The wind is howling today!!
Actually, it’s been all night too. And, as I remember from my childhood in west Texas, when it’s windy, everything get coated with fine sand. All my counters, the dinette, my upholstery, my bed – all covered with a very fine red grit. The picnic table and my grill are covered too.
Fasten the stampede strap on my hat and go hiking . . .
I start out hiking the easy 2.1 mile Curtis Bench trail as it winds South along a section of exposed rock (Curtis layer). From here, I can look down to the East and see the 3 distinct valleys that comprise Goblin Valley. Basically, the Goblins are the eroded remains of the lowest level of rock (the Entrada layer). It probably runs 2 or 3 miles south.
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| Campground from above |
At the end of the Curtis bench trail, I find a great view of the distant Henry Mountains. Coincidently, I caught a television show about them only last week. Some hunters brought 18 bison from the Yellowstone herd to the Henry’s in the early 1940”s and now their population is over 200! Hard to imagine bison living in the mountains, but they’re obviously doing quite well!
Entrada Canyon trail: On the way back from the Curtis Bench trail, I see a sign for the Entrada Canyon Trail. It winds its way down drainage paths through a jumble of eroding rock before ending up on the floor of the Valley of Goblins.
I probably wouldn’t do this trail again – a lot of it was steep and very narrow (like barely a shoe width). The sides of these washes were a mix of sand and sandstone boulders and I couldn’t help wondering what would happen if, as I clambered over them, one of the boulders rolled (like that hiker in a slot canyon a few years ago whose arm got trapped when a boulder rolled).
Also, while the signage was mostly adequate, it petered out near the bottom, causing me to have to check out a few blind turns as I wound my way out to the valley floor. Not much chance at that point of getting stuck or lost – but a bit disconcerting.
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| Sometime cairns marked the way, sometimes a parkservice post with a little arrow; sometimes only the footprints of previous hikers. |
Highlight of the Entrada Trail was this guy – I guess about 3.5-4’ in length. I think it’s a Striped Whipsnake. Other than that, I saw a lot of small lizards – tiny beige guys only about 3” long- if they didn't move, you wouldn't ever see them.
Valley of the Goblins
I could wander around the valley looking at these rocks for days! They remind me a lot of some of the scenes in Tim Allen’s, movie Galaxy Quest – when small goblin-like creatures attacked them amid a landscape very much like this one. Then the boulders themselves became a giant rock creature. (if you don’t know the movie – rent it – it’s hysterical). I'll have to see if I can find out where those scenes were filmed - I'll bet it was somewhere around here.
I’m one of those people who see faces in everything – clouds, tree bark, rocks. Everywhere I look, I see funny ‘goblin’ faces and figures.
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