Desert Fun

Over Spring Break, we took the family on a desert camping adventure. Oh - and adventurous it was! Goblin Valley State Park is a natural playground for children and adults alike. Despite coming home with greasy hair matted to my head, and sand caked to every last bit of my body, this was one of my favorite family campouts on record.

The first night, Goblin Valley campground was full by the time we arrived, and with the nearest camp site 50 miles away, we decided to try our hand at going Pioneer Style, and found a nice primitive site snuggled against the red cliffs about 10 miles away from Goblin Valley. Within minutes, the children named it "Crystaltopia", in honor of the rather sparkly sedament rock that was lying everywhere in sight. While Andrew and I set up camp, the kids quickly established "The Crystal Club", and set to work gathering all the crystals they could find. After a long day of travel and work, nothing is quite so satisfying as lighting a matchless fire (I actually married Les Stroud from Survivor Man), and nothing tastes quite so good as sausage potatoe foiled dinners followed by smores.

 

The next morning, after exploring the natural wonders around us, we broke camp and headed to the Campgound. It was quite the adventure camping without a bathroom - and although squatting in the middle of no where has it's charms, we were all grateful (especially the girls), to have a bathroom and sink to wash in.

 

Wow! What a campsite. Completely surrounded by red rock cliffs and formations. Natural caves, and natures climbing walls in every direction. The kids were in heaven. Mom? Not so much. Not because it wasn't beautiful, but because I worried about their safety the whole time. Thankfully there were only minor injuries, and all the children gained confidence in their balance and climbing.

 

 

 

Our big adventure for the day was exploring Goblin Valley. After the trip I asked all the children what their favorite part of the trip was, and they all agreed, it was playing hide and go seek among the goblins! Such and awesome time.

 

 

 The nights here were cold, but it made for perfect weather during the day - mid 70's. I am convinced that early Spring is the best time to visit the desert. The next day was my personal favorite activity. We hiked Little Wild Horse Canyon. This is more like a long walk - not a hike, which makes it perfect for kids. Three miles of beautiful slot canyon with amazing natural formation everywhere! The kids loved it, and so did the adults. The highlights included hiding in coves within the rocks, yelling echo's, and playing our invented game of "Fire Sand".

 

The one piece of evidence that I was on the trip!



Fire Sand!!!

 

Our last night consisted of some great dinner of leftover's thrown in the Dutch Oven. It was actually very good! The kids loved it too.

 

The next morning, we broke camp, and the children said goodbye to all of their hideouts. On the way home we stopped to see some Indian Petroglyphs. We all loved it! What an amazing area of of Utah. I loved this camping trip. Our last stop was a charming restaurant in a small town. Everyone was starving, and it truly was delicious. Eliza declared "This is the BEST restaurant I've EVER been too!" Goblin Valley - I can't wait for a return trip oneday.