Goblin Valley Pano
One of the neatest places I visited during my March 2006 trip to Utah was Goblin Valley State Park. I’ve posted a few images before, but I’m not sure any of them really capture the feel of this place. It’s not the type of geography that ‘wows’ you with its scale and immensity, but rather by the thousands of unique hoodoo formations, or goblins, which call the small valley home. Located on the flats at the eastern edge of the San Rafael Swell, this hidden fantasy land was formed as a result of differing sandstone densities. Because in this location the bedrock is softer than the layers above, the lower levels erode faster and, ultimately, create mushroom-capped pillars that can reach up to about 30 feet tall. The photographer in today’s image is a good friend of mine (and a talented artist), Jay Wesler. I’ve been fortunate to have his company on all three trips to Utah in the past few years, I’m looking forward to many more - especially one that will find us back in Goblin Valley giving the place the photographic love it deserves. At 1380×650px, I’m hoping this will do a little justice until then…
Looks like a pretty cool park with similar hoodoo formations to Bryce Canyon. Bryce Canyon felt like another planet! Love the contrast of snow.
Hi Diane,
They do have some similarities, but interestingly, the hoodoos here are quite a bit different than Bryce, at least in a visual sense. The ones here in Goblin are very smooth and ’soft’, where as those from Bryce are jagged, ragged and seem to be eroding in small chunks rather than by a grain of sand at a time. The feel is also different in that Bryce is quite vast and you can venture deep down into its bowels - Goblin is just a low basin without much overall elevation change and can be explored in an hour or two. Maybe I just say that because Bryce kicked my fear of heights into overdrive at certain lookouts… If you haven’t been to Goblin, Diane, you should check it out if you’re ever in that area again…it’s pretty unique.
Love your description of the two parks! We really didn’t have a chance to get out and hike about in the “bowels” of Bryce. It’s one of the parks I’ve been hoping to return to one day, and actually hike and explore a bit. For me, the Grand Canyon “kicked my fear of heights into overdrive” and I hadn’t even realized that I had a fear of heights ’til then. There were several lookouts on the North Rim that I couldn’t even get myself to go out on. I was such a wimp!!
Then I saw kids do it, so I said to myself, “If they can do it, so can I!” I’d love to check out Goblin too, one day.
I like being back a few steps myself, but as close as I can while feeling safe. Bryce did the trick for sure, but I must say the places that I was the most uneasy were along the White Rim Road. A decent percentage of its length is nothing but utter sheerness on at least one side of the ‘road’, often both. The most isolated I’ve ever felt was an evening spent on Murphy’s Hogback, which, true to its name, requires a questionably steep approach from either direction. Add rain and it can be a very long night…