two israelis in a boulder, utah coffee shop

how to make a cob oven

i'm sitting in burr trail outpost--coffee/gift shop and outlet for proprietor alyssa thompson's DELISHious baked goods.  a pumpkin bread made with wheat she GREW herself, and pumpkin from the garden, a blueberry coffee cake with pine nuts harvested from the environs, a raspberry cream cheese muffins sweetened with honey from her hives.  i'm kind of blown away by this woman--she has a homestead, a business, and four kids.  plus she's super cool and smart and has a beautiful chrysanthemum on her arm.  i'm ashamed of myself in her presence.she just told me that she's also on the city planning commission AND the volunteer EMT for Boulder. 

earlier today, we met this famous german (american now?) photographer, anselm spring, and he invited us to come see his way of life on the top of a mesa.  i'm leaving shortly, and couldn't be more excited. 

then, i was sitting at the counter chatting with eden, a farmer at the true nature sustainable living farm and he drew the above pictured directions and diagram of how to build a cob oven & in what order to most efficiently use the heat (bread, cookies, then granola.)

then eden mentioned that he was from israel and the man drinking coffee on the couch behind us spoke to him in hebrew.  the man had just been on a five-day llama trip.  "wow, imagine that, two israelis in a coffee shop in boulder, utah," he said.  

that pretty much tells you how cool and weird this place is.

tractor and sandstone shelf

& here's me after a 90 minute interview with vivian crosby, a 90 year-old rancher who is blind, lives alone, and used to breed and raise champion quarter-horses until she got too old at the age of 88.

more details on this completely fascinating trip coming.  i'm mostly out or phone and wi-fi range, so stay tuned for a complete run-down next week.


legwear:  high performance

inspiration: amazing strangers & baked goods

looking foward: to a seven a.m. goat milk