“Mesa Witness”

Location: Canyonlands National Park, Utah (2018)

A crowd gathers to witness sunrise at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park.

Crowds.

They have always been around, but these days I think they are increasing due to social media.

Secrets spots are no secret anymore.

That’s not to say that Mesa Arch was ever a secret spot, but it has become more popular in recent years. (Even though I had arrived 90 minutes prior to sunrise, I still was too late to secure a spot underneath the arch.)

You can see why people are here. Underneath the arch, the rock glows a reddish orange from reflected sunlight hitting the cliff face below the arch.

That lovely glow only lasts for about 2-3 minutes. Get there too late, and you’d never know what you missed!

My first and only time to Mesa Arch at the time of this writing produced this photograph.