Friday, June 16th ~ From Torrey to Moab, Utah
Ash gray hills, lower and less rugged than at Capitol Reef NP
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
Leaving Torrey, we drove back through Capitol Reef National Park, continuing along Highway 24. It was not long before the dark red streaked cliffs turned to an ash gray.
The occasional monolith pops up along the way
We were on our way to Moab to stay for at least three nights to explore both Arches and Canyonland National Parks.
But first we had a slight detour to check out the Goblin stone formations found nowhere else on the planet.
Entrance to Goblin Valley
Stopping for a short chat at the visitor’s station, we snatched up a park guide and paid our $13 entrance fee. There was a little information posted about the rock features and how they were formed.
A small introduction
Why they formed here
After a few minutes, we headed for the park highlighted spots. Temperature was already in the high 90’s and forecast to hit over 100. I was in no mood for a long hike.
Three Sisters
Not too far into the park, we arrived at Goblin Valley overlook. A covered picnic area allows anyone to see the view into the Goblin Hoodoos, or if you are so inclined, you can take some gentle stairs down into the valley to walk amongst them.
Looking down into Goblin Valley
Without much hesitation, we marched ahead. They were just too interesting to simply look at from above. Heat wave be damned…
All of a sudden I am dwarfed by the rocks
Here are a few more shots to show off the very unusual shapes:
I can see where the imagination could take you
We wandered around for about a half an hour, took several more photos and then headed back up the stairs to continue on our way.
Another huge monolith along the road
Then the terrain turned flat, dry and lonely.
Overnight: We have a spot at Portal RV Resort, Moab, Utah for three nights 6/16 – 18.
GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am extremely grateful that the air conditioner works well in our RV. The weather forecast is calling for extreme heat for the next few days with temperatures in the 100’s. We will be taking it easy…
A Note From Abroad 
Hi Tim and Joanne,
I’m enjoying reading about your adventures. I’m going to change my request for an email notification and just add you to my favorites file instead. Have a blast!!
With Green Thoughts,
Tammi Hartung
Desert Canyon Farm
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Tammi, thank you very much. So happy you are enjoying our posts and delighted to have you joining us!
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Reblogged this on Joy Lennick and commented:
What a surreal place! Such weird shapes. The imagination must have had a b all… You’re certainly notching up the unusual folks! x
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Joy, I think visiting here on Halloween would have been crazy fun!
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Enjoying traveling with you. Wonderful photos as always.
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Thanks Terry!
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Those goblins are fabulous!
Alison
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Another fabulous place, another memory! I remember finding one that looked like ET.
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They were all so fun to see. From mushroom tops to ghostly shapes.
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Thank goodness for the AC 🙂
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Amen to that!
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I wonder if it could be the place they filmed a scene in “Galaxy Quest”, a Star Trek spoof with Tim Allen & Sigourney Weaver? There were these animated rocks that look just like those goblins. So Cool.
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Sorry, I’m no help on answering that, but it would be an amazing place to film a movie or a Star Trek episode.
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I looked it up and yes, it was filmed there.
WIKI states: “Scenes on the barren planet where they stopped to get a new Beryllium Sphere and Captain Nesmith battled a rock monster, were filmed at Goblin Valley State Park in Utah. At the time, the access to Goblin Valley State Park was partly by dirt road; the fees paid by the production company were used to upgrade the entire access road to asphalt pavement.”
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Great information – thanks for doing the research!
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Thanks for this post. We drove right by there when we traveled between Torrey and Moab. I’ve always wondered what we missed. Looks like we missed a lot! Enjoy Moab!
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I would have never known it was there if I had not seen it listed on roadtrippers.com, which we have found most helpful on this trip.
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I recently discovered roadtrippers.com and I agree. It is a great help when traveling.
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Enjoyed you post on the Goblins – fascinating geological formation – sounds like you are having as much fun as we are – how did you find our blog – I don’t know how we would have found your – you meet such interesting people on these adventures and see amazing stuff – thanks for like our blog – hope to hear more from you and will will try to respond although we are so busy going different places and meeting other people we have to plan days off to catch up on things around camp – laundry – cleaning – etc. Good to hear from you – Peter & JY
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Peter and JY, welcome to our site. Sometimes I do random searches in the evening looking to find more info on travel or photography tips, especially for places we plan on visiting. Perhaps that was how we stumbled across your site. It seems to be a full time job just having fun – hard to fit in those pesky chores like laundry, etc. 🙂
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Wonderful. I am so glad that you decided to hike among the hoodoos so we could get a good perspective on their size. They looked small from above. It is interesting that they are red when the surrounding monoliths are grey. It’s wonderful to get to explore an area that is like non other on the entire earth. Just imagine….
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I sometimes forget that I need a person or something else in a picture to help give perspective on size. Thank you for the reminder. We are having such fun seeing new territory.
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Thanks for the glimpse of Goblin valley that is one spot we skipped, and in 100 temps, probably would have skipped again!
We loved Moab and Portal RV was very nice. Enjoy and try to stay cool!
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We have a sweet spot down by the river for a couple days here at Portal RV. Going to relax and do our laundry 🙂
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I have never heard of Goblin Valley State Park before. Thanks for sharing! It looks fun and I’ll add it to our “bucket list.”
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It was a great little stop to break up our day.
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Pingback: Month of June Travels in our National Parks ~ Highlight Moments in Pictures | A Note From Abroad
Fantastic writing pal 🙂 love it! I too have Just trekked in goblin and just about to put together it in my blog! Would love if you would read it, I have a bunch of trail tales be sure to check them out! But i just cant get over how good yours are!!! Haha any tips? Oh yeah and be sure to help a fellow out with a follow if you enjoyed any readings 😛
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I enjoyed checking out your posts and your excellent photography. I had to catch my breath on a few of your shots where you appear to be right on the edge of a gigantic drop off. Please be careful!
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