Once again we started an early morning by waking up in the Dixie National Forest, at our designated Campground. We drove towards Capitol Reef National Park, which was only 30 miles away from the campsite. This was the final stage of the famed Highway 12 scenic drive we were doing, and ended at a small town in Utah called Tropic. This town has a great restroom stop and gas station, and I recommend filling up here, as there are few gas station east or west from this town for almost 50 miles.
Capital Reef National Park is one of the most underrated parks in all of the US National Park system, and there are long and medium hikes throughout. The red rock cliffs and natural arches that it creates are mesmerizing.
We decided to hike to the Hickman Natural Bridge. This was a great start to the day as it was only about a mile and a half out and has some very interesting rock formations aside from the natural arch. Unfortunately there is no easy way to the top of the arch when you arrive, so you can only view it from the bottom but nonetheless it’s still a spectacular view.
We ended up doing a scenic drive through the park for about 15 miles until it became too hard to drive for vehicles with little clearance. We thought we would camp there but decided to continue east to Goblin Valley and do a scenic drive down Highway 12. This was a good move even though the camp area looked relatively open and easily accessible. In the future I would not be against sleeping here, however we needed to get further east toward Moab so we were in position for the next day.
Before we left Capital Reef, we found a stand with pies for sale, near the main visitor area. Ashley had strawberry rhubarb pie and said it was her favorite she’s ever had. So that is highly recommended if this is still there when you visit.
Now Highway 12 is one of the most scenic drives in the country and every year is rated in the top 10 in the world. It wanders through deep canyons, deserts, forests and landscapes that are almost otherworldly. As having done this drive before I figured we needed to do that on the way to Goblin Valley State Park.
Goblin Valley is a park in the middle of nowhere (literally) and seems abandoned from society. The camp fee was $40 for all of us ($20 per car) and it featured a picnic table with shelter from the wind as well as showers which was a very nice surprise! This was great as we had not showered in three days (yikes). The park itself featured huge sandstone formations that almost look like trolls or goblins, hence the name.
One thing that we found absolutely incredible is the amount of caves and climbing abilities that exist here. We spent about three hours finding our way through the park and got lost many times but it was fun as we knew that we wouldn’t get too lost due to the small proximity of the place. We ended up hiking until dusk and then enjoyed the fresh cool air which we did not have during the day. We ended up cooking some chicken and pasta that night (again) and played card games at the table until it was time for bed.
Remember Brandon and Savannah not having a mattress to sleep on? Well, this evening they decided to use their hammock, as the temperatures were finally good for sleeping outside. Unfortunately right when we thought they were about to get decent sleep after getting comfortable, there was a huge sandblast from the wind. This proved to be funny on from our side being on the tent but unfortunately they were once again struggling to sleep. Poor Brandon and Savannah. Fortunately they had a shower, so they cleaned up in the morning while we cooked breakfast. I found having showers there to be very interesting as they were in the absolute middle of nowhere yet our national parks did not provide showers. Nonetheless, it was a blessing to have and definitely smelled like a good idea at that point! Once again we got to bed to get ready for an early day.
June 18 Expenses
6.69 gas
11.43 snack gas station
6 apple pie
Total- 24.12
MILES DRIVEN – 116