Goblin Valley

Since we're moving out of state in just over a month, we decided we wanted to hit up our favorite places in Utah while they were still close. Top of the list: Goblin Valley. Eric and I have been camping there for both of our birthdays since getting married--last time I was 7 months pregnant with Scotty. This was our first family camping trip and overall, it was a great success! Minus the torrential downpour and windstorm that almost collapsed the tent.


We headed out early Friday morning with Brent (Eric's older bro), Stephen (his younger bro) and Emily (Stephen's super cute girlfriend). After lunch in Green River we headed out for the valley, set up camp in a slight drizzle, and had gorgeous weather for hiking the goblins.


We call this one "The Eagle" and it's tradition to take a picture on it. Last time we were here I was pretty pregnant and this picture cracks me up. In an ironic twist of fate, I was wearing the same shirt, though it fits me much different this time around...


Scotty loved hiking and climbing and didn't even mind getting dirty too much (though he did stop a few times to brush off his shoes).

Eric and Scotty stayed in the valley throwing rocks while the rest of us climbed up the ledge.

Eric made tremendous tin foil dinners with garlic and herb marinated chicken and we had great weather for exploring and playing games. Scotty loved his camping chair that I picked up at Kid 2 Kid for $2.


It wasn't until we were about to put Scotty to bed that the wind picked up and almost blew away the tent. Don't these clouds look amazingly cool and ominous?


We ended up pulling everything out and looking for a more sheltered spot to stake the tent. That was a great decision because when it started pouring, everything was sitting outside on the ground :o) We waited it out for a little bit but it was obvious it was going to do nothing but dump for hours, maybe days, and we had already done most of what we wanted to do anyway, so we bailed and drove back to Provo. We did get to meet a friendly police man in Helper when we pulled over to doze for 20, and the seal on our windshield is loose and rainwater poured in and soaked the passenger seat floor, but other than that our trip home was uneventful.

We spent Saturday recuperating and cleaning tents, gear, and vacuuming some serious mud out of all three cars. It was great! Let's do it again!