Goblins! Goblins! Goblins!

Brain cancer is...

 ...along with Sue, a very good sport. 

Before the trip, I researched "less traveled" national parks.  Capitol Reef is one.  You see us there today, above. 

Summer storms are not uncommon here. Today we witnessed a deluge.  One local told us that he hasn't seen a downpour like this since 2004.  He said his house got 2 inches of rain in ten minutes.  Our phones were alarming with flash flood alerts, and the sky lit up with lightning. Perfect!

No really. Sure, the hopes for the hike that I painstakingly negotiated washed down the Fremont River, along with much red soil.  See?

But sometimes we need to let go of the hike in exchange for bragging rights.  And for great views of waterfalls that exist only on days like this.  See?

Was there only one such waterfall?  No!  There were many.  See?  (Video here.)

Capitol Reef was as beautiful as the images on the park website (here), but Darrell insisted on leaving while the roads were still open.  See?

Whatever, Darrell! 

So far Andi sounds like the good sport in the story, leaving this adventure with only bragging rights, right? 

But wait!  There's more!

Leaving the park, it rained (and, okay, maybe it hailed a little)--maybe harder than we can ever remember--for about 25 minutes.  We outran the storm and were headed straight to Green River under blue skies.

And then?  A sign!  Lo and behold:  Goblin Valley State Park was a mere 20 minutes off our route.  What a find!

We headed back into the storm and straight into goblin territory with me shouting, "Goblins!  Goblins!  Goblins!" over the noise of the rain.

Here's the part where Darrell and Sue are good sports.  See?

Those are the goblins, behind us, in the water that was deepening by the minute.  Here are a few more goblin pics. 

I had to take the pictures quickly.  Even good sports have limits. If you want clearer goblin views, check out the park site (here).

Goblins are baby hoodoos, it seems.  (We saw and wrote about Bryce's massive hoodoos here.)

Worth it.  See?

We turned tail and got back on the road for Green River, where it was dry and a cool breeze drifted past our sitting area.  See?

Honestly, though, what was the best part of the day?

Goblins!  Goblins!  Goblins!

Blooms of the Day
(Why would I lose faith so easily? Maybe Matisse was right:  "There are always flowers for those who want to see them.")