Sunday, March 25, 2007

Hell's Backbone Grill / Boulder, Utah

We received the book, "With a Measure of Grace" as a gift for our wedding so it was appropriate that we actually visit the restaurant -- Hell's Backbone Grill on our honeymoon. We hadn't opened the book until we got back on Friday and I'm half-way done reading it and ready to head to the market to buy some local groceries and try some recipes. Our experience at the restaurant and lodge coupled with turning the pages of this thoughtful book rekindled our spirits and reminded us about making smart choices at the grocery store, planting an organic garden, living a mindful life and respecting this planet we call home.

We decided to detour through another part of Utah instead of driving back through Moab, and I think that Boulder, Utah was the most rewarding part of our trip. We arrived on Thursday and checked in at the Boulder Mountain Lodge and immediately set out for an afternoon hike on the Lower Calf Creek Falls trail. We thought we should burn some calories before we eat some calories. As we drove to the trailhead, Matt gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and I was glad to be in the passenger seat. We wove our way along hwy 12, which makes up the spine of the red rocks in Grand Escalante National Monument. Now, I've been on plenty of scenic roads, none thus far, except Hwy 12, had sheer cliffs on both sides. We were on the top of the world (at least the world in Boulder, Utah). It was magnificent and something about this land calls you back to it as Matt and I are already planning our next trip to Escalante.
This last photo offers a small sliver of what the country look like driving back to Flagstaff through the reservation, and on this particular day, we were driving through the clouds--it was beautiful. My sad landscape photos are shameful, which is why I stick to photographing people.

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