Postcard from Goblin Valley

By now you have probably heard about the three boy scout leaders (AKA idiots) who toppled over an ancient rock formation in the Goblin Valley State Park in Utah. They were leading a troop of Boy Scouts on a weekend campout. They also photographed themselves destroying the rock formation, then put it on Facebook. (See the video they took on CNN Website)

They claim to have done it as a public service as the rock was supposedly loose and they were worried that it would fall and kill somebody. They probably would have gotten away with it if they hadn’t posted their video. As a result, they may face felony charges…and are definitely being thrown out of the Boy Scouts of America.

I thought it would be interesting for you to see one of my photos from that incredible area. I spent a day there a couple of years ago and this photo is of my favorite rock formation. There are hundreds of balancing rock formations throughout the park, one of which these clowns destroyed.

Despite these idiots, the park is still full of amazing rock formations that date back to the Jurassic period of earth’s history (200 million years ago). The park sits in the middle of nowhere, and visitors are encouraged to walk down into the valley and explore the oddly shaped rocks and even climb on some of the bigger ones.

The park was only discovered less than 100 years ago. The guys who found it called it “Mushroom Valley.” Goblin Valley State Park is a showcase of geologic history. Exposed cliffs reveal parallel layers of rock bared by erosion. Because of the uneven hardness of sandstone, some patches resist erosion much better than others. The softer material is removed by wind and water, leaving thousands of unique, geologic goblins. It became a state park in 1964.

The photo is in black and white as the rocks are all one color…brown. I purposely used a filter to darken the sky so the rock formation would stand out.

Even though the men destroyed one formation, there are still hundreds of other fascinating sculptured rocks to see.  You should make it a point to visit the park if you are ever in that area.