Kris and I headed to the next stop in the road, Goblin Valley. This state park is home to hundreds of formation which have formed in one valley. We stopped at the gatehouse and got a campsite first thing. The campground was really nice. The picnic tables have enclosures over them with two sides shielded from the elements.
We elected to take a short nap in the van. When we woke we noticed a few families had just pulled in and were attempting to set up large cabin style tents across the way. Each family had around seven children (Mormon country) that were standing around the flattened tent as mom and dad tried to figure out the instructions. Each time a pole would go in the tent would be erected and then fall flat again. This continued for over an hour with both families. The wind was cooking at this point and making the job much harder. One dad finally got his tent up after moving it into their picnic shelter and tying it off to the posts.
The other dad continued to work for another half hour before he and the family had the tent set to full height. At this point Kris and I were sitting in the van, enjoying a beer and laughing our asses off. All of a sudden the wind gusted stronger. The dad quickly grabbed his tent which threatened to blow away with the children holding on. At this moment we looked past his tent to the next sight back and noticed a small tent cartwheeling end over end into the meadow beyond the campsite. It rolled and skidded for hundred of feet before disappearing behind some rocks. Moments later three kids and a mom went running in the general direction of the fallen tent. Haha, we love that stuff.
Just as it couldn't get any better the families tent began to look like an accordion. The wind would blow and it would squish the walls togehter, then the wind would change directions and pull the tent away. The entire family was holding on for dear life. At this point we decided to offer some advice. Kris told the family they could use our tent area since we were sleeping in the van. Our area was much more sheltered and would get them out of the wind. After much thought the dad neglected. I told him to move the tent into the picnic shelter and tie it down. After another few minutes the family got hold of the tent and moved it in avoiding further disaster.
Kris had finally had enough of the family tent antics so we headed out to see the valley. The trail there was not well marked but we eventually found our way. The valley was really neat. The formations were all very similar, and not very tall, but they sparked the imagination all the same. The neat thing about it was that you could walk anywhere, there was no trail. This allowed one to get away from the majority of people and meander through the "Goblins" alone. The light wasn't great but we did get some good pics.
On the way back to the campground we walked the road to see something different. When we got back the wind was still up and growing stronger. We decided to put the bed up and cook our meal in the van to avoid the hassle of the wind. As we sat in the relative comfort of the van the folks outside were dealing with a legit sandstorm. The winds had to be gusting into the high sixties and it seemed like all the dust in the desert was blowing with them. The van was rocking back and forth the entire evening. I actually feared the roof box would blow off or crack under the stress. The windows were closed but even so a fine layer of dust settled on the dashboard.
As we were sitting there we noticed the tent a few sites over from us had lost its fly. The family had left when we pulled in and hadn't returned. The fly was holding on by one corner and flapping violently. My lovely wife suggested that we should go over and try to rig it back on. When I approached the scene I noticed that around two inches of sand had already blown in under the fly and was covering the families gear. Kris and I rigged the fly back down and staked it out in as many places as we could but the damage was already done...
When the family returned they were grateful for our help. It was getting late so we made up the bed and brushed our teeth. We read a little and went to bed. In the dead of the night I bolted awake as the van swayed violently from side to side. The wind had picked up even stronger and now it was pouring. I fell back asleep quickly but the storm lasted much of the night. In the morning the other campground tenants looked as though they had weathered the great storm. Everything was soaked and coated in sand. The backs of trucks, which people were using for storage, were filled with standing water.
Kris and I jumped out fo the van and made our coffee, wondering the whole time what the fuss was about...
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