Not So Ghoulish

We were near Green River Utah with one more day to spare before meeting up with friends at Capitol Reef. Goblin Valley State Park was halfway, so we packed up, refilled the fresh water and dumped the tanks at Maverik, then found a spot with a couple other motorhomes at coordinates 38.64543, -110.64776. We had seen it called Goblin Valley Overlook, but after seeing a few ATVs pulling in and leaving throughout the afternoon, I was told they refer to it as Cellphone Hill, as there is little phone service in the area except at this small butte. We had good T-Mobile internet here as well. This may be a small lot, it could fit a couple more RVs, and it was very easy to get level. It is around 4.5 miles off Highway 24, and 7 miles to the State Park gate.

I had gotten too much sun in Moab the previous day, and was still recovering from the hike. I told Al that I wasn’t up for hiking the slot canyons, but not to let it keep him from going, which he did. I stayed back with the old bitties, who napped during most of his absence.

Later, with a little over an hour of daylight left, we drove over to Goblin Valley State Park. We paid $20 for the entry, which was good until 10:00PM the following day. We were surprised how many vehicles were still there, and visitors continued showing up even after the sun set.

The parking area overlooks the valley, which is much bigger than I had expected. Al put Cassie in her belly-pack, and I had Suki with her leash. We walked down among the rockscapes, but initially all I could see were butts... Smooth, round butts with exposed cracks. The first looked like a plumber bent down under a kitchen sink. Then we saw noses, mushrooms, a row of dwarves, a chess knight & bishop... all sorts of shapes started appearing to both of us. It seemed like an endless labyrinth. A few times we would get to an impasse and have to turn around, but Suki’s nose knows the way back so we let her lead us out.

We wandered around until the sun dropped below the horizon and the moon rose before us. I was glad we went late in the day, as it wasn’t so hot and we wouldn’t have to carry water. I know we could have spent several more hours ambling among nature’s stonework, but for as busy we had been recently, it was just the right amount.

We only stayed the one night, and had a nice sunset to go with it. I’m glad we did, breaking it into two short travel days, and giving us the chance to see some things along the way.

Today we postponed our day to explore, instead removing the refrigerator and adding some ventilation to its cabinet as the pantry gets quite hot. It turned into a much longer job than we’d expected, but it’s done and we can cross it off the to-do list. The winds have been blustery and the temperatures are dropping fast. The annular eclipse is only a couple days away, and this area is filling up rather fast. Do we take pictures of the eclipse itself, or of some landscape or object? I’m not sure if I just want it to be over so we can head south, or figure out where we should be during it.

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