"The desert wears...a veil of mystery. Motionless and silent it evokes in us an elusive hint of something unknown, unknowable, about to be revealed. Since the desert does not act it seems to be waiting-but waiting for what?" Edward Abbey-1968
In 1956 and 1957, Abbey worked as a park ranger, "in a little tin government house trailer" near Balanced Rock in Arches National Park, Utah. His love for nature led to the publication of his novel, "The Monkey Wrench Gang" It became a cult classic and spawned ecologically motivated mayhem dedicated to the distinction of a system that pollutes and destroys the environment. I did my share.
The most stone arches in the world, over 2,000, are documented in Arches National Park. Beneath sandstone layers is a thick layer of salt squeezed upward, cracking stone above. Rain and snow erodes the sandstone.