Goblin Valley, Day 2

Our plan for Friday was to get up and fed early and then go to the park to try to get a campsite for that night. There are about 6 nonreservable sites, and our hope was that one of them would open up. So, as is typical of a camping trip for our family, the kids began waking up around 6:00, and by 7:00 we were dressed and eating breakfast.

One of the things I love about camping is how it allows you to appreciate simple things, like clean teeth (brushing that morning at the state park was one of my happiest moments) and food. For breakfast we had hot cocoa and oatmeal, and it's amazing how simple food like that can make you so much happier. At home, it would be disappointing, but on a camping trip it's wonderful.

We go to the hoodoos around 8:30, and I left Summer and the kids to explore a bit while I went to the ranger station to look into getting a site. Two sites opened up that morning, and we got one, so Friday night was spent in much more developed conditions.

We then hiked for an hour or so among the hoodoos. We explored further to the east than we did on Thursday, rounding a corner to find an entirely new area hidden from view from the observation point at the parking lot. Here are the kids after a mile or so of hiking:



By the time we returned to the car, the morning was getting warm and we were getting hungry. The hike back to the parking area includes a decent climb up, and Allyson decided to help pull Summer up:We then went to our first campsite to break camp and move over to the park. This went surprisingly quickly, and we were packed and on the road within an hour. After setting up the tent, we ate and rested. Summer took the kids on a walk while Evan and I napped; after they returned I took all four on another hike--this will deserve its own entry, as we got lost and wound up hiking about 2.5 miles on the 1.5 mile trail.

The rest of the day was low-key. The kids explored the campground, which has a few fun formations of its own, including this rock directly behind our cooking area, which Ryan turned into his own roost:
That night I took the older kids to an evening ranger presentation about the ways in which water shapes the desert. As we got back to our tent, a car pulled up--Chelle and Jon had arrived.