I just saw this unusual Colorado arch for the first time recently on a little day trip with my wife and thought it was pretty interesting. I got some photos that day but thought it would be even more interesting to try and frame the moon in it sometime. I checked my apps regarding moon alignment and it looked like this full moon we just had was going to be the best alignment until next winter.
So I headed back down on Saturday to try and get it. The last stretch of road on the 2 hour drive (really a 4x4 trail) had only just opened for the season and with some recent snow it got a little dicey but I managed to navigate the mud pits and get there ok.
I hiked the hills opposite the arch and quickly realized I would face some challenges getting this shot. The rock wall was huge and the arch relatively small at this angle so being in the right spot for the moon to be visible was not going to be easy. The apps I use to figure this out are not accurate enough to get me in the perfect spot, just relatively close. I decided to hike a little higher to see it rise, get some higher perspective shots and then move lower to try and get the through the arch shot with the moon higher in the sky. Once I got up higher I could see low clouds were going to block the moon close to the horizon which they did. Still a nice view. The moon is behind those clouds in the first shot. Too bad because this shot, nice as it is would be better with the moon just above the Sangre de Cristos there.
Shot some panos too while I was there.
Then once the moon was high enough I headed back down the hill to try for the hole shot. I ended up running back and forth a bunch of times, spotting the moon to the side of the ridge, then trying to make it line up with the opening. Light was fading and I was afraid it would be a total bust but finally I got in the right spot and managed a few shots with a couple of different focal lengths before the moon was out of range and the foreground was too dark.
The photos may not be my best but I thought they were worth the effort in the end. It was a fun exercise if nothing else. I might try again next February but I'll probably have to ski in the last few miles.
