Groovy Town

We then traveled on to Kodachrome Basin State Park to see the sand pipes and then up Scenic Byway 12. We were surrounded by spectacular scenery throughout the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Unfortunately, we were disappointed to not be able to hike the famous Lower Calf Creek Trail, as it was closed for repair work (um, WHY do this during the summer travel season?). Instead, we drove down Burr Trail Road and visited this slot canyon. It was totally cool (mentally and physically) to get the chance to walk inside one of these!

We had reservations to spend the night in Boulder, Utah a.k.a. The Middle of Nowhere, population 177. I chose the #1 rated hotel in town, according to my travel friends at tripadvisor.com. Not that that was saying much, since there were only 3 places to stay in the town. College Daughter had a look of fear on her face after I checked in at the 'office' and got a real, actual metal key to Room 3. The grounds were quite lovely, but the 'lodge' was nothing more than a glorified Motel 6, in my opinion. However, adjacent to the lodge was one of the top rated restaurants in Utah, Hell's Backbone Grill. Again, since Utah isn't exactly the foodie capital of the world, I'm not sure if that's saying a whole lot. We checked out the menu and decided to go elsewhere. I'm not paying $26 a piece for my kids to eat an elk burger and pommes de frites.



Boulder, Utah is an odd town. I'd describe it as 1970's Soho meets 2010 Portland. This is the photo of the restaurant's herb garden, right in front of the motel office and next to the road. The string of pennants were an interesting touch. Boulder began in the late 1800's as a ranching and dairy town. For you trivia junkies, it was the last place in America to have mail delivered by mule.

According to my Moon travel book, all towns in Utah are populated with Mormons. Many small towns like Boulder are dry; you are not able to order a beer in restaurants. We did notice an LDS church on every town corner. But, I believe that Boulder is different..........

After checking in at the lodge, we ventured out on the main road to get some gas. The only station in town was a Sinclair, the western chain with a dinosaur logo. Since we felt as though we'd stepped back in time, it seemed appropriate. I went into the unnamed convenient shop, looking for some drinks to have the next morning. The place was tiny and had one fridge/freezer unit. Stocked ONLY with organic juices and soy or almond milk. Well, my son wasn't going to drink anything but regular 2%, so I skipped the milk and had to spend $3 on a 12 oz. bottle of apple juice. The girl behind the register was decked out in a halter top, bandana on her head, huge hoop earrings and multiple neck tattoos. I'd have mistaken her for being a Woodstock attendee, except she was probably about 20 years old. I'm going to guess that was her toddler at her feet and that neither of them were Mormons. Her sister and brother were probably working at the restaurant we dined at as they were similarly dressed and adorned.

When we got home from the trip, I found this next photo on College Daughter's camera. I had no recollection of it, whatsover. When I asked her about it, she said she had taken it while I was inside "that store that didn't sell normal beverages."



As we drove out of town the next morning, we came upon five cows standing in the road. Where were these cows when we needed some real milk?