Discovering the Secrets of Moonshine Arch

"Moonshine  Arch  is  one  of  Vernal’s  best kept  secrets  and  is  only  8  miles  outside of  town.  This  massive  arch  is  about  85 feet  in  length  and  about  40  feet  above  the ground.  You  can  access  the  Arch  by  jeep, atv, or hiking. Moonshine Arch is not a well-known site, so there are no fences, railings or improvements.  The  trail  is  clearly  marked, however,  and  there  are  green  metal  signs that  lead  you  in  the  right  direction.  You might think you have taken the wrong path because you won’t see Moonshine Arch until you come around the last bend on the trail.  Be  prepared  though,  because  you  will  be amazed and impressed at the sight you see."

This is how the pamphlet our friends Jane and Kim gave us begins.  The description was enough to intrigue them, and it also intrigued us.  Kim and Jane have been visiting the U.S. from Britain, and they sorely wanted to see Moonshine Arch, but their rental car would not tolerate the rough dirt track that has to be driven to reach it.  So they handed us the pamphlet and urged us to see it for ourselves during our visit to nearby Vernal, Utah.

We made it the first item on our itinerary for this stop in Vernal, and we were very happy we did.  Moonshine Arch does not disappoint!

We followed the detailed driving directions until we came to a gate where we parked the Jeep, and started the 1-mile hike up to the arch.  We knew we were on the right track because some unique signs pointed the way:

The pamphlet suggested we might have been able to drive our Jeep all the way to the arch, but we saw this steep, ravine-like road down into the first wash and decided it would be tough enough to hike down it - let alone try to risk our Jeep in a technical off-road experience:

The hike was gorgeous in itself, with views of nearby white sandstone hills with intriguing caves in them:

Kathy spotted some unique, pretty white wildflowers, which greeted us on our morning walk:

As we climbed the ridge, we looked back behind us to the south, and saw a dramatic wilderness landscape:

The patterns of the white sandstone were entrancing, reminding us of our visit to White Pockets near Kanab, Utah last year:

Sure enough, around the last turn we suddenly saw the arch.  Most photos of the arch are taken from the opposite perspective, looking out through the arch to the landscape beyond.  This view seems even more magical, because the cave in the hillside behind it seems to echo the lines and colors of the arch itself:

Walking under the arch, we got closer to the hillside cave and discovered that its shades and shapes had endless variety:

Climbing up into the cave, we got our classic photo back through Moonshine Arch toward the terrain below --

-- but the depth, lines and colors of the cave kept beckoning us further in:

As we contemplated the whorls of color, we were reminded of our visit to Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona, as well:

David climbed down from the cave and across behind the arch to get another photo of Kathy sitting in the cave, and it revealed a much grander scale to the rock hillside, with its ochre, white and chocolate colors:

While Kathy, in turn, clambered down from the cave, David turned the camera to the endless hypnotic sandstone features around us, including this near-hoodoo --

-- and this long, sloping sandstone wall --

-- that reminded us of a Middle Eastern fortress wall, stretching down into the valley and protecting some treasure from capture by sacriligeous, uncaring outsiders: 

Before returning back down the trail to the Jeep, we couldn't resist returning to Moonshine Arch and taking a selfy with it, its graceful curve arcing above our heads:

In the coming days, we plan to explore Flaming Gorge, Dinosaur National Monument, and some other natural wonders in the area near Vernal.  If Moonshine Arch is an omen, we're in for some spectacular scenery!