It's funny Pam, I was already thinking about posting this tonight. I believe the close monument to the right is The Organ and the far one on the left is the Tower of Babel. I'm sure Bret could clarify/confirm since he lives there.
According to the NPS map and the Arches Locator map, you are correct. The far one I've also seen called Courthouse Tower. The near one I have seen called The Tower of Babel, The Organ, or both. Pam's image I've also seen called The Organ, though on the maps it has no name. (It probably deserves one since it sits very prominently in front of the La Sal Viewpoint.) Hence the confusion.
Look on the bright side: at least they haven't labeled them with huge white letters painted on the sides of the rock...
Are the Gossips just down the road on the left? If so, I'm familiar with that spot.
Seeing a shot from that far off the road makes me feel like a dummy for obeying all of the "dont walk on the cryptobiotic soil" signs. I went all the way to Moab, only to take photos from the side of the asphalt.
If you walk on the rock and/or the sandy washes, you can indeed get off the pavement and the trails without "busting the crust". Sometimes it's hard to find such a track, though...
Jason: This particular area is full of washes and slickrock on which to travel, too. One can easily find many new perspectives of the Three Gossips, The Organ and the Tower of Babel by wash walking. Remember, some of those "washes" are no wider than your two feet side by side, but they are perfectly okay to walk though.
Thanks for taking the crypto signs to heart, though. It's nice to know there are folks out there who value the landscape enough not to just trample over it for a photo!
Jason, you are not a dummy for taking the signs to heart. Unfortunately, this area is already trampled by lots of photographers. I kept to the washes, rock or existing footprints (which there are many) in this area. There were a few other locations I thought of taking photos, but it would have required walking over really rich soils, so I thought better of it and didn't walk in those areas. The challenge in walking in some of the drainages is that some dead end into vast 'fields' of these soils. I did some backtracking in a few areas as a result.
Discussion
9 repliesPentax 67ii, 45mm, Velvia 100.
Look on the bright side: at least they haven't labeled them with huge white letters painted on the sides of the rock...
Seeing a shot from that far off the road makes me feel like a dummy for obeying all of the "dont walk on the cryptobiotic soil" signs. I went all the way to Moab, only to take photos from the side of the asphalt.
*shakes head*
If you walk on the rock and/or the sandy washes, you can indeed get off the pavement and the trails without "busting the crust". Sometimes it's hard to find such a track, though...
Yes, the Gossips are across the road to the left.
Thanks for taking the crypto signs to heart, though. It's nice to know there are folks out there who value the landscape enough not to just trample over it for a photo!
Craig
Steve, I just love the colors in the sky! Nicely done!