Our Cross-Country Adventure, Day 14

We checked out of our room in Fruita, Utah and traveled about 100 yards to the Dinosaur Museum. Ronnie and I are not ardent dinosaur fans but our grandson, Caleb, is. We went there to take pictures (and maybe pick up a few gifts) for Caleb to see. It was an interesting stop to say the least.

After we left the museum, we were conflicted about where to go next. We could not check into our room in Moab, Utah until 4 pm and we wanted to do something with the rest of our day. We could not visit Arches National Park as you need a timed pass to enter and there are none available until the end of October. You can enter the park without a pass before 7:30 am and after 4:00 pm. Our original plan was to stop somewhere along the way to Mohab and then enter Arches National Park after 4:00 pm. The scenery in Utah is so different than the scenery in Colorado. It was much flatter, and it looked somewhat like a lunar scene. There were plenty of smaller mountainous areas to break the long flats.

There were also snow-covered mountains in the distance.

Ronnie and I took a couple selfies. One when we entered Utah and another at the first rest area.

Our final decision was to visit Goblin Valley State Park in Green River, Utah. This park is past the turnoff for Moab, but the timing seemed right. We made a stop in Green River and walked down along the Green River. We had lunch in Green River and then headed towards the park.

We entered the park (a $20 fee per car) and followed the instructions of the person who sold us our pass. I must have misunderstood because when I got where I thought that I was supposed to go, I was underwhelmed and so was Ronnie. We backtracked and found the right road to take and boy, were we impressed. We found Goblin Valley, and it was totally awesome. Read the description of the sign below and you will get an idea about the unique area.

We realized at Goblin Valley National Park that we would not have enough time to visit Arches National Park today, so we headed to Moab to check into our room. On the way, we saw a cool looking pile of rocks. It looked like a mushroom. I couldn’t help myself but stop and take a photo.

The town is total chaos. We don’t know if it is for the eclipse or if this is normal for this time of year. Along our way, we saw people camping everywhere. There were tons of off-road vehicles being trailed into the area. It was really something to experience.

We checked in, charged our Tesla, and went to dinner at a barbecue joint. All-in-all, it was a great day. I don’t know yet where I am going to be to photograph the eclipse. That is my next project tonight. We are here for three nights before we head south for two nights in a yurt in Escalante, Utah.

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