Back to civilization!

We've been at a BLM campground near Goblin Valley since Thursday afternoon.  The campground at Goblin Valley was full so we came here.  It's just a large fenced gravel parking lot with pit toilets.  But it's free and it's quiet, and it's a good chance to try out the solar panels.  There are about 10 other campers here, a lot have 4 wheelers to ride the area.  There are many BLM campsites around here.  If you take any dirt road there will be a couple or more campsites with fire rings.  One was really nice tucked in between some hoodoos.  The guy that was there camping with his family flagged us down looking for jumper cables.  We helped him get his truck started then visited for a bit.
Thursday after parking we went to see the Goblins.  Pretty bizarre place, you can walk through the valley amongst all these wierd hoodoos.  We spent a couple hours just walking around. 
Friday morning we hiked Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon.  Very nice hike, some of the areas were pretty tight, had to turn sideways, or lean over to walk through.  Not a place to be if it rains!
After lunch we drove out to Capital Reef.  It still amazes us how varied the terrain can be in Utah.  We drove along sandy areas with amazing formations in the background.  Then just after Hanksville the terrain changed again, and again, and again.  This area is world renowned for having the most different types of formations.  The drive is along the Freemont river in a narrow valley.  There are still fruit orchards from the early Mormon settlers all along the valley.  Very pretty with the fruit trees starting to bud out. 
On the way out we stopped at a tiny bakery/farm and bought some fresh whole wheat bread, some old (aged) cheese, and fresh greenhouse grown salad.  Just ate some of the bread and cheese, very good.
So far the solar panels are working great here in the Utah sun.  We're running the generator about an hour each night only to heat water.  Upgrading the water heater from a 1250 watt to a 2000 watt heating element has helped.  It cut the genny run time in about half.  In the morning the battery voltage is about 12.7, enough to make coffee.  Then once the sun hits the panels we're making power! 
Sunday afternoon we'll go into Green River to pick up groceries, mail cards, and make mass.  We decided to move to Green River for a couple days.  Tuesday morning we leave heading south toward Arizona.  I think we might take 89 down and spend a couple days at Lake Powell, then head into Flagstaff.
When we got here in Green River I noticed the old front tv seemed loose (it's in the overhead cabinets.  The plastic where it was attached has broken so rather than having it drop on the floor while we drive I just finished pulling it out.  (Why does stuff like this happen in the middle of nowhere?  We won't see even a Walmart until we get to Flagstaff)  So it's on the floor now until we can get another one, then rebuild the cabinet to hold a bracket to mount it.  Not a big job, just don't have any power tools with us.
Looking forward to having Scott, Bevi, and Ella come visit for a long weekend next month.  Yea!!!!