Goblin Valley State Park and Capitol Reef National Park, Uta

We pack up and head out to the boonies. Actually we're in the boonies already. We get on Interstate 70 and Jere is surprised by the sign informing us that there is no services for the next 106 miles on the interstate; we really are in the boonies.

We don't stay on the interstate very long. We take a scenic side route to Capitol Reef National Park, stopping at Goblin Valley State Park on the way.

We walk down into the "valley of goblins" for about an hour before continuing our drive to Capitol Reef National Park.

The scenery on the way to Capitol Reef is interesting:

We first go to the park's campground to make sure we can get a campsite for the night. This campground is first come/first serve and we've been told it fills up by mid-afternoon (and it does today). The campground is very nice with large sites and lots of trees. No water or electric, but the scenery makes up for the lack of utilities.

We stop at the visitor center to see the displays and film and then head out to explore the park.

Our favorite part is the hike we take through the canyon at the end of the scenic drive. It's an easy hike through interesting scenery, petroglyphs, and wildflowers.

In the evening after dinner we sit outside to relax and at least 25 deer roam over next to the campground eating the grass. Some of the deer even come right into the campground to eat the grass between the campsites.

No electric and no generators allowed after 8pm, so we have an early bedtime tonight.