of the arch. I counted the stars in the Milky Way and
pondered what other limitless wonders await on worlds far beyond our reach. There may be billions of
them. Limitless. I took my shot. For that is what the Delicate Arch means to me…
RIGHT LAKE MCDONALD AT SUNRISE, GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT

4 Luminous Light Luminous Light 5
ABOVE BADWATER FLATS, DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CA
ABOVE WILD CARROTS, SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, VA
NEXT GLACIER POINT

Luminous Light 9
LEFT SUNDOWN AT JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, CA
ABOVE YOSEMITE VALLEY

10 Luminous Light
ABOVE ZEBRISKIE POINT IN INFRARED, DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CA | RIGHT SUMMER SUN, ACADIA NATIONAL PARK, ME
NEXT ZION NATIONAL PARK, UT

Luminous Light 15
ABOVE GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WY
ABOVE BLACK GULLS, ANACAPA ISLAND, CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK, CA

16 Luminous Light
ABOVE SOUTH RIM, GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, AZ
RIGHT JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK UNDER THE MILKY WAY AND MOON

18 Luminous Light Luminous Light 19
ABOVE PINE AND HALF DOME, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA
ABOVE ELKS AT SUNRISE, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WY

Luminous Light 21
LEFT WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, NM
ABOVE MT MORAN, GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, WY