Willard Bay

Visited: February 2018

This is mostly a boat park, but the north unit does have a lot of camping, picnic areas, and a couple gravel beaches. It's connected to the Willard Bay waterfowl refuge, so if you're a bird person, you could look for them here, I saw a flicker and some big bird of prey that I couldn't identify. I did the auto tour of the refuge in October, and saw SO many birds. Pelicans and herons and cranes and osprey and swans and every kind of duck and just so many. Plus a muskrat. The refuge is owned by the DNR (Utah Department of Natural Resources) just like the state parks, but isn't technically part of the state park, so the auto tour over there is free. The south unit of this park is a marina, and is closed in winter. The north unit also has a boat launch, but isn't a marina.

Fun fact, this is a freshwater bay. There is a dike that separates it from the GSL and it's not salty!

I would never pay the fee to get in here one time, $10 is not worth it to me for what was offered especially since I wasn't boating, but I have gotten $200 of use out of my $75 park pass at this point only 5 months in, and I've only done half the parks! And I intend to visit some multiple times. THE PASS IS WORTH IT. GET IT.

I skipped some rocks. I tried to find some dead things to poke with a stick but I couldn't. Oh well.

Gray day. Sunset here would probably be dope

Gravel beach

Goblin Valley

Visited: February 2018

Ok yes this park already looks amazing and cool on Instagram, but it is TRULY MAGICAL. And I'm not one of those people who thinks every mountain summit or road trip changes her life.

I headed on from Dead Horse Point to camp outside Goblin Valley. I got there right as the sun was setting and got to see the sky change color in my rear view mirror, and then really light up behind the Henry Mountains when I pulled into the gravel lot where I was going to sleep (which are way underrated btw).

That sky tho. The second one is the view from the back of my Jeep where I slept.

It was going to get down close to freezing, and I was alone, so I just slept in the back of my Jeep. I pulled into a huge gravel lot at the last intersection before the park itself, 7 miles from the park entrance. It's BLM land and it's free! Pictures on google earth show me that it's a zoo of RV's in the summer, but I just shared with one RV on my Sunday night excursion in February. I didn't mind them, they were quiet, a middle aged couple that made me feel safer being alone in the night haha.

The stars were WIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLDDDD. I grew up where you can see the milky way every night, so it was nice to be reunited with it. The silence was truly deafening. My ears were ringing for a long time, because I haven't had that kind of silence in  a REALLY long while. I love the desert. 

I also got treated to a great sunrise. I let the sun dissipate the fog on the inside of the windows, and headed 200 yards down the road to some giant pictographs.

My bby

The pictographs are about 6 feet tall!

I headed to the park after that and got a Junior Ranger book for $0.50. The VC is small and has about 3 parking spaces, which I was a little confused about, but it worked for me, because I was the ONLY one there for about an hour. Well, there was one guy bumping the bass in his car in the Valley of Goblins parking lot who never left his car, but once I descended from the parking lot to the valley, I couldn't hear him, so whatevs. 

There are some actual trails, but the main thing to do it just freely wander through all the goblins in the valley! There are 3 sections/valleys, and you can just wander wherever you want! It's brilliant. And you can't get lost, because the valley is shallow, and you can get a view of the parking lot pretty easily at any point. I wandered, delighted and softly exclaiming, among the goblins all by myself for a while. I took some photos with my tripod without any worry of embarrassment for being a basic Instagram chick. And then I wandered through this fantastic canyon where you can just crawl all around like a child on a playground, never high or steep enough to really worry, like a Slot Canyon Lite™. 

Goblins

Gotta get that Instagram shot

Me awkwardly with a goblin

This is at a pull off with room for 1 car on the way back from the Goblin Valley

The magical canyon!

I was impressed by the lack of wear and tear I saw. No carvings, vandalism, or graffiti that I saw. Just two pieces of trash. A gum wrapper and some women's underwear... someone had fun behind a goblin 😳

I awkwardly got sworn in as a Junior Ranger, had the other half of that Subway sandwich, and headed back to SLC. Super sad to leave the desert! I must hurry back, before it gets too hot and crowded. 

People ask me how I'm able to go on so many adventures. I say it's just about prioritizing, and being efficient with your time. Also:

😉

Dead Horse Point

Visited: February 2018

Pssttt... here's a secret. Go to Moab in February. It's not freezing but not hot. There's usually not snow, but the mountains are snow-capped and gorgeous. And no one is there. Since moving to Utah, I can go whenever I want, and I have gotten a whole new feel for what these parks really are. As a kid I had to go over summer break like a normal tourist, and I remember crowds, sweltering, sunburns, traffic, jostling to get to the overlook, loud talkers, and lots more litter. So this is a great new way to see these places!

I was excited to go here for a few reasons. I remember my dad loving this park, and having a few retro t shirts from there. I also remember seeing the potash mines closeup as a child when my parents drove the potash road as far as you can go, and them blowing my little mind. That view is ingrained in my brain. So I was excited to see them again from above!

I was also going to see my friend Joan (ramblinghemlock) and we earned Junior Ranger badges together on our 'adventure'! I made a list of all the state parks with a Junior Ranger program and I already had some, and I'm working on getting all of them. I'll make a post with the list (but I left it at work so that'll be later).

The park ranger there was super sweet. There is a museum, a great 15 minute video, a nature trail at the VC (visitor center), and a very short trail to the overlook at the end of the road. There is a structure at the overlook to provide shade on those brutal summer days. It's a great park and you should go! It shouldn't be overlooked on the way to Canyonlands.

Those colorful ponds are the potash mines! The color is a dye to help them evaporate. They are mining potassium. Check out the snow dusted La Sals... at 30% of their usual snow pack.

My college professor wrote a book on the geology in this area so in theory I should know everything about these formations... E V E R Y T H I N G... especially as I am paying $150 a month still, to know these things... (and yet)

The river looked super green and we thought it was the Green River but it's the Colorado River

Joan and I with our Junior Ranger badges! We did the whole book

Green River

Visited: February 2018

Next up was Green River State Park. Another place I have passed 100x and never looked at. This is the beauty of the pass, I wouldn't normally pay to go to a glorified picnic area, but I have the pass, so I already paid for it. So I got to have my Subway sandwich on the dock, since it was winter and no one was using it. This looks like a hella mellow river, there's probably some fun floats you can do on those scorching summer desert days. There's also a golf course. It seems like it secretly has a lot going on, maybe I'll spend more time there some day.

Not the most aesthetically pleasing park but

Picnic spot

Scofield Reservoir

Visited: February 2018

This is something I have passed 100 times on US 6 and never bothered to drive the 10 miles to check it out. Right now it's just accessible for ice fishing, but I think I want to go back and check it out when the wildflowers are out. It looked like a nice place for a cabin getaway. I picked up a little trash on the shore. Bodies of water and trash, man. It's like a magnet.

Some ice fisherman on the lake. This was at the "Mountain View" unit of the park

Rocky shore

Can you imagine the hills here covered in spring flowers?!

My favorite sign!

Also on US 6 just south of Scofield, there is a waterfall that I see pretty much year round. I've NEVER stopped at it before, as it's right around a corner and just catches my eye at 60 mph and I'm usually in a hurry to get to Moab, or ready to just be home. But today I took the time to pull in the giant lot just south of the waterfall. It's about a half mile NORTH of the turn to the Price Canyon Recreation Area. You can't miss the lot, it's ENORMOUS. And I got to see it frozen, which is even better!

Bonus adventure!

I'd say the waterfall is like 30-50 feet high?

State Park Extravaganza

I went to 4 state parks in 30 hours, and 5 in 3 days! About to throw them all up here. I LOVE STATE PARKS.