Catching up on things

It's been a little while since our last post. We've been on the road, touring around Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks and Las Vegas, and now we're staying in Santa Barbara, CA for a week with Carrie's family. We'll have a new post coming soon, but for now we'll put up a blog post from a couple weeks ago that was never published:


Blogging from the our space in Boulder, Utah has proved much more difficult than we anticipated. The rough terrain of Utah was one of the last areas in the United States to be charted, and electricity didn't find its way into Boulder until 1947. Our housing on the farm has no electricity, and certainly no internet access. We've spent our time online stationed at the Burr Trail Trading Post--a small coffee shop/gear store/art gallery staffed by a mix of locals, including one of the beekeepers that maintains the hives for the Hell's Backbone Grill farm--as well as in the library of the HBG staff house.

The rough terrain that cuts this town off so successfully from many of the amenities we're used to also makes it a forbidding place to farm. Utah's position between two mountain ranges limits the amount of rainfall the state receives. An average of 7 inches of precipitation strikes the ground of Boulder annually; a small portion of the 30 inches to be had in the Lansing area. Low levels of precipitation coupled with the sandy soils created from the eroding sandstone parent material, a sun that pulls liquid from anything unfortunate enough not to find shade, and desiccating winds means that irrigation is a must for any agricultural endeavor in the area. Boulder is lucky in that it has Boulder Mountain to the north, providing enough melt water to feed the local reservoirs and the irrigation needs of the town.

A constant stream of water sputters out of sprinkler heads dotting every field in the area. Night and day, water flows through the large mains from the reservoirs into farm fields, gardens, and grazing land; anything less would result in a reversion from lush green fields to the area's resident vegetation: tumble weeds, junipers, and yucca plants. HBG's farm irrigates using a mixture of sprinklers, drip irrigation, and a flooding technique in which trenches are dug between beds and flood gates are opened along a main line for water to enter and slowly infiltrate into the soil.

For all of its difficulties--lack of amenities, formidable terrain, blistering hot sun, deafening winds, and the isolation typical of a town of 200--Boulder has been an extremely pleasant place to stay. The rugged terrain provides limitless opportunities for hiking, and attracts some of the most interesting people we have met. We have hiked into the oasis-like lush green river valleys that are Calf Creek and the Escalante River, wading through crystal clear water and basking in the refreshing spray of the Calf Creek falls; we've bored and squeezed and scrambled our way through the famous slot canyons of Southern Utah, staring at the filtered light as it sneaks between narrow walls above us; and we've reveled in the powerful scenery that stretches endlessly, in any direction.The staff at the restaurant and farm are all phenomenally nice, as are the rest of the locals. We've told stories by the campfire, lounged by the pond, learned each other's histories, and discovered more of the U.S. than we imagined we would in Boulder due to the wide range of people this place draws in.

The lack of electricity, cell phone service, running water, and heat have been little more than a nuisance. We've quickly adapted to a life of lost connectivity, recognizing that fact when family and friends drift back into our thoughts between pulling weeds or while taking in the immensity of the landscape. Water's absence is more noticeably felt; it is a short walk to fill our jugs for drinking, and a few days between hot showers. The constructed pond at the farm is a welcome blessing after a day spent under the hot sun. Walking into the pond and rinsing off the dust that sweat and sunscreen so actively attracts has become a ritual most evenings.

The raw physicality of our surroundings and the richness of the life that hold has proven inspiring. The relationships we've forged in just two short weeks with this land and its people will stick with us for a lifetime.

Farming at Blaker's Acres (Boulder, UT)

Hey everyone,

The last 10 days have flown by, and we neglected to realize we hadn't posted in a while. We wanted to take the time to focus on some of the farming details, and not just highlight the spectacular scenery. Here are some of the things we've noticed and learned while working for HBG's farm.

Heirloom vegetables: The farm uses more varieties of vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and beets than I knew existed. A focus on heirloom varieties such as true gold corn and Amish paste tomatoes widens the selection available for the restaurant and gives customers a memorable dining experience. Using heirlooms also helps keeps these delicious varieties from being forgotten amidst the more popular grocery store selections. The farm also uses crops appropriate for the dry, windy climate in very creative ways; wildflowers become garnish, tumbleweeds, arugula, and lamb's quarters are included in salads and appetizers.


Three Sisters Garden: One of the beds on the farm is planted using the three sisters technique. This follows Native American farming practices; corn provides a stalk for the beans to grow on, the beans provide Nitrogen for the soil, and squash functions as ground cover to prevent weeds and erosion. We planted and weeded just less than an acre in the first week on the farm.

Companion planting: Companion planting is the planting of different crops in proximity (in gardening and agriculture), on the theory that they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity.

Climate Control

Hoophouse: A long, narrow tunnel made using flexible tubing covered in plastic sheeting. The sheeting traps radiation, raising the temperature in the hoop house to increase productivity from the plants. The farm uses the hoop house to grow tomatoes and cucumbers. One advantage to these is that it gives plants a jump start: a farmer can get tomatoes and other heat loving vegetables before they would be ready otherwise. You can also grow cold tolerant plants after the weather cools and frosts begin to set in.



Greenhouse: Green houses are another means of combating cold weather. The farm built a straw bale green house. They used reclaimed wood to make them frame, then made the walls from straw bales covered in cob (a mixture of clay and more straw). This is great for insulation--perfect for a green house! The farm uses their green house to start transplants for planting once the weather warms as you can see below.


Milk Jug Greenhouses:

Sometimes when plants need to get into the beds before the weather has stabilized enough the farm uses milk jugs as mini green houses. These are great when there is still a chance of frosts and raiding the recycling bins provides a great free source.


Cold Frames: The cold frames have osaka purple mustard and red Russian kale. These are cold hardy plants so they can be planted early in the season. The cold frames raise them above the ground to keep them warm and have a glass topper to make use of the green house effect.


Mounding: HBG's farm uses mounds for potatoes, squash, and cucumbers. This helps for drainage. Mounding potatoes also lets you continue to bury them to increase the root structure and produce more potatoes.

Root Cellar: Root cellars are a great way to store produce without refrigeration. The farm uses it after harvesting as storage before driving the veggies up to the restaurant. Their root cellar was hand dug but, thankfully, not by us. You can also see the compost piles to the right of the root cellar. Much of the food waste from HBG, as well as weeds and manure, get composted. Compost is used to increase fertility, improve the structure and aeration of the soil, and helps to hold water. Chris and I really like their method of turning the compost; instead of flipping one big pile, you shovel it down the line. This is a much more manageable method of turning compost.

The rest of the pictures are taken of the area around the farm and of the farm's pond. Boulder finally got a good rainstorm. The clouds over the mountains were awesome and we were lucky enough to see a huge rainbow arching across Sugarloaf mountain. The pond in the picture is on the farm. It's used not only for irrigation, but to cool off after a warm day on the farm. Because Chris and I only have access to showers on Wednesdays and Sundays, we have jumped in to wash off at the end of many days here in Boulder.

So far, so good

Chris and I have just about finished week 1 of 3 in Boulder, Utah. We are having a wonderful time in a very unique place. A typical day on the farm goes as follows:

Up around 6, just in time to bike (uphill-phew!) to the restaurant for 7 am breakfast. After breakfast we carpool out to the farm, stopping to feed and water the chickens

Work on the farm--lots of weeding, harvesting edible tumbleweed, weeding, planting an entire acre of corn, squash, and beans by hand, and weeding.

Break for lunch at 1, and a dip in the pond to wash away some of the heat. Contrary to popular belief in Michigan, a dry heat is still very hot when its 95. After lunch, a couple more hours of work and lots of relaxation time in the evening!

We have taken advantage of the top-notch hiking opportunities in the area during our time off. Boulder is situated between Dixie National Forest, home of the still snow peaked Boulder Mountain, and Grand Staircase National Monument, full of lush river valleys and more canyons than I'd thought possible for one place. Every drive holds awe-inspiring views and endless hiking trails. Yesterday we hiked though Calf Creek National Rec. Area; 4 miles of hiking along the creek banks took us to an amazing waterfall and refreshing swimming hole. Today, we hiked along Escalante River, and took great advantage of the cool river crossings along the way. We are hoping to do some slot canyoneering and plenty more hiking in the weeks to come.

And of course, we have a sampling of the many pictures we've taken thus far:

A shot of the farm from the mesa behind it


Weeding the lettuce...
Pretty lettuce after we've finished weeding

Cliffs along Calf Creek Trail


Waterfall at the end of the hike

And finally, a picture taken on the Escalante River

Take care everyone!

Chris and Carrie

Colorado to Hell's Backbone Grill

Hey all,

We've finally made it to our first farm of the summer: Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah. Utah is unlike anything we've ever seen before! We left Colorado after spending three nights camped along the headwaters of the Rio Grande in the Rio Grande national forest, and drove about 12 hours to Boulder. Along the way, we climbed up to 11,000 feet to the snow-covered mountains at Wolf Creek before dropping down into lush green valleys. We drove through the scrubland of western Colorado and finally made it to Utah. After driving through agricultural land in eastern Utah, we took a left just after Blanding and were instantly greeted with the most spectacular vistas either of us had seen. The land was painted in yellows and reds and covered in small trees and shrubs. We drove 200 miles along winding roads that constantly showed us ever more beautiful landscapes.

We rolled into Boulder at 9:30 pm on Monday and were taken to our sleeping space by a fellow WWOOFer, Seth. Our home for the next two weeks is an Airstream camper from the 60s named Bubbly Mae, situated at the back of the restaurant's farm with a frigid swimming hole, a fire pit, and a solar shower.

The next morning, we drove up to the restaurant for our first delicious meal to kick off the next few weeks. We are provided breakfast at 7am, lunch around 1, and dinner that we take back to the farm with us after lunch. The food is phenomenal, and there is a lot of it!

We spent our first day of work touring the farm facility, meeting the restaurant and farm crews, weeding, planting, and prepping the restaurant's garden plot. We are done with work at about 4 every day, and have Wednesdays and Sundays off. We'll try to get as many posts in as possible, but we have limited internet access in a town of 180 people.

Hope everyone is having a great summer at home!

Carrie and Chris