Goblin Valley 2009

March 20-22, 2009

We arrived at Goblin Valley Thursday night. The sky was filled with clouds and the wind blew. It was 36 degrees cold.

We spent the majority of the night in the trailer. The kids wrestled. I tried not to be annoyed. Nate went outside.

By morning the wind had stopped and the sun shone. We went into goblin Valley. A group went into the canyon that surrounds white half dome while I enjoyed the weather and sketched a goblin.

The colors of the desert were so intense. I obsessed about the colors; trying to document them with  my camera the oranges, yellows, and reds in the last years grass. Here is my favorite shot.
In the afternoon, once everyone had arrived, we hiked Ding Canyon.

Eventually though, Ding became too difficult for the kids (and dog) so most of the group turned around. Cassidy, Tanisha, Brandon and I continued on. Finishing both Ding and Dang canyons. We were told about a rope at one section of the canyon and so reaching it, became a focal point on the hike. 

The section between the two canyons was littered with random blocky bolders. The sand carved by the wind into flawless hills.

We left the Ding and Dang canyons as the sun started to exit our sky; creating a soft light that enhanced the colors of spring in the desert. 

On Saturday we hiked little wild horse canyon with the whole group. The kids loved this canyon. This canyon was made for them and it was fun to hike. The only downer was the boy scouts of America also thought it was a great day to hike the canyon. The entire canyon covered in their mark; painted with streaks of urine. One group of scouts even pushed aside little Bailey and her mom, Lisa, who were moving down a 10 ft cliff face. Not having the patience to wait.  

In the afternoon, we celebrated a birthday (a day early) with Ice cream cake and rockets.

 We camped along a dry creekbed. The ancient cottonwood trees  still in their winter state. 

Our last night was perfect for a campfire. We stayed up late playing 20 questions. A Western Screech owl's territorial call could be heard behind the sounds of our laughter.
 On sunday morning ( our last day) we went through Crack canyon. It is one of my favorite canyons since it offers many obsticles in its path.  It windy this morning, a storm moving in, but once we entered the canyon the wind was forgotten....
until we left the canyon and returned to camp. When we arrived it was obvious we were in the middle of a horrible sand storm. We hurriedly tossed our gear into the trailer and helped pack up others. There was sand everywhere.  It was 2:00 pm when we left camp.

The sand was so bad we occasionaly lost site of the road and each other.  We arrived a Green river after 3:30 pm. We hung out at subway, ate lunch, and planned our escape.