It does involve a 1.5-mile hike each way --carrying lots of equipment (the hike back, in the dark, is the more difficult).

I gave a link with my original post, on how this was done, but I'll re-print that here for everyone's convenience:

How we did it: There were three lights used in this 10-minute time exposure: 1.) two Meggaflash pf300 in a 12-inch polished reflector, coming from camera left; 2.) eight flashes within the arch coming from a Norman 400B portable strobe (firing at the 200 watt-seconds setting), covered with a yellow-gold Rosco gel filter; and 3.) 40 flashes coming from camera right via a Norman 400B portable strobe (firing at the 200 watt-seconds setting), covered with a red-magenta Rosco gel filter. We are rarely able to get more than one or two photographs each evening. Flash exposures are pre-calculated (based on distance). All flashes are fired during the 10-minuted time exposure (for the sky). We typically start the time exposure about 50 minutes after sunset. This gives us the color of blue in the sky that we like (based on the end of the "blue hour" calculations).

For additional information, read this Strobist Magazine article. This article will give you some entertaining info about the use of the flash bulbs. :)

Practice in daylight to avoid danger: Typically, my wife Linda or one of my sons, will open the shutter (using the "bulb" setting) at my command (often using a radio to communicate), and I will walk around and set off all the flashes. This has to be practiced in the daylight since I cannot use a flashlight to guide me. Firing the flashes within the arch was the most critical and dangerous, since I had to be hidden behind the arch's right fin, but not venture far enough to fall off the ledge behind it (which drops several hundred feet)!

Getting permission: People often ask if one has to get permission to take a complicated night photo like this. The answer is "no", if you are not doing a commercial shoot (otherwise, you must get park permission and post a bond). You also must be careful not to harm the park features. Another photographer lit fires a few years ago near this arch (to create a dramatic lighting effect) and caused damage to the feature. He was fined $5,000 and had to pay about $16,000 to restore the damage. :oops:

No, you will not be wasting money on this lens.

Like you said, the 55mm prime @ f/1.8 is a fairly cheap lens for an aperture this fast. On your D5100 it performs similar to an 82mm (almost 85mm) lens on a full-frame 35mm camera (FX). An 85mm is a very popular portrait focal length. Shooting wide open or at f/2, you'll be able to quickly throw distracting backgrounds out of focus, and this focal length will position you just far enough away to avoid body distortions. A great use of limited funds!

Beautiful colors and composition!

Now that you point it out, it's obvious. Girls would know!

This is a continuation of my "Night Work" series: This photo was recently featured in the Stobist Magazine. For additional information, read the article linked from this page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ironrodart/4595335906/

Previous Night Work photos:
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-75264-1.html
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-74761-1.html
.

Delicate Arch - Arches National Park. Photographed 50 minutes after sunset, at the end of the "Blue Hour". Exposure was 10 minutes @ f/8 • ISO 400. During the exposure, the arch was light painted with 3 different lights (see above link for details).

Here's a photo I took near the end of the "blue hour". This photo was featured recently in the Strobist magazine:
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2012/05/royce-bairs-night-lit-landscapes.html

Delicate Arch - Arches National Park. Photographed 50 minutes after sunset, at the end of the "Blue Hour". Exposure was 10 minutes @ f/8 • ISO 400. During the exposure, the arch was light painted with 3 different lights (see link above for details).

I agree. The blue hour does not really last an "hour", but closer to about 35 minutes; and the best part is only about a 10-minute window. Here's a free online calculator:
http://www.bluehoursite.com/

Sorry for the delay in making my comments on this series of 3 photos. I especially like this last one best. Yes, the highlights are somewhat burned out, but you're dealing with an extremely high contrast range. The only way to avoid the blow-out would have been to underexpose, and I like the density of the rest of the scene just the way it is. What appeals to me most are the complimentary colors (yellow lights and dark blue sky).

The first one of the arch is my favorite! The only way these great photos could be improved might be to re-shoot some of them during the "blue hour". This would improve their shadow detail and add a little more color and detail to the sky.
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-75180-1.html

Exactly.

I have a lot of people say this to me. I have two hopeful words for you: You can! Here's a short blog where I featured several night photographers, some with less than $1,000 in equipment (camera and lens) that were able to produce some stunning night work, and in some of the most light-polluted areas of the world:

http://intothenightphoto.blogspot.com/2012/09/nightscapes-on-budget.html

Graveyards at the blue hour sounds like a fun project, especially with some light painting. ...can't wait to see the results!

This is drop-dead gorgeous, and one of my favorite locations in the world!

I like the interaction we have on this forum. I've still not gotten a lot of traction on G+ yet. I think 500px has a more elegant interface for displaying and showcasing photos. Flickr is not as elegant, but has more options. For less than $25 per year I can archive all my full-resolution JPEG images (up to 25MB each), which is less than Carbonite ($55 per year), or other in-the-cloud back-up services.

My 500px: http://500px.com/nightscape
My Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ironrodart/

For me, Canon has supplied only one of the components I need. IS is great because I can often use up to two slower shutter speeds without getting the shakes. However, I love the wide, f/2.8 aperture for outdoor portraits and wedding candid. I like how quickly the backgrounds go out of focus with that aperture! With my new 5D Mark III, I can shoot wedding candids wide open in available light (@ ISO 3200) with minimal noise. (Although I am using a single Calumet Pro Series Stackable LED Light Panel, mounted on my hot shoe to add a little fill light): http://bit.ly/QnQk0y

original EF 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ f/2.8, 1/100 sec. ISO 3200 (using the 5D Mk3)