Days 13, 14, 15

I used to tell my international friends that if they had a limited amount of time when visiting the US, they should visit Oregon. Setting aside the Oregon Coast, it pains me to say that Utah has Oregon beat, hands down... (I've never been sure what "hands down" means but it seems appropriate in this case).

I'm getting ahead of myself ... on Friday we played golf at Green Springs just off exit 10 on I-15. There were ice crystal on the putting green just before we teed off at 10:30. By the 3rd hole we were removing layers. By 1:00, when we finished, we were in tee shirts and under bright blue skies. As you can see from the picture, it was a beautiful but difficult course! We worked the rest of the day and got ready for our weekend adventure.

Early Saturday morning we left St. George for Bryce Canyon National Park which is due east of Zion. We left El Gato behind as we needed to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time with huge elevation and climate changes. It was in the 20's much of the 150 miles to Bryce but the sun was out, skies were blue, and our intrepedness was seething!

It would be impossible for anyone to describe what we saw over the next 2 days ... I'm not even going to try. We started at Bryce, then went down to the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and the Kodachrome Utah State Park (yup that's what it's called for obvious reasons); then across the Escalante Valley that was the last place in the lower US to be mapped due to its incredible ruggedness. We landed for the night at Boulder, Utah at the Boulder Lodge.

Probably the ultimate joy of exploring is finding a place that is unspoiled and not widely known. Boulder Utah is such a place. It's on Highway 12 (Scenic Byway) halfway between Bryce National Park and Capital Reef National Park. This road may be the most dramatic drive we've ever taken. It is as challenging and unique as the Beartooth Pass between Yellowstone and Red Lodge Montana. At one point it follows a narrow ridgeline between two mountains with a 1,000 foot drop on either side and NO RAILINGS! Sweaty palms indeed. The views are incredible and the road is an engineering marvel thanks to the depression era Conservation Corps. The road was not finished until 1941. Boulder was the last town in the nation to receive year round mail by automobile ... it had to come by donkey much of the winter until the road was completed. It has no stop light, cell service, ATM, grocery store or medical facilities.

Jill had located the Lodge on the internet. We didn't have a reservation, assuming there'd be few visitors this time of year. We were lucky and got the LAST room. We checked in then went to the local Anasazi Museum and ruins. After a long day we were famished so decided to eat at the adjacent restaurant named after a very famous nearby road ... Hell's Backbone Grill (you can imagine what the road is like by the name). The restaurant was founded by a couple of American Buddhists and reflects their concern for things natural and delicious. They raise their own veggies and buy their meats, poultry, and eggs from locals who are committed to quality. Both Jill and I agreed that the meal ranked as one of the top five we've ever had. We spent time talking to one of the founding chefs ... a delightful middle-aged lady named Blake. She told us about the unique relationship the small Buddhist community had developed with the local Mormon community. The place exuded the peace and joy that one finds in true believers. What was not immediately apparent was that this 10 year old establishment had developed a world class reputation. In fact we estimate that 70% of the diners were European. Perhaps that's because the Hell's Backbone Grill has received many international awards and has been written up in "O", the New York Times Travel Magazine and Bon Appetit. It shows how far people will go for a great meal!

Our room at the small lodge (36 rooms) looked out over a pond and a bird sanctuary. It was a perfect place and a perfect meal. The small town is a delight with only one gas station, a mini-mart and museum. A very wide spot in a narrow road.

The next day we toured Capital Reef National Park and the Cedar Breaks National Monument. Over all, we passed through 10,000 feet a couple of times and ended where we began at 3,000. We experienced temps from 20 to 70 degrees with constant clear blue skies.

If you have a list of places you want to see before you die, make sure it includes ... Zion, Bryce, and Capital Reefs National Park, Highway 12 between Bryce and Capital Reef, the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument , Kodachrome State Park and the Boulder Lodge and Hell's Backbone Grill. Life is good.

Sorry the pics are not in order. I'm still learning the process ... hey I'm trying!