Monday, 9/20
48 degrees this morning. Greg went for a walk and caught the sunrise while Beth slept in.
Greg managed to pull over after spotting these Desert Bighorn Sheep alongside the road on our way out. They seemed pretty unconcerned and just continued munching. They are the Colorado state mammal.
Back on Highway 70 and we are soon in Utah. The terrain was pretty much dry desert with scrubby brush and occasional rocky or sandy hills or mesas - not quite mountains - till we got near Green River.
There, it was bit more green and we stopped for gas near several roadside stands selling mellons... watermelons, cantaloupe and a few other things. Such juicy fruit for such a dry place!
While Greg got gas, I walked over and bought a Veteres cantaloupe - all we had room for! I remember that melons like sandy soil, so just add water and apparently they do very well here!
Our first destination in Utah is Goblin Valley State Park, which is around 35 miles south of I70. We begin to see interesting rock formations shortly before entering the park.
This one is called The Three Sisters.
First stop is the Visitor's Center, which is open with masks required. One of the brochures there shows Little Wild Horse Canyon which is just 5 miles outside the park. We decide to do that hike first.
Little Wildhorse is a slot canyon, much deeper than it is wide. Slot canyons are generally formed from flash floods rather than steady flowing water. Signs remind you to check weather forecast before hiking because there is a danger of flash flooding from water "upstream" even when it isn't raining at the canyon. The visitor's center posted weather forecasts and we are good to go.
The 8 mile loop combines two canyons, Bell and Wild Horse, but we opt to just do the Wild Horse section which will end up being about 4-5 miles. 1/2 mile in, the two trails diverge and we take the Wild Horse route, which we've heard is more beautiful. It is pretty spectacular!
Some of the trail is easy walking, some involves climbing and clambering over rocks. Some places the canyon is just wide enough for one person, other places it opens up to 15 feet or more. It is amazing to see the swirls, holes and nooks and crannies which water has carved!
This one brave tree manages to thrive here! It's bark was incredibly thick.
We climb over some rocks and around others, but turn around when it becomes really tough going. We see only a few other hardy hikers.
Back to the Trek and then a short ride back into the State Park to check out the valley hoodoos. The valley is quite large and there are no trails, so you are free to wander around. There really is surprisingly little regulation or protection. Probably about 8-10 other folks were there.
Look at that amazingly blue sky!
These rocky sculptures are at the southern end of the San Rafael Swell - a massive anticline uplifted 40-70 million years ago. Some of the rocks formed 170 million years ago when the area was a tidal flat next to an ancient sea. Siltstone and shale were softer than the sandstone layers and dissolved more easily, leaving formations which continue to be shaped and eroded by chemical decomposition and erosion.
After this, we go back to the road to Little Wildhorse Canyon where we had spotted several possible dispersed camping spots. Some of the roads off the main paved road were pretty rough - mostly rutted from people driving on them when things were wet/muddy. We end up at a wide open space where a large travel trailer is parked and find a level spot about 50 yards from them. This is BLM land.
We walk to the nearby cliffs/rocks (well, they LOOKED nearby) and discover a few more rocks for our collection.
Nice to sit outside in the shade of the Trek as temperatures drop. About sunset, another Roadtrek joins us, driven by a woman named Mindy and her 30-ish daughter from Houston! She comes and chats for a while. She and her daughter, a professional photographer, spend about 2 months each summer traveling the country.
The moon is very bright in this crystal clear air - Greg comments that it is almost like we're in a well-lit parking lot! This is one of the darkest sky places in the country. I'll bet the stars are amazing when they aren't competing with a brilliant moon. We see only a few of the brightest plus Jupiter and Venus I believe I heard a ranger say. The folks in the trailer return but all is quiet for the evening.
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