Packed up and off by around 9am this morning to the Grand Wash Trail. It’s a pretty easy hike through basically a dry riverbed (unless storms or snow melt creates a river through the narrow canyon). We started at the trailhead off of Route 24 and hiked 1.5 miles in – through the “narrows” – and turned around and came back. The erosion holes in the rock fascinated me – and all the smaller stones deposited inside many of those holes. How did they get there? From high waters flowing through the canyon? I don’t know. The vegetation growing in all kinds of precarious places was amazing. Flowers poked up through the rocks and dirt showing off their foliage and colors. The high walls of the canyon are breathtaking and often provide shade, although it wasn’t that hot this morning on our hike.
There is a quick stop near the trailhead to view ancient petroglyphs carved into the stones that are absolutely fascinating to see. Even though they have faded throughout the years you can still see quite a bit. I added some contrast to these shots for a better view. Here is a link to learn more about these ancient drawings. It is believed they were created somewhere between 300 and 1300 C.E and that they depict images and scenes of their every day lives.
Goblin Valley State Park would be our next stop so we headed down Route 24 in that direction. I will say it surely wasn’t the scenic highway I was expecting. The diversity of the landscape kept changing like nothing I have ever seen before in a short 68 mile drive. And every bit of it seemed other worldly. It felt as if we passed through multiple planets by the time we got to Goblin Valley. It was so desolate it was nearly depressing. We would pass through small towns that if you blinked you’d miss them. I couldn’t help but wonder what would make someone settle and put roots down in such barren country. Where do they go for necessities? I know they must farm as much as possible and preserve what they raise/hunt. But still … you can’t farm/make everything you need. And there is literally nothing around that we could see. It was like nothing we had ever seen before mile after mile after mile. Again I took more video than pics and even then I didn’t video a fraction of all the different types of landscapes we drove through.
All of these pipes across the road from this massive formation had names on them. As I was walking back to the car I noticed that the pipes on the top were facing different directions and that they were hollow. I had to call Bob over to look through one since my short dachshund legs would not allow me to test my theory. If you look through the top pipe, the particular named piece of landscape comes into view! How cool is that? Only criticism … make them shorter for us vertically challenged individuals.
Finally we arrived at Goblin Valley State Park. It truly is out in the middle of nowhere. Incredible formations just in such a small area that was capitalized on. There is nothing around it so you have to make a point of going there. These sandstone formations look like “goblins” (or mushrooms to me) and are everywhere! From the overlook it’s hard to believe their size. Once you walk down into the valley and walk through them you get a better feel for how big a lot of them actually are. Again, it was like walking on a different planet. LOL We ate our picnic lunch there and spent about an hour walking through the formations before jumping back in the car to our final destination – Green River.
The River Terrace Inn in Green River is a wonderful little find. Service and accommodations are wonderful. Since we booked a year ago and requested a riverside room we have a nice view of the river with a cool breeze that provided the perfect place to enjoy an adult beverage after a long day. Ray’s Tavern (since 1943) provided the perfect local hangout for dinner. This place is known for their burgers, so that’s what we got. We were not disappointed. Across the street from Ray’s was a little local grocery store where we picked up a few items and now are tucked in for the evening. Tomorrow is another day and we head out to Dead Horse State Park and Canyonlands (Island in the Sky).
It's a Wonderful Life! 