Beloved Hell’s Angels, 

We know we’re long overdue in writing you a letter with news and updates from the past six months, and we promise one is coming soon. We were actually on the verge of hitting send on a quick letter inviting you to come visit this summer, with details about lodge discounts and upcoming events, when all hell broke loose on Monday. That information is still below, but there are more pressing matters to address first.

This Immeasurable Place

As you’ve likely seen by now, we received terrible news this week regarding Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. The Trump administration, at the behest of the Utah delegation, signed proclamations shrinking both monuments by 90 percent. They are erasing protections on almost the entirety of these lands: cutting Grand Staircase-Escalante from 1.87 million acres to roughly 182,000 acres, and Bears Ears from 1.36 million acres to 121,000. This action is illegal, has no precedent, and is in blatant opposition to the will of the people. We are equal parts heartbroken and enraged by this attack, knowing the resulting cultural, archaeological, and ecological devastation will be significant and irrevocable. Once these lands are in the hands of industry and corporations, we won’t get them back. But we are not giving up. We’ve been here before (albeit this time around is incredibly aggressive and seems fueled by a particular vengeance), and we will once again prevail. We’ll continue to stand alongside the tribal coalitions, environmental and indigenous nonprofits, businesses, and individuals raising their voices and doing the work, and we will fight with everything we have to protect these lands for generations to come.

As we continue to learn about updates and action items, we’ll keep you informed (we are most active on Instagram and Facebook, so follow us there for the most current information). If you live in Utah, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is organizing a “Monumental Day of Action” this Monday, July 20th all across the state (learn more here). Additionally, no matter where you live, please call and write to your representatives (and ours!) and express your disapproval. Here is a script from 5 Calls—just enter your location to find your representatives’ phone numbers. Support and follow those at the forefront of the fight (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, Conservation Lands Foundation, The Wilderness Society, Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, and Grand Canyon Trust). Sign petitions like this one put together by Conservation Lands Foundation. And for the love of all earthly beings, work to get out the vote to VOTE THEM OUT!

You all know exactly how precious these public lands are, and you know President Trump lied to the public when he said about the monument, "You can't go hunting. You can't go fishing. You can't do anything. You can virtually not even walk on it." Most of you have been here. You’ve walked on it. Fished on it. Maybe even hunted on it. You've hiked on the sandstone, climbed through the slot canyons, waded in the creeks. You've stood beneath cool waterfalls and ancient arches. You’ve camped with your friends or family,  picnicked in the shade of hundred-year-old pinyon and juniper trees, maybe even exchanged wedding vows in a meadow filled with wildflowers. You’ve smelled the desert sagebrush and heard the birdsong, and you’ve carried the monumental beauty home with you—all of which means you are in a unique position to participate in this fight. So join us. After calling your representatives and donating to the organizations leading the fight, please amplify this cause, because it's your cause, too. Post your photos and videos of the monument. Tell your stories. Let's flood the internet with images of this vast and wild place that must stay protected. And whatever else, don’t give up. The monument and all the wild beings who live inside its zone of protection need you, and so do we.

Adrift

Everything is beautiful and I am so sad.

This is how the heart makes a duet of 

wonder and grief. The light spraying 

through the lace of the fern is as delicate 

as the fibers of memory forming their web 

around the knot in my throat. The breeze 

makes the birds move from branch to branch

as this ache makes me look for those I've lost

in the next room, in the next song, in the laugh

of the next stranger. In the very center, under

it all, what we have that no one can take

away and all that we've lost face each other.

It is there that I'm adrift, feeling punctured 

by a holiness that exists inside everything.

I am so sad and everything is beautiful.

~ Mark Nepo

A Summer Visit

In the midst of all this turmoil, here we still are in this quiet and gentle landscape, this magnificent landscape, running a business with very heavy hearts. The tone of our words has changed significantly since we originally wrote these paragraphs, but the sentiment is the same (and perhaps more important): We want to invite you here, to experience this wild place, while it’s quiet, so you can feel—for the first or fiftieth time—why the monument matters so much. It will do us all good to see your faces, to hug you, and to be together here in this immeasurable place. Plus, we have been working so hard all spring and summer on projects and little touches to make your stay on our property even sweeter.

With that, we are extending a 15 percent discount on Lodge rooms when you stay for two or more nights this summer, and we will donate an additional 5 percent of Lodge proceeds during this time to organizations fighting to save our public lands. Use the code: LoveTheseLands to apply the discount, which will extend from now through August 30th. We’ll happily provide recommendations on how to best enjoy this area in the warmer months. Because we’re at a high elevation, we don’t get the same blistering heat you expect from Zion or Moab—but we can still direct you to the creeks and swimming holes, the shady canyons, and the mountain trails where you can be in an alpine landscape while overlooking the monument. Or we’ll look forward to simply being together and connecting over a glass of wine or a beautiful cocktail paired with a lovingly prepared meal from the farm.

Upcoming Events

As we sit with the frustration and fear of the moment, we recognize the importance of gathering and being in community. So below are the upcoming events we have scheduled, which we hope you may find nourishing and inspiring:

Saturday, August 15th: SB Dance’s Curbside Theater
Curbside Theater has been coming to Boulder for years to offer a free performance (or “dance-circus spectacle,” as they call it), and we’re looking forward to hosting the event, together with the Boulder Arts Council, at the lodge this summer. We still have a few rooms available, and the dance will take place later in the evening out on the lawn, under the stars, so you’ll have time to enjoy dinner at the restaurant before the show starts.

Sunday, August 30th – Friday, September 4th: The Monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery
The Tibetan monks are returning to Boulder, and at this moment, their visit feels more vital than ever. We are so honored and grateful to host them again this summer, and we invite you to be here with them. We anticipate a similar structure as last year, which will include daily public morning meditations, lunches made by and enjoyed with the monks, a few public teachings, and land-protection pujas. There will also be opportunities for private blessings. The main point of their visit is benefit and virtue-making, so every opportunity we create for them in Boulder raises funds for their monastery, which has been re-established in exile in South India. We’ll post a more detailed schedule on our website as it materializes, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions. And for those who have yet to meet the monks: learn more here.

We have only a few rooms left, in part because we host the monks at the lodge while they’re here, so hurry and book. For our more intrepid visitors, there’s plenty of free dispersed camping in the monument and up on Boulder Mountain. If you need help coordinating alternate lodging while the monks are with us, just call the front desk, and we can make suggestions! It is truly magical, enlivening, and deeply soothing to spend time with these extraordinary and learned teachers.

There is so much more to tell you about (such as book events we’re hosting for Betsy Gaines Quammen on October 15th and for Pam Houston and Amy Irvine on November 2nd), but we want to keep it to the essentials for now. We’ll follow up with a more robust newsletter soon, and we’ll put all events on our website so you can access the details.

This is a heavy time to be a human who cares about the planet and all the human and non-human beings who share it. It’s a scary time to have a business that supports the livelihoods of more than fifty wonderful people, when the future of our home is so uncertain. But we charge ahead, together. It is heartening to know that you all are fighting for good in big and small ways—whether you’re using your voice to support our public lands and endangered species, protesting the appalling treatment of our immigrant neighbors, boycotting the corporations that are perpetuating so much harm, or maybe even considering running for public office—and we are immensely grateful. Keep making noise, and keep your hearts open, and know that we are with you.

More from us soon…

With gratitude and determination,
Blake, Jen, Nina, Morgan, Nick & the Hellions

Shall we do without hope? Some days

there will be none. But now
to the dry and dead woods floor
they come again, the first 

flowers of the year, the assembly
of the faithful, the beautiful,
wholly given to being.
And in this long season
of machines and mechanical will
there have been small human acts
of compassion, acts of care, work
flowerlike in selfless loveliness.
Leaving hope to the dark
and to a better day,
receive these beauties freely
given, and give thanks.

~ Wendell Berry

A quick post-script:

The photographs in this newsletter are from our second cookbook, This Immeasurable Place: Food and Farming from the Edge of Wilderness—a book project we began in 2012 and published in 2017. It is our love letter to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. We are in the process of a reprint, so while it is currently out of stock, you can add your email to a sign-up on our website to be notified when we have fresh copies available.