Goblin Valley and Friends!

For a long while what I have considered to be my personal heaven was a large national park in Southern Utah know as Canyonlands. It's breathtaking scenery and photogenic landscapes have always held an addicting appeal to me. However, this Memorial Day weekend I took a short trip to Goblin Valley and the outskirts of the neighboring San Rafael Swell. While being a San Rafael Swell veteran, I had never actually been to Goblin Valley before and was very surprised to find what the park had to offer.




Like many national parks in Southern Utah, Goblin Valley shares similar traits like an abundant absence of water and a strong lack of life, both plant and animal. However, the thing that sets Goblin Valley apart is it's unique simplicity. Three components make up the parks composition: Sandstone, sand, and hardened mud. There are no shear rock walls to be seen, deep canyons carved out by rivers, or minor vegetation to liven up the landscape- all characteristics of surrounding places.






Our group consisted of my dad, Ryan, and myself meeting up with Samantha Waite's entire family. For the most part our three day trip consisted of staying in or near the park. Everyone spent a lot of time climbing on the "goblins" scrambling up the rock formations while I spent much of my time putting my new camera to good use. Clint eventually came up with a game that involved one person running and then jumping off of a "goblin" and trying to catch a frisbee in the air and that, needless to say, held everyones attention for a while.




Not far from Goblin Valley is Little Wildhorse Canyon, perhaps the most stunning slot canyon in Utah. Stunning is an understatement when trying to describe the most narrow sections of the canyon and the highlight of every trip to Little Wildhorse is the part when one group must inevitably shimmy up the narrow canyon walls to let another group pass underneath. Generally I dislike high traffic hikes and outdoor hotspots but somehow this canyon still retains it's secluded feeling despite the constant flow of tourism.



Every now and then we would run across a small patch of concentrated vegetation which stuck out like a sore thumb. It was these little areas that proved to be the most rewarding parts of the trip and photogenic Christmas for someone with a camera.




I really enjoy little weekend getaways to Southern Utah and it is always very interesting to visit a crazy new place like Goblin Valley. The land has a very familiar tone to it but also radically different at the same time.

Chad





P.S. If this post sounded scattered and unorganized, well... it was. I started writing it late last night in a fashion that English professors would be proud of but then I fell asleep. Today I decided to finish it and didn't care to maintain a "professional" writing tone about it.