*New birds we’ve seen on our 2009 trip so far: wild turkeys, osprey, western meadowlark, mountain bluebird, sandhill cranes, Canadian geese, American white pelicans, trumpeter swans, killdeer, bald eagles, golden eagle, common merganser, great blue heron, raven, yellow-headed blackbird, Brewer’s blackbird, brown-headed cowbird, double-crested cormorant, Clark’s nutcracker, common goldeneye
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2009 trip so far: 22
*State Parks visited on 2009 trip so far: 3
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This 161 mile leg of the trip was to include a side trip to Goblin Valley State Park (http://www.utah.com/stateparks/goblin_valley.htm), a stop at Capitol Reef National Park (http://www.nps.gov/care), and two nights at the Sandcreek RV Park in Torrey, UT.
We arrived at Goblin Valley State Park around 10am and found that even though their website indicated their campground could not accommodate the size of our rig, we found that many sites could indeed do so. After talking to the ranger at the entry to the park, we ended up making arrangements to spend our first night in Goblin Valley. The campsite fee was $16 and although the campground had no hookups, a modern bathroom facility, fresh drinking water, and a dump station were available. Although the temperature reached the low 90s without a cloud in the sky, a cool breeze made for a most enjoyable afternoon.
Around dinner time we took the dogs for a walk in the side canyon and (gasp!) even let them off their leashes so they could run for awhile. Abby particularly enjoyed scampering up the canyon washes with Russ and running full speed back down to attack Mikey. Fortunately, she quickly wore herself out and both dogs spent the rest of the evening napping in the RV.
We arrived at Goblin Valley State Park around 10am and found that even though their website indicated their campground could not accommodate the size of our rig, we found that many sites could indeed do so. After talking to the ranger at the entry to the park, we ended up making arrangements to spend our first night in Goblin Valley. The campsite fee was $16 and although the campground had no hookups, a modern bathroom facility, fresh drinking water, and a dump station were available. Although the temperature reached the low 90s without a cloud in the sky, a cool breeze made for a most enjoyable afternoon.
Around dinner time we took the dogs for a walk in the side canyon and (gasp!) even let them off their leashes so they could run for awhile. Abby particularly enjoyed scampering up the canyon washes with Russ and running full speed back down to attack Mikey. Fortunately, she quickly wore herself out and both dogs spent the rest of the evening napping in the RV.
As day turned into evening, the campground became somewhat eerie as we were still the only people there. We decided to take the 1-1/2 mile drive down to Goblin Valley and check it out as sun set. We ended up spending more than 2 hours walking the valley floor and getting up close and personal to the thousands of ghostlike rock formations created by uplift as well as wind a
nd water erosion. A weird feeling overtook us as the area fell into darkness, and the canyon winds began to moan. By the time we got back to camp, a few tenters had joined us, and we both agreed we were somewhat comforted by their arrival. Goblin Valley State Park is definitely a must see if you are in the area.
Around 2 a.m. Russ turned over in bed and saw what looked like a ton of stars through the bedroom window. Since he was looking through the screen, he thought for sure he was dreaming. After rubbing his eyes a couple times, he woke me and said, “We have to go outside and look at the stars.” What an incredible sight it was! We've never seen so many stars! To experience this you need to get away from the city lights, and there's no better place for this than Utah. We stood out there about half an hour gazing in utter amazement.
Early the next morning we headed to Torrey, UT, our original destination from the day before. Along the way we entered Capitol Reef National Park and were again astounded by the beauty around every turn. Even with the RV and Vue in tow we were able to take advantage of a number of pullouts including Behunin Cabin, Petroglyphs, Fruita Historic District, Chimney Rock, and The Castle. Mor
mons settled part of this area back in the late 1800s so a few of their buildings have been restored plus there are still actual fruit orchards from which you can pick fruit for a nominal fee (however none were ripe while we were there). The petroglyphs pictured here are said to have been the work of the Fremont Indians, the first settlers in the valley over 1,000 years 
ago. We stopped at the Visitor Center which also offered ample parking for our rig and tow vehicle. We caught the orientation program and completed another Junior Ranger program.
We’ve been pinning Russ’ Jr. Ranger badges onto one of his hats, and we just thought you'd get a kick out of this photo of Mikey!
From Capitol Reef it was less than 15 miles to Sandcreek RV Park in Torrey, UT, a less than average C2C campground. Almost two months ago while in the Badlands NP, we struck up a conversation with a couple as we were viewing bighorn sheep on t
he mountain above us. They mentioned that they had been to Torrey, UT, and although it being pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, they had enjoyed a fantastic dinner at a small restaurant called Café Diablo (http://www.cafediablo.net/). Café Diablo, featuring southwest cuisine, was in fact directly across the street from our campground, and we had decided a few weeks earlier that we wo
uld try it out for dinner. We had walked over before its opening that day to check out the menu and were given a short tour by the owner/chef, Gary Pankow. We moseyed back at dinner time, enjoyed a couple margaritas and split the Rattlesnake Cakes served with 3 dipping sauces as an appetizer, which we surprisingly really enjoyed. Russ had the Pumpkin Seed Trout (caught locally), and I chose the Turkey Chimole. W
e completed dinner, and though quite full, couldn’t resist the dessert tray when displayed. Russ had the Pear Tart with Drunk Monkey ice cream, and I tried Da Bomb Chocolate Mousse with Champagne sorbet, all of which was brought on one plate. All the desserts including the ice creams and sorbets are home made. Total bill - $100 plus tip but well worth it. This restaurant would do well in any location…great food and nice portions.
Tomorrow we head a little over 100 miles down the road to Ruby’s Inn Campground at Bryce Canyon National Park.
From Capitol Reef it was less than 15 miles to Sandcreek RV Park in Torrey, UT, a less than average C2C campground. Almost two months ago while in the Badlands NP, we struck up a conversation with a couple as we were viewing bighorn sheep on t
he mountain above us. They mentioned that they had been to Torrey, UT, and although it being pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, they had enjoyed a fantastic dinner at a small restaurant called Café Diablo (http://www.cafediablo.net/). Café Diablo, featuring southwest cuisine, was in fact directly across the street from our campground, and we had decided a few weeks earlier that we wo
uld try it out for dinner. We had walked over before its opening that day to check out the menu and were given a short tour by the owner/chef, Gary Pankow. We moseyed back at dinner time, enjoyed a couple margaritas and split the Rattlesnake Cakes served with 3 dipping sauces as an appetizer, which we surprisingly really enjoyed. Russ had the Pumpkin Seed Trout (caught locally), and I chose the Turkey Chimole. W
e completed dinner, and though quite full, couldn’t resist the dessert tray when displayed. Russ had the Pear Tart with Drunk Monkey ice cream, and I tried Da Bomb Chocolate Mousse with Champagne sorbet, all of which was brought on one plate. All the desserts including the ice creams and sorbets are home made. Total bill - $100 plus tip but well worth it. This restaurant would do well in any location…great food and nice portions.Tomorrow we head a little over 100 miles down the road to Ruby’s Inn Campground at Bryce Canyon National Park.
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