Annies Place Boulder, Utah

Annie's Place Boulder, UT

 On the other side of the mountain from Capitol Reef National Park is the town of Boulder, Utah which is 27 miles from the Grand Staircsase Escalante National Monument. Boulder is primarily a farming and ranching community with a population of 227 according to the 2020 US Census. We chose to stay here in Annie's Place BnB in the middle of an Alfalfa field.

Annie's Place

This really is farm living. A long gravel road through a field takes you to this homestead. It was origonally a Post Office building but moved to the top of the hill and refurbished both inside and out making it a very modern Bed and Breakfast.

Dining Room at Annie's

We checked in and met Lesley, the Inn Keeper.  Lesley had an interesting story to tell. She worked at a corporate job in Atlanta and wanted to get away from the rat race for a while. She spotted an online ad for an Innkeeper in Utah. She had never been to the state but it sounded ideal for what she was looking for. 

We found that we were the only guests staying in a very large BnB.  Our room was attractive with a little sitting area with TV and a large King bed. A set of double doors led to our own deck overlooking the countryside. This was almost like camping but with all the luxuries of home.

Double doors in our bedroom open to a private deck

We witnessed some of the Alfalfa Harvest.

Surrounding ranches are the only neighbors

As the day evolved thoughts of dinner were going to be interesting. There is nothing around here for 100 miles. We asked our host Lesley what we should do for dinner. She told us about a little restaurant at the stop sign which basically is the center of town. We asked her if it was that shack looking building that we saw on the way to the BnB. That was it!  Unbelievably, this little treasure at the crossroads is Michelin rated. Celebrities come here from miles away. Oprah has eaten here. It is called "Hell's Backbone Grill" and you need a reservation which are sometimes hard to acquire.

27 years ago, two Buddhist women, Jen Castle and Blake Spalding, chose to open a destination restaurant in one of the most remote towns in America.

Restaurant owners Jen Castle and Blake Spalding

To quote the owners:

Our restaurant operates following Buddhist principles, with a commitment to sustainability, environmental ethics, and community responsibility. We serve organic, locally produced, regionally and seasonally appropriate cuisine, growing much of our produce on our six-acre farm. Our fruit largely comes from Boulder’s heirloom orchards, and our meat comes from local ranchers. It’s not easy, but it’s worth the effort."

The restaurant has been featured in The New Yorker, O: the Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sunset Magazine, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Organic Gardening, Outside Traveler, Outside, Travel and Leisure, Washington Post, Men’s Journal, More, SLUG Magazine and National Geographic Traveler.

It has been a James Bear Award finalist in the outstanding restaurant category many, many times as well as having the highest Zagut rating of any restaurant in Utah.

It's not much to look at, but looks are certainly deceiving. Behind these buildings, which have seen better days, there was a large parking lot with more cars than we saw on our entire drive here.

Once seated inside, we found the place was run by buddhists. Service was very attentive. Everytime the server filled my water glass he clasped his hands in prayer and bowed to us. This is a farm to table organic restaurant. Most of the veggies as well as the beef are raised here on the farm or on surrounding farms.

We started with the black powdered biscuits which are served with butter and homemade jam.  These are some of the best restaurant biscuits I have ever had.

The main menu was small but adequate. I chose the Bison Chile Colorado which was memorable. I wish I could make this at home. The bison was tender and tasty, served over green chile polenta and accompanied by sweet corn succotash. This creative combination of flavors was a sensory delight. We will be coming back the next time we are in Utah.  

Libbie chose the pan seared steel head trout in a lemon tarragon beurre blanc, jasmine rice and an array of vegetables.

We had too much food to be able to try the dessert offerings which is almost sacrilegious.  

After dinner it was nice to be able to drive across the street back to our ranch on the hilltop.

The next morning we had a delicious BnB breakfast of a yogurt parfait topped with fresh strawberries followed by an egg and cheese casserole with wheat toast.  To top it off, Lesley served coffee with fresh ground beans.  This is my kind of morning beverage.

Leaving  Boulder on to our next destination, the scenery was just as awe inspiring as our trip going to Boulder. The Escalante National Monument is beautiful by itself but is overshadowed by some of the most scenic National Parks in the US.

The stunning drive through Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument

Part II Canyon Spirit journey Glenwood Springs to Moab

 

The Hotel Maxwell (Hotel Denver)

This was a beautiful hotel where we spent the night in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, conveniently located directly across from the train station. The next morning, since breakfast would be served on the train, we wandered into the hotel coffee shop and picked up two cups of black coffee. We then settled into the eclectic hotel lobby, taking in the interesting surroundings and enjoying a quiet cup of coffee while we waited for the train to be ready for our journey on to Moab.

We later walked across the street to explore the beautiful old train station. Built in 1904 by the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, the station has stood for more than a century and remains a wonderful reminder of Glenwood Springs’ railroad history. Inside, a framed poster commemorates the railroad and celebrates the station’s 120 years of service—a fitting tribute to this charming piece of the town’s past (below).

Back in it's heyday the station served as a focal point downtown. Now it only serves an Amtrak train or two and of course our tourist train.

Canyon Spirit to Moab, Utah

The Canyon Spirit was backed onto the platform from the nearby maintenance yard, where it had spent the night. Our train looked shiny and gleaming in the morning light—a fitting reflection of the care and attention given to this well-maintained tourist train. As we made our way toward Car 6, we were greeted by a special touch: the red carpet had been rolled out to welcome us aboard.

 All aboard!  We pulled out of Glenwood Springs and resumed our journey following alongside the Colorado River.

The Colorado River was on our right as we left Glenwood Springs. We would cross it many times in our journey today.

From the yummy breakfast menu I chose the Denver Eggs Breakfast.

This was a meal made for my pallette - peppers, onions and chili hollandaise, serving up the flavors of the Southwest, accompanied by a hot cup of black coffee. As the Canyon Spirit menu proclaims, "Enjoy your meal with a view."

The Colorado River is now on our left as we navigate a curve ahead. It’s fascinating how, on these curves, we can look ahead and actually see our locomotive at work, pulling us along at 35 MPH. The speed has been set to provide maximum opportunity for scenic viewing. And when there’s an especially interesting geographic feature to take in, we slow down even more. There’s certainly no hurry to reach our destination today—we’re here to enjoy the journey.

Above: Our train passes by the Grand Valley Diversion Dam near Palisades, Colorado. This dam diverts water into local canals for irrigation of orchards, farms and vineyards.

Below: We pass by one of the many vineyards and farms in this valley, all irrigated by the Colorado River.

The landscape changed dramatically as we entered the land of the red rocks and canyons. The soil is stratified in layers and wind eroded caves start appearing.

Utah-Colorado border

Painted on the cliff face is the indicator that we are passing from Colorado into Utah.

The rock formations continue to be incredible as we see eroded sandstone and weathered red rock.

The Canyon Spirit team continued to pamper us on our journey. The executive chef came out of the kitchen to help take lunch orders.  I ordered the braised chicken pibil baked burrito which has smoked chili sauce, crema rosada and queso. Spanish rice is served on the side.  The recommended wine pairing is Colterris Plum Creek Heritage Reisling.  Yes please, I'll take a glass of Reisling!

 

As we travel closer to Moab we start seeing the fenced in areas of radioactive dirt and a government cleanup effort. The dirt is the mining tailings from Uranium operations in the 1950s which were mining for bomb making and nuclear power plant fuel.

The uranium scraps are packed into rail containers for transport to an underground disposal site. A radioactive warning label is prominently displayed on each piece of cargo.

Hillsides coated in green and red rocks made their appearance as we traveled along. The green tint comes from iron that settled in an underwater environment. Contained within are red bands of clay materials such as smectite and glauconite.  The red rocks formed later when the iron was exposed to oxygen and rusted.  This area near Moab is called the Morrison formation.

As we eased into the siding that marked the final stop of our journey, we were greeted by smiling employees of the Moab Canyon Spirit. There was something rather special about arriving in Moab by train, since the town has never had passenger rail service—and, fittingly, has no train station.

Instead, we were now traveling over tracks used by the mining companies that operate in the Moab area. Our train came to a gentle stop in the siding, where shuttle buses were waiting to carry us the rest of the way into town and to our hotel. After hours of spectacular scenery from the rails, our train journey had come to an end, but our Moab adventure was just beginning.

Our destination at the end of today was the Hoo Doo Hilton. a very contemporary Hilton Hotel.

In Canyon Spirit fashion, our bags were already in our room, allowing us to enter and relax.

We also enjoyed the pool area as an attractive desert oasis complete with fire pits and adult beverages.

Canyon Spirit Denver to Glenwood Springs, Colorado

We spent the evening in the Hotel Indigo in Denver.  The Indigo is a contemporary upscale hotel in the heart of downtown Denver.  Union Station was directly across the street from the hotel building which was convenient.  We did not have breakfast at the hotel since the Canyon Spirit serves breakfast as the first order of the day.  We packed up our suitcases with their appropriate Canyon Spirit luggage tags and left them in the room. The next time we will see them will be in our room in Glenwood Springs, assuming everything goes according to plan. Spoiler alert: it did go according to plan!

Union station in Denver is a surprisingly busy rail station. We stood on the pedestrian bridge overlooking the tracks and watched the Canyon Spirit back into the platform where we would soon board to begin our journey.

We proceeded down the stairs to the boarding platform to the red carpet at the entrance to our car. Mike, our car attendant for the journey, took our tickets.  The train is spotless and gleaming. The windows were freshly washed and the flags on the entrance was a nice touch signifying we were about to embark upon a first-class journey.

Once we were on board, Mike gave us a welcome speech and introduced the rest of the attendants for our car. We have two cars at our disposal. The coach where we were seated and then the lounge car with snacks, a bar and comfortable sofas and chairs. Both cars featured sky view windows that were sparkling clean. First order of business as we pulled out of the station was our breakfast order as they served mimosas and a scone prequel to our meal.

A delicious mixed berry scone along with a champagne mimosa started our journey.

As the train makes its way through the rail yard outside Union Station, one of the first sights to catch our attention is One River Apartments. These striking luxury apartments are also somewhat controversial, thanks to their unusual glass exterior. Dramatic breaks in the façade are designed to evoke a Colorado slot canyon and a woodland ravine, giving the building a distinctly Colorado-inspired character.

Inside, the connection with nature continues. A landscaped trail winds across the sixth through eighth floors, with open-air walkways surrounded by lush plants and even a few waterfalls. And high above it all, the rooftop features an Alpine lake-style swimming pool, complete with sweeping views of the Rocky Mountains—a fitting touch for a building that brings a bit of the Colorado landscape right into the city.

As we continued outside of Denver we approach the Big Ten Curve.  This curve is a 270 degree circle in which the train begins the climb up the Rocky's.  The 10 refers to the 10 degree bend in the rail as it traverses the circle. 

This series of 10-degree curves allows the train to gain 4,000 feet of altitude over just 3 miles of track. The result is a remarkable vertical gain while covering a minimum distance on the ground.

Eventually, we reached an apex of 9,239 feet as we traveled through the 6.2-mile-long Moffat Tunnel.

The tunnel passes through the Continental Divide and was built in the early 1900s. A parallel tunnel is a water tunnel, bored by pioneers to transfer water from the Pacific watershed on the western slopes of the Rockies to the City of Denver on the east.

A linen table cloth was placed on our airline style tray and breakfast was served on the Pacific side of the Continental divide. The meals are themed to the Southwest which we are traveling through. I chose a Frittata which has roasted peppers, onions and cheese in the egg omelet and comes with a side of  tomatillo salsa.  Also on the plate were tri-color potatoes. I was more interested in the protein and really enjoyed the savory flavor.

Outside our window, we saw that we were passing through the Winter Park Ski resort. We are now at 9,000 feet of elevation.  

The landscape changed to Lodgepole pine and mountaneous terrain before the rock formations became ignacious in character as we met up with the Colorado River traveling along side the rail route as we twisted and turned through the steep walls of Beyers Canyon.

While we the tracks followed the Colorado River giving us great views of white water rapids and then other times seemingly peaceful stretches of gentle flowing river, we would ocassionlly see glimpses of I-70.

  

At this point I-70 crossed the river while we traveled under the Interstate Highway bridge.

The Shoshone Hydroelectric Dam was one of the last landmarks we passed on today’s journey before arriving in the charming town of Glenwood Springs.

As the train made its way into town, the Canyon Spirit attendants came down the aisle and handed each of us the keys to our assigned hotel room. What a wonderful convenience! There was no need to check in or wait for our luggage. We simply stepped off the train, crossed the street to the Anderson Hotel, and walked straight to our room. And, almost magically, our suitcases were already there waiting for us!

The Glenwood Springs Train Station which opened in 1904

Disembarking onto the red carpet on the Glenwood Springs train platform

Across the street from the Train Station was our hotel, the Hotel Anderson which is also called thr Hotel Denver

When we walked into our room, our suitcases were already there. How nice is this?

Out the window we had a view of the Train Station where we had disembarked from the Canyon Spirit.  The rail line is a busy line used by both Amtrak and freight so our train had to leave and spend the night in a rail yard

We took a walk through the attractive downtown of Glenwood Springs. A Farmers Market was in progress as we strolled along. Eventually we returned to the Hotel Anderson where we discovered that one of the restaurants was a brewery. We chose a table outside overlooking the train station and ordered a plate of buffalo wings to share and a couple of amber brews. This was the end of an enjoyable and relaxing day.