Chasing Sunrise at Mesa Arch — again

Moving into the desert of southeast Utah was an easy, short drive from Palisade, CO, to Horsethief campground on BLM land north of Moab.  Horsethief offers a rustic, scenic, and practical stop in the heart of southeastern Utah’s red‑rock country. The campground makes a great basecamp: it’s just minutes from the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point State Park, and excellent mountain‑biking terrain.  Another positive of this campground is that there is a 1,500-foot elevation gain from Moab, about 10 miles south. The sole purpose of our stopping here was to give me another chance to photograph Mesa Arch in Canyonlands. I wanted to try to capture a better photo than I took in 2023. The arch is a very popular sunrise location and attracts way too many people who all seem to feel the need to talk very loudly and continuously. Not that I mind that sort of behavior, just saying. (As a side note, we learned way too much about the personal lives of “20-somethings”.)

The firing line at Mesa Arch, the dark green hulk in the middle is yours truly.

The Princess and I arrive an hour before sunrise to set up the camera at the best vantage point to frame the sunrise with the whole inner curve of the arch and to pick up part of the top edge. Most people arrive about 10 minutes before sunrise and are disappointed to find me with my tripod positioned and guarded so that no one would encroach on the three square feet of the sand I chose. 

The first afternoon in Canyoulands NP, a very brief storm blew through, creating some very dramatic lighting..

Grand View Point

Who would have thought landscape photography was a full-on contact affair?  An added benefit of early arrival is that for a short while, we have the space and the quiet of the high desert to ourselves, along with a few birds commenting on our intrusion into their space. We had set aside two mornings to photograph the arch. Both mornings had a clear, cloudless sky, not the best conditions, but at least it wasn’t snowing like the last time we were here. I am sure I will be back sometime to try for the photo that captures what I experienced the first time I saw the sun rise at Mesa Arch.

Let me know in the comments which photo of the arch you prefer or if I need to go back and try again.

Dennis

Notes:

        Horsethief Campground sits atop a pinyon‑juniper–covered mesa. It has approximately 83 first-come, first-served individual campsites, most of which can accommodate a travel trailer. There are no services available except for a large trash dumpster about the size of a small New York apartment. Be sure to fill your fresh water tank before leaving US-191.  There is a Sun Outdoors commercial campground and a gas station close to the intersection of US-191 and UT-313.  We have had luck securing a spot at the campground, arriving mid-morning when others are leaving.

        The Farm and City Feed and RV Supply at the south end of Moab has a convenient dump station open 24 hours a day with an “honesty box” request for $5. There is also a potable water spicket available.