Goblin Valley



One of our first big adventures was to a curious little state park in the middle of nowhere Utah.  We decided to visit Goblin Valley because Ben had learned about the odd rock formations in his geology class, it had camping spaces and it was close to home. Perfect for struggling college kids. 
Goblin Valley SP

I wasn't sure what exactly to expect (Pinterest wasn't a thing back then) when we pulled into the small treeless campground. Surely this wasn't camping! It was nearly 95 degrees, sandy and windy.  Despite all this, I was happy to see bathrooms... nice bathrooms... with flush-able toilets... and running water. SCORE! 

Putting up our tent in the Utah desert wind was a complete joke as it kept flapping around everywhere. However, we eventually got our sweltering shelter put together and went to work blowing up the air mattress which we soon realized was much to big for our tent. Haha. Not only did the sides rub against the tent, causing it to squeak, but Ben had to get under the mattress in order to blow it up.  Oh gosh it was funny!  I was so irritated that I told Ben to take it out and we would sleep on the sandy ground. He told me I was overreacting and to calm down. Which I promptly did not! 
Air mattress mishaps!

Now that the air mattress was wedged into our flimsy little tent we decided to go take a look at the main attraction of Goblin Valley.  Over the canyon rim, we got our first glimpse of a small valley covered in hoodoos (a.k.a. Goblins).  Can I just say... "WOW." Odd mushroom shaped sandstone rock features littered the valley floor.  What a site it was!
Goblin Valley SP, Utah

We spent a few hours walking around the Goblins, discussing sediment layers and the geological timeline.  We watched tiny lizards scurry around looking for refuge from the glaring sun and even spotted some prancing antelope. That night we heard the desert come to life. Crickets chirped, small rodents scampered around, owls hooted and coyotes howled in the distance. 

The next day we drove the 100 miles to visit Arches NP.  While speeding down I-70 we ran over a huge rattlesnake that was stretched out over two lanes. We hadn't even gone a tenth of a mile when a vulture swooped down, picked it up and carried the danging snake in front of us to its nest. It seriously could have been a scene in a desert animal documentary. 

While visiting Arches NP a storm stirred up in the distance. We thought nothing of it until we reached Green River, Utah.  Fighting against the strong winds, a semi was lifted up onto two wheels and nearly fell onto its side right in front of our car.  Thankful we weren't in an accident!

When we reached the camp ground, our tent had been blown down. The only thing keeping our tent from completely rolling away was that over-sized air mattress!  The one that I had insisted we take out. I guess Ben does know better... sometimes. 

TRAVEL, SMILE, REPEAT
Goblin Valley SP, Utah













Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The NCL Pearl

Image
So when we booked this cruise, I joked with friends and family that we were sailing on "The Pearl" (pirate accent, of course).  I figured we were okay to board when I saw that the cruise ship didn't have black sails.  Fortunately, the NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) Pearl has much nicer entertainment, dinning and lodging options then the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean.  We boarded on August 6, 2017, destined for the inside passage of Alaska. The NCL Pearl After a poolside lunch, we made our way to our interior stateroom. Booking and interior was a first for Ben and I. There were several pros and cons. We loved the price of the interior stateroom.  We were on deck most of the day taking in the beautiful Alaskan scenery, so we didn't spend much time in our room. However, we did notice that the interior rooms are super dark. I would wake up in the middle of the night not knowing if it was 2 or 9 am. (Thank goodness for cell phones with flashlights
Read more

Portage Glacier

Image
Cold air blew off the ice, whipping us in the face, as a small charter boat approached the arctic blue Portage Glacier.  Ben and I had left the comfort of our cruise ship, taken a tour bus an hour in land and were now face to face with a giant field of ice. Frigid wind whistled off the top of the glacier, slapping our cheeks as we stood in total awe at the power of nature.  Portage Glacier, Alaska Earlier that day, our cruise ship, the MS Maasdam docked in Anchorage, Alaska. We were excited to be in such an awesome city and even more excited to take a tour to Portage Lake where we would get to be up close to a glacier.  I don't remember most of the drive to the lake since the gentle rumble of the bus put me to sleep.  Despite Ben's best attempts, I could not keep my eyes open (this is what hypothyroidism does to you).  He's told me that he saw several waterfalls, bald eagles (his favorite bird) and even passed a bay where he saw a whale.  Portage Glacie
Read more

La Jolla Cove and Seal Rock

Image
Like most people I love the ocean. I love the salty mist, the rushing waves, the sunsets and the feel of sand squishing between my toes.  Unfortunately, I live in Utah. I know what you're thinking and NO, the Great Salt Lake is not the ocean. Not even close! Naturally, when I planned our anniversary trip to sunny San Diego, I knew we would be spending a lot of time at the ocean. One evening, my husband and I decided to find a beach that neither of us had visited before. So we pulled out good ol' google maps and discovered La Jolla Cove. La Jolla Cove, California  With the windows down, we circled the area looking for a parking spot. I heard the waves crashing against rocks, seagulls squawking loudly, and something barking in the distance. I looked at Ben. He looked at me. We both smiled and said "Sea Lions!" Now, that might not sound very exciting to some people but wild sea lions are exotic animals to us inland folks. We looked over the wall
Read more