Blanding, UT & Grand Gulch Report - long

So you may be asking "where is Blanding, UT and why would anyone go there?" Good question. It is about 60 miles south of Moab and the"gateway" to the the Grand Gulch Primitive Area which is about 40 miles southwest of Blanding. Grand Gulch has been a backpacking destination for me, Rev Andy and a recent addition, our cousin David. David does not have a cute alter ego name because he does not participate in this forum and he is not cute.

Anyway, we all met in Blanding for one night before beginning a 4 day backpack into the canyons of Grand Gulch. Blanding is stereotypical small town Utah. Two restaurants, one drive-in and no liquor. Andy and David flew into Durango and before driving to Blanding picked up a bottle of wine just in case we could bring it to dinner. I called both restaurants and asked. Their reply: NO WAY, BRIGHAM! So we headed across the street to the local grocery store and picked up some cheddar, surprisingly good local chevre and crackers for hors d'ouevres before dinner.



We created our own little corner of sophistication in this corner of the desert.



Dinner was at the Homestead Steakhouse. Not exactly Morton's, but it wasn't as expensive either. Sat next to a nice couple from Tulsa and we retrieved our own bisquits because there was only one waitress for the entire room.

Breakfast the morning of our departure was at the Old Timer and was included with our room at the Comfort Inn. I opted for the fruit salad and juice. Andy and David respectively ordered scrambled and over easy eggs. What, you were expecting pancetta Benedict with chipotle Hollandaise?

Our entry into Grand Gulch was via Bullet Canyon. This was the easier part of the descent.



Lunch Day 1 was turkey sticks, trail mix and Fiona's granola/power bar.



The textures were perfectly matched and Andy suggested a good Albarino to accompany lunch. Unfortunately he didn't bring an Albarino but we did have pumped and purified water. No Giardia for us!

We still had more Bullet Canyon to descend after lunch. Here's a pic and me and Andy while we could still smile.



Dinner Day 1. Nothing like seared Tuna with carmelized onions after a tough day hiking. Unfortunately, that's not what we had. Instead it was packaged tuna with mayo and chopped (prior to leaving Blanding) onions on wheat bread.



Rev Andy's stint in Charlie Trotter's kitchen made this creation possible.



At least the view during dinner was pretty damn good!



Day 2 Breakfast. Powdered milk mixed with water over granola with dried raspberries. Or is that dried strawberries? At least it's pink.



The great thing about traveling with Rev Andy is that he has a talent for finding those small, obscure hole-in-wall eateries that are off the beaten track.



Day 2 Dinner. Day 2 was a bit of a problem. My expert trail finding took us down the wrong canyon and added 3 extra miles to our 5 miles for the day. We didn't come close to our destination and by the time (7:30pm) we camped I was too tired to take pictures. But, here is a re-enactment of dinner. Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat.



Day 3 Breakfast. See Day 2 Breakfast.

Not only is Grand Gulch filled with Anasazi ruins, but there is a lot of rock art to see if you explore. See if you can tell which figure below is Cousin David.



Day 3 Lunch. See Day 1 & 2 lunch. Here is Andy demonstrating the proper way to eat a turkey stick.



Day 3 Dinner. See Day 2 Dinner.

Day 4 Breakfast. See Days 2 & 3 breakfast.

We came out of Grand Gulch mid-morning on Day 4 and drove to Durango for showers, beer and a fabulous dinner at Season's.

Homestead Steakhouse
Blanding, UT.

Old Timer Restaurant
Blanding UT

Backpacking Deluxe Cuisine
Grand Gulch, UT
(Reservations required)[/img]

Andy's Better Brother wrote:Rev Andy's stint in Charlie Trotter's kitchen made this creation possible.

BetterBrother,

Is the extra protein a Trotteresque touch or The Rev's own innovation?

Andy's Better Brother wrote:At least the view during dinner was pretty damn good!

Hell of a view, what did you have to tip the maitre d?

Great pictures!

Enjoy,
Gary

For most of you, although the dining isn't up to your high standards, the food was a hearty thumbs up! The first time we backpacked, we carried a small burner and a bunch of propane cannisters. We were armed with coffee and such delights as freeze dried turkey tettrazine. We almost cried when we lifted our packs that first day, looking forward to a grueling 5 mile trek into the gulch and another 3 miles to our eventual 1st night campsite. Our shoulders were mush. It may have been worth it had that backpackers delight not tasted like it had already been eaten once and reprocessed for our meal. Never again. The best lessons are always the most painful. Doesn't that suck!

Having consulted with some of the best chefs in the world (Alaine Ducasse, Ferran Adria, Hot Doug) they were able to use their considerable expertise and create our beautiful menu. I can't tell you how many hours of experimentation in my food lab(with some help I admit from Grant Achatz) I spent getting the exact proportions of tuna to packaged mayonnaise. Unfortunately, a disaster almost occured as Alan had brought an onion and no celery. Fortunately, that fly brought everything back into balance.

At least we were eating real food. However, the better brother left out the most important course-dessert. Oreos never tasted so good.

G Wiv wrote:

Andy's Better Brother wrote:Rev Andy's stint in Charlie Trotter's kitchen made this creation possible.

BetterBrother,

Is the extra protein a Trotteresque touch or The Rev's own innovation?

Andy's Better Brother wrote:

The fly was Rev Andy's special touch for garnish and a slight crunch. It is the latest craze in Utah, Insect Fusion.

Andy's Better Brother wrote:

G Wiv wrote:

Andy's Better Brother wrote:Rev Andy's stint in Charlie Trotter's kitchen made this creation possible.


Is the extra protein a Trotteresque touch or The Rev's own innovation?

You may not be able to notice, but this was actually a force fed foie gras fly. Extra crunchy on the outside and a delicious rich flavor with that first bite. It was raised humanely at the fly farms in central Florida. Charlie Trotter refuses to serve these in the restaurant. They are a particular nuisance to the Chicago aldermen, who obviously have crap for brains, and are constantly being buzzed.