Just got back from a weekend trip to Goblin Valley in Southern Utah.  Goblin Valley is near the San Rafael Swell, a crazy geological feature located in south-central Utah.  The Swell is a huge upfolding of sandstone and shale that supposedly has similar features to Mars.

Winding Through Little Wildhorse Canyon

The greatest things about the Swell is that over the last million years or so numerous flash floods have eroded the weaker layers and carved out a ton of slot canyons and crazy looking rock formations.  The bummer part of the swell is that it is “managed” by the Bureau of Land Management meaning that the area has no wilderness protection so it is being torn up by ATVs and oil diggers.  The area was proposed to receive National Monument status but GW Bush never acted on the proposal.

Environmentalism aside, there is something about all that wide open space and bizarre-o rock formations that just makes you want to dance.

We spent the morning dancing from rock to rock and then met up with some friends from Salt Lake and explored Little Wild Horse Canyon, a popular beginner slot canyon just a few miles from the entrance to Goblin Valley State Park, while trying to conserve our energy for our go at the Goblin Valley Trail Race the next morning.  I tend to travel to beautiful places for trail races and utterly tire myself out by race morning.

Posing in the Narrow Slots of Little Wildhorse Canyon

A barely above freezing desert morning inspired me to run faster than I have ever run before simply to warm myself up.  I managed to maintain that pace until I puked up candy corn a mile before the finish.  The Halloween themed race had fully stocked bowls of candy corn at all their aid stations and I regretfully grabbed a handful at the last station.  I am not really one for setting race day goals, but I really want to finish a race smiling and I thought this might be the one…

Happy to Have Finished the Goblin Valley Race

Running Through the Spooky Formations in Goblin Valley

Dancing in the Desert

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