Power of Hoodoo

(June 3rd, 2022)

I did not realize hoodoos were actual things. I thought it was a made up word. But apparently it is the name for weathered rock towers and columns. And here in Utah, we have one of the most spectacular displays of them in Goblin Valley. As you know, this summer we are exploring, and right at the top of the list was seeing this Valley I've heard so much about. It did NOT disappoint.

Friday is hike day, and sadly, Daisy had started summer school, so she was out. And Goblin Valley is not a small drive, so it was an all day trip, so Robyn, with work, was out too. So I took my buddies Pearl and Ivory and we went to conquer the hoodoos.

Ivory drove most of the way there and we stopped to switch drivers at one point. That's where we found this very small stop sign. You don't see many that are Cazier sized. And just know that this post will be riddled with selfies. We have a joke that anyone lifts a camera and people come running. No one wants to be left out of a picture.

The drive is rather long for us. It took about three hours to get there, but we entertained each other in the car. When we finally arrived, we were super excited to get out and go explore. You park at a lookout area and you can see down into the valley filled with hoodoos. It is pretty cool.

Then you can walk right in and hike around. It was awesome!! So many cool formations. You could hike around all day in there if you wanted to. Honestly, I think it would be the coolest place to play hide and seek (if you set some boundaries) but that would have to be for another day. Instead we wandered around and took pictures wherever we wanted to. These are some of my favorites.

It was just so neat to look around. We agreed that a lot of the hoodoos look like noses. :) Here's one that looks like a bone. It reminded us of Nova. Pearl even pretended to sample said bone.

Ivory had a great analogy. She said the dirt looked like cocoa powder. It really did. When you open up a cocoa powder container and it is clumpy and powdery...well that was just like the ground there.

After we had hiked around in the valley for a bit, we decided to try one of the hikes nearby that the state park trooper had recommended. We opted for the Carmel Canyon loop and to find Goblin's Lair (a cave) as well. You can see the Three Sisters formation from the trail head. We didn't realize our trail would go right by there later. 

Pearl got some water for the road. She thought it would be a good idea to pour some on her face. Why not?

Here we are headed onto the trail. In the back you can see how far the Three Sisters are away.

The hike was really neat. We headed down into the canyon and it was beautiful. There were lots of lizards. Some were small like this guy. We saw bigger versions of him, and Pearl dutifully tried to catch each one, but they were fast!

The formations and designs left by erosion and water were so fantastic. I liked the canyon part where the walls rise up and the trail snakes between.

We found the trail up to the Three Sisters, so we went up to take a picture. Too bad we didn't bring a third sister. Mom will have to be an adequate substitute.

We found this guy further down the trail. He looked a little different than the other lizards and was the biggest one we saw.

We saw lovely wild flowers and even this little rodent guy. he was so cute pushing dirt out of his hole. His claws look perfect for digging.

Then we got lost. 

Ironically, it was right after seeing someone coming back from Goblin's Lair. I asked if she found the cave okay and she said, "Yes, there are plenty of signs." That's when we went over a small ledge and completely missed the sign. 

We were already on a trail, so we kept following it and it led away from the high rock walls and out into the flat scrub covered ground. It was a very sandy trail, making it hard to hike since our feet would sink with each step. Slowly all signs of other footprints vanished. We could still see people far away hiking along the valley walls and it finally hit us that we must have taken a wrong turn or missed a sign. (Even if there are plenty) So we did some off roading. We picked a spot and hiked straight for it. And it worked like a charm. Pretty soon, we were back on the trail to Goblin's Lair.

But when we go to the area, we were once again confused. We saw this trail that looked promising.

However the sign we saw seemed to point in another direction. So we tried that first. It led up to a ledge where we looked down to see this. 

That didn't seem right. It didn't look like the kind of cave we wanted. So we hiked back and went up the steep hill. Up there, we found this small opening. It still didn't look right. Plus, the Nutty Putty caves told me to avoid small spaces like this.

But even as I thought we'd never find it, Ivory rounded a corner and just like a movie she said, "I think I found what we are looking for." Sure enough, this was obviously Goblin's Lair.

It was such a cool cave. As we hiked down into it, the temperature dropped at least 30 degrees. (That's a guess.) It was a little tricky to get down in places, but mostly because I was holding my phone. This picture is from down in the cave looking back at the entrance.

And this is looking up from the bottom. I heard from another hiker that you can repel down into the cave. That would be so cool!

We were so proud of ourselves for finding it. Honestly, we felt like intrepid explorers!

There was a little mini cave off to the side that was dark and even cooler. I popped in with my flashlight to see the inside. It was funny because Ivory said, "What are the Nutty Putty caves telling you now?" Hahaha. I told them it was fine and they could come take a look. They took a selfie inside.

Then we hiked back out and completed the Carmel Loop, sort of. We lost the basic trail and ended up climbing up another route that was much sandier and harder to climb. Our shoes filled with sand and we were eventually spit out on the other side of the valley, not by our car. So we hiked through the hoodoos once again. 

It was a good day. I don't know if you can see how dirty my leg is, but you can see the pile of sand I poured out of my shoe. 

It was an awesome day of hiking. I would LOVE to go back again sometime. I guess Tyler has never been out to Goblin Valley either. And we need to bring June, Robyn, and Daisy. It was a trip well worth it.

Friday is supposed to be our treat day as well. I forgot to put that on the list. We didn't leave ourselves any time to make a treat, but Daisy, who we left at home, made it for us...all by herself. What a fabulous little baker she is. She made strawberry shortcakes and they were so tasty. I came back and ate three!!

What a great day of summer.