There be goblins in the valley

When I left Brigham City, UT this morning, it was a bit chilly, but NOT raining!  A few hours later, I was driving over the mountains east of Spanish Fork...SNOW covered mountains!  It wasn't snowing, but temperatures were near freezing!  My destination of the day would be Goblin Valley State Park, located in central Utah.  While I was planning my road trip, I stumbled across this place and I knew immediately I had to add it too my list of must-see places.  You'll see what I mean.

That's Wild Horse Butte in the background, and as you can see, it was nice and sunny today!  Perfect for taking pictures, and I took a LOT of those!  Goblin Valley is famous for its sandstone hoodoos or goblins made of Entrada sandstone.  There are literally THOUSANDS of these goblins, shaped by wind and water and totally unique from other rock formations in Utah.  It was fun walking among the goblins, and there wasn't a lack of picture perfect views.

 

Doesn't the photo above remind you of a futuristic city in a sci-fi movie?  After leisurely walking among the goblins, I decided to take a little hike.  From the parking lot, I took the 1.5 mile Carmel Canyon Trail.  The trail was mostly dirt, with some sandstone slick rock in places, and the scenery was just as awesome as Goblin Valley.

 

This particular trail was listed as moderately strenuous, and for the most part, I thought it was pretty easy.  But, I was surprised when toward the end of the hike I was presented with quite a challenge.  The trail was following a sandy dry wash when suddenly it narrowed between sandstone walls and ended with a rather high shelf of smooth rock.  Now, how was I supposed to get up that?  I pondered my situation...made harder by the fact that I'm short...and opted to shimmy up using the sides of the rock walls.  It's a good thing I'm in pretty good shape.  I was patting myself on the back for that feat when I came across ANOTHER shelf, this one a bit harder.  I managed to find enough of a foothold in the wall to work my way up that one, too.  

Of course, my photo album wouldn't be complete without the flora and fauna.  AND, I got pics of a couple of different lizards.  They were pretty small...only a few inches long...and could have been babies.  I also got a nice shot of a desert wildflower.

Tomorrow...you got it!  More rocks!  I never get tired of seeing different kind of rocks and natural terrain.  That's what make Utah so great.  There are SO MANY national and state parks to choose from, and it will be my first visit to this one.