Spring Break in Goblin Valley
Goblin Valley Camping
“It’s going to be an adventure! We are in for a treat!” Jer said as we headed to camp in 27mph gusts and 20 degree weather at night 🙈 . You best believe I tried to get out of it when we awoke to a snow storm the morning our adventure hadn’t even begun. But I married an optimistic man who told me, “The one who opts out of an RV for camping is not allowed to opt out of the tent camping.” 😆 Didn’t realize that financial decision from years ago had this far-reaching consequences. So I strapped on my “positive pants” and hoped we brought everything we needed to stay warm, and sent up a prayer that our questionable tent would survive. It took 2 hours extra to get there because we changed our route since one of the roads was dangerous to drive in during this snowy weather, and the way we took had lots of traffic from car crashes and stalled vehicles. But we made it safely!
As soon as we got the tent set up, we rewarded ourselves with a hike. The trails weren’t super well marked so we got lost a couple times but eventually found our way to the Valley of Goblins, got super excited about how cool they were, and then had to trek our way back to camp when the kids little legs were already tired.
As we were struggling to pack up the sleeping bags and camping pads, Jer and I reflected on the non-restful night we had. I had slept near the corner of the tent that was sagging from the tent pole snapping in the wind. I did the sleeping pads wrong and our feet ended up freezing. One of our kids climbed into my sleeping bag and I got a crick in my neck. Jer got up in the middle of the night several times to pee. “This is a lot of work for a lousy sleep,” I joked. Jer and I wheezed with laughter because yes—we didn’t sleep well last night—and because he said that was like my fourth joke ever and he was already looking for opportunities to use it on someone else. Like someday as we’re walking out of an Airstream seeing another young couple trying to set up a tent against the wind like we just did… He was so proud of me 🤣
It’s about time to replace some gear that has cold spots in them, the tent is on its last leg after getting ripped up in the wind, and we can’t seem to ever camp in ideal weather. We always camp in tough conditions! It may be time to upgrade to an RV or trailer camping. We stayed one night in Goblin Valley under a very starry night sky, and were so thankful for proper bathrooms with warm water. The fire was necessary for W’s happiness, staying warm, and keeping up our morale with hot chocolate. For dinner we had hot dogs that we dipped in chili, and Dutch oven peach cobbler that Jer made!
Little Wild Horse Canyon Hike
This slot canyon was a Big Highlight for us on our trip! We hiked 6.58 miles (in and back), but Jer was trying to get us to do the full 8 mile loop. He kept asking everyone we encountered on the trail if they did the full trail and no one did. It probably would have worked if there were bathrooms along the trail but none of us could last that long.
The kids had a blast climbing over boulders, hiding in the rock, and showing off their climbing skills. The canyons took our breath away, with the different layers of color and pattern, and the little holes carved by millions of years of water and wind. The sheer size of some of these magnificent rock walls! There was always something interesting to see, touch, climb, or rest on. Our snacks were trail mix, dried mango, and pepper beef jerky. We had snack / water breaks every couple of miles.
Even our dog had a blast and was more brown from the dusty ground than her natural color by the end! She collapsed in her dog bed in the car happy and tired. The kids were rewarded with tropical flavored jolly ranchers (the best!!) and Lunchables (a rare treat) while we made our way to a rest stop. We ate at a pizza place in a log cabin called Juniper’s in the town of Price, which was just the recharge we needed to make our way through another snowstorm home.
Love, Kat
