Goblin Valley

Fall is upon us and winter is knocking on our door.  But, we are not ready to give up on the camping season just yet.  In order to stretch the season, we headed south to Goblin Valley last weekend with a couple of friends.  It was actually unseasonably hot with temperatures in the mid 90s.  Maybe next year we will put this on the calendar for October rather than September. Despite the heat, we had a great time exploring the hoodoos and hiking through the surreal landscape. 

The campground was pretty nice.  No water or electrical hookups, but each site had its own shaded gazebo with a picnic table and fire pit.  The shaded gazebo came in handy for the hot afternoons.  We stayed in site #14 which was located right up against the eroding cliffs.  I don't think there is a bad site in this campground.  

On Saturday we hiked from the campground to the Valley of the Goblins.  It was about a mile hike through some pretty odd landscape.  It felt like we were in an ancient obsolete drainage.  It was worth the hike in the heat to see the view of the Goblins.  This is a shot from the view area.

On Sunday we tried to hike the famous Little Wild Horse slot canyon trail.  We thought our dogs were pretty adventurous, but even they have their limits.  After hauling Darwin up and over 7-foot ledges and squeezing Riley through slots too narrow for your shoe, we decided to turn around.   

We will definitely have to come back sometime soon (without the dogs) and finish this amazing hike.  Although, I do think Riley had a pretty good time.  This is a great shot of her slung over Mary's shoulder.

Green River State Park

On our way to Goblin Valley, we stayed the night at the Green River State Park Campground in Green River, Utah.  Luckily, we had made reservations for the night.  When we arrived, the usually sleepy town was hopping.  Turns out it was Melon Days in Green River.  They had a fair set up in the main park and a parade planned for Saturday morning.  It was fun to see the town come alive.

We usually drive straight past Green River on Interstate 70 on our way to Moab.  Green River is one of those little towns that used to be on the main drag before the Interstate was built.  It is a bit of a ghost town now.  Driving the business loop through town is like a step back to the 50s or 60s with great antique neon diner and motel signs rusting in the wind...memories of days gone by.  We will look upon Green River a little more fondly now that we have had time to stay and smell the melons.

We missed the parade, but managed to head out of town just in time for the traffic it stirred up.  I love this shot of one of the participating floats.  Looks like we missed a good one.

We Bought a Truck

Well, we thought we could pull the T@belot with the Subaru, and we probably could have...but, I have always wanted a truck and we just couldn't resist this fantastic little red Ford Ranger.  Ford has been making the Ranger since the early 1980's and they haven't really changed much in its design over the last 30 years. That is actually what we like about the Ranger.  It is retro in a stylish way and the last of the "little trucks."  If you haven't noticed, trucks keep getting bigger and bigger.  The Ranger is pretty tiny compared to the new comparable "small" trucks such as the Toyota Tacoma or Nissan Frontier.  But it does come with a standard 6' bed, a 4.0 liter V6 engine. and 16" wheels. 

This truck looks brand new.  You can't tell from the pictures, but it is actually a 2004!  The previous owner traded it in for a bigger F-150 at our local Ford dealer and we happened to be cruising the lot at the right time.  The truck hadn't even been detailed or invoiced.  It only has 25,000 miles on it.  That is only 4,000 miles a year if you do the math.  We are pretty excited to have a truck.  I have already taken a load of stuff from the garage to the thrift store and another load of tree limbs from our neighbor's yard to the dump.  It is great to be able to load up the back and haul stuff away.  We can't wait to try out the new truck with the T@belot.  Can you believe how great it is going to look with the red accented T@b?

Payson Lakes Campground

We went camping with the Hula Hoops over the Labor Day holiday weekend to Payson Lakes Campground in the Uintas.  This campground is off of the Mt. Nebo scenic loop road.  We stayed at Group Site C near Box Lake.  It was a nice site at the end of road.  The area wasn't too crowded for a holiday weekend (other than the family reunion with about 100 people right next to us in Group Site B).  

Early Morning Shot of Box Lake with
Loafer Mountain in the Background

The Hula Hoops really know how to camp.  We were treated to crushed ice strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas during the day and lobster with herbed mashed potatoes for dinner.  It was fabulous.  I should also mention the arugula salad with goat cheese and beets - fresh from the garden.  We certainly ate better on this trip than we do at home.  For this group, camping does not include compromise. 

Mary and I did a couple of hikes over the weekend.  On Saturday, we hiked part of the Loafer Mountain trail.  It was steep, dusty and hot.  We both agreed that this was not a trial we need to do again.  Sunday we did the Shram Creek trail, which was great.  We accessed this trail off of a dirt road.  It was a north facing trail with a lot more tree cover and great views.  We only saw two other people in the four hours we were out.  The trailhead access would also make a great camping site for next time we come out. 

  

This area isn't as pretty as the upper Uintas off of Mirror Lake Highway, but it is really close to home and a little warmer due to the lower elevation.  This would be a good place to come back in the early spring or late fall.  Now that the Labor Day holiday is behind us, I can feel our first camping season slowing coming to a close.  We are still hoping to get out a couple more times, but fall is upon us.