Goblin Valley

This past weekend we went on our first family camping trip. We drove about two hours west into Utah to Goblin Valley State Park. Our friends Jake and Nikki went also, they both teach psychology at Colorado Mesa with Justin. We were a bit anxious about how the kids would do on the trip, especially overnight in a tent, but they did great! We will be taking more family camping trips in the future.


Crossing into Utah. We are actually only about 25 miles from the border with Utah, but there's really nothing out there. Its about another 100 miles to Goblin Valley.

As you may be able to tell from the pictures, its called Goblin Valley because the rock formations look like little goblins all over the place. It was a neat place to see and walk around.



Justin carried Nate in the baby bjorn for most of the "hike" around the Valley of the Goblins. I was a bit nervous when he would climb up rocks with Jake, like in this picture. However, he assured me he wouldn't fall.
But obviously, Nate didn't mind. He loved walking around with his daddy!
Alina is our more cautious child, that's for sure. She didn't want to climb on any rocks until we found this small one that she could sit on and we could take her picture.

This is Jake and Nikki. They love the outdoors as well and we are so glad to have made friends that we have a lot of stuff in common with. Alina loves playing with Nikki too!

I really liked taking these pictures. Alina and her daddy are so sweet! I do think that this place looks a little like Mars.

On the way out of the Valley of the Goblins hike, Nate fell asleep. I guess all that walking wore him out!
This was our campsite. We were the closest to the bathrooms, which is great with a two year old. Especially at about 11pm when she woke up and insisted that she needed to go potty right then.
Alina is such a daddy's girl and it made Justin sooooo happy to see her enjoy camping so much. She kept saying how she loves camping and its so great, Justin's heart was truly leaping for joy:)

Alina and her friend Nikki, and the Jones' dog Zoe.

Nate took an afternoon nap in the tent, but it was a short one. At night we all snuggled in here together. Even though it got down to about 45 or 50 degrees, we were nice and warm. Having the right gear (and two sets of pajamas on) really helps!

Of course Justin brought along tailgate toss, he seems to think that this is appropriate for every occasion:) Alina liked playing as well, she was the helper.
This is the view of the Grand Valley as we drove back home. You can see the Mesa which on the east side of the Valley in the distance.

We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful place.