And a big welcome all the newcomers here, it’s wonderful to have you reading along on this journey.
Notes from the Road
It’s virtually impossible to distill two weeks of our most fantastic, exhilarating, eye opening family adventure into a couple of paragraphs, but I am going to try……..
To celebrate my 50th birthday, I fulfilled the dream of an adventure with my children that lived, of many years previously, only in my head. Combining a long time desire to visit the National Parks in the Western States, with my love of a road trip, fantasies about glamping and the great outdoors and a mild obsession with 19th and 20th Century American History, we found a 2 week window when everyone could join (not an easy task these days) and I got planning.
We set off from Las Vegas. This was my first (and possibly last) visit to Sin City, where we took in all the neon and kitsch and successfully avoided any of the mainstream activities of shows and gambling, where I fell in love with H Mart and I had a surprise visit from a fabulous friend who flew in for an evening of Old Fashioned’s and a long overdue catch up.
Over our jet lag and in an appropriately enormous car, we headed straight to Utah. Staring at Zion and the Narrows we continued to Bryce, Peek-a-Boo Slot Canyon then along the Escalante Monument and Grand Staircase to Capitol Reefand Cathedral Valley and onto Moab and The Arches. We hiked through streams, slot canyons, heard live country music, foraged herbs I didn’t know existed and rafted on the Colorado River. Sunrise at Bryce was a bucket list moment that exponentially exceeded any of my expectations.
None of my photographs remotely capture or do any justice to the magnificence and breathtakingly exquisite and expansive views of the mountains, canyons, colours and incredible rock formations. Despite hours of research I was still unprepared for the sheer scale, space and almost other worldly-ness of the raw nature and brutal, sparse and simply tranquil terrain steeped in narrative. I can only describe it as humbling standing at the foothills of these sights. Driving over the ridge of the Grand Staircase with its arresting vistas and complicated and fascinating history, though the most unpopulated corner of the country where you see not another car or person for miles, the big skies, open road and the quiet (outside of the car) will be imprinted in my memory forever.
From the red rock Utah desert we headed high into lush green Colorado Rockies, from glamping tents in Moab to the Dunton Hot Springs mining camp just outside Telluride. As a mountain novice, I wasn’t really prepared for the hair-raising drive on a 25 mile gravel single lane hairpin turn track to the camp, but settled in immediately to our insanely beautiful home for two days in a restored miner’s cabin built in the late 1880’s. Rumour has it that Butch Cassidy took refuge here after the famous Telluride bank robbery and it must be true because his signature is on the saloon bar still in situ.
Steeped in cowboy and gold rush history and memorabilia from those who lived there originally, the immaculately restored minors cabins are now where guests stay, ready to bathe in the 3 mineral rich hot springs on site, dine looking into the open kitchen in the original saloon and dance hall, sit around the camp fire and explore the waterfalls and streams, framed in wild flowers and mountains and a friendly bear we didn’t actually see but knew was in our midst. Despite my swift new cowboy boot purchase on our way in across the Colorado border, the weather and our extended hot spring dipping ate into my riding time. I’ve promised myself I will be back with the excuse to finally get on a horse again.
Our final leg to Denver, ending our trip with some of my favourite family, included an overnight in Crested Butte another Victorian mining ski town and the wild flower capitol of the State. We woke up, literally in the clouds, explored all this quirky little town had to offer, tasted the famous Palisade peaches straight from the orchard and drove over the Continental Divide (another milestone drive to remember).
I learned so much about a country I thought I knew – history, nuance, geology, culture and nature. I gained greater insights about each of my children, including my youngest’s exceptional music taste. Everyone was pushed out of their comfort zone at some point and we have all returned with new perspectives, skills, growth, pride and a deeper respect for each other and the land. We bonded in ways I will be forever grateful and I am so appreciative of this precious time together. I also discovered that adventure is more relaxing for my brain than sitting on a beach and the mountains breathed life into me.
I’m still on a massive high and only beginning to process everything we experienced. I owe a massive thank you to Melanie at All Roads North for helping my dream formalise into realty. In early spring, over coffee with my friend Emily, lamenting about how I was breaking my brain over the planning, possible options and permutations of this epic trip, she suggested I consult an expert and connected me with Melanie. Immediately my shoulders dropped and everything fell into place. I’ve always relied on my somewhat compulsive research capabilities for our adventures, but I have learned that really I should stick to cooking because having the advice of experts in the area made this trip exponentially better in a myriad of ways, especially as the only driver and fully fledged adult in the group.
All Roads North gave us a journey guide filled with the most scenic route options between destinations, suggestions for the best places to eat, finest lookout points and places of interest, hikes and trails suitable for our group and the time of year, historical context and so much more. And every recommendation, guide and destination was fantastic, complete with a diverse range of experiences in every way. My brain instantly switched off without the need to question an existing plan or spend evenings exploring any more possibilities. There was no FOMO, just presence with my children, the road and our adventure.
So for any of your who followed along on Instagram, no I didn’t plan this all myself……this was definitely a lesson in knowing my limitations and I cannot encourage you enough, if you are planning a trip, to ask the experts.
1500 miles later including the thrill of changing a tyre in the most remote Utah town, this whole experience was so much more and infinitely better than I ever could have imagined. I’m already manifesting the next destination, because a girl’s gotta dream.
Pancakes and Ranch – Recipes Inspired by the Road
In my longer than usual holiday dispatch, you might notice a distinct lack of food chat. While we ate well, in numerous tiny towns and truly quirky spaces, it was really the landscape that took our attention and for once, the food took a relative back seat. We consumed a lot of local South West fare – cowboy breakfasts of eggs and hash browns, burritos, tacos, fresh trout from the local rivers and streams, huckleberry pie (the indigenous berry of Utah) and a lot of ice cream.
Ranch dressing (my 17 year old’s condiment of choice) and pancakes featured on every menu and in at least someone’s daily diet, at least one meal a day. So here are my fresh versions of the classic pieces of Americana. My ranch recipe is herb packed and less mayo heavy, my banana oat pancakes are definitely the healthy, non silver dollar diner version and a great way to use up ingredients you may have hanging around, but none the less a nod to the country where my culinary journey began.
Before I Go…..
I am currently finalising my Autumn classes and events and will be sending out pre booking details with my next email. It’s going to be a delicious and exciting season with classes themed around festivals and comfort and two extremely exciting book launches in November.
Watch this space as we near the end of the month because tickets will launch here first giving you wonderful subscribers a booking head’s up. I am so excited to welcome you all around the tables for these evenings together.
I hope you are all having a delicious summer. I would love to hear all about where you are in the world, what you are discovering on your adventures and most importantly what you are making.
As always, thank you so much for being here and following along on this journey with me. While I am definitely not wishing away the summer (I still have an adventure or two to look forward to), I am very excited about the change of season and welcoming you into the kitchen for more escapades together.
With love,