It’s April 24th. In a normal, non-Coronavirus year, folks in the tourism or hospitality industries near National Parks would be moving like ants on an scuffed mound. Hotel and guided-tour reservations should be filling up calendars. Tour buses with names like “Seagull” written on their sides should have eager visitors flooding out of their opening doors. Retired couples, called work campers or campground hosts, would be bringing their hard-work ethic to gift shops and campgrounds everywhere. College students should be finishing out semester exams on campus, day-dreaming about the volumes of seasonal tip money for next year’s college expenses.
On the flip side, families should be counting down the days until Summer Break and planned vacations start. Households would be obsessively checking Google Maps or Waze for the most scenic and shortest routes. Or double checking their reservation statuses at resorts near somewhere iconic…Mount Rushmore, Grand Canyon, or Yellowstone perhaps?
Even though there’s talk about trying to open up our national economy throughout this great nation, too many unknowns remain. When will COVID-19 peak in areas around the country? Will there be a peak? How much longer do we continue to stay-at-home? No mask or what type of mask? A meat shortage now, in addition to TP?!
For my friends whose livelihoods or summer incomes rely on tourism dollars, my heart is breaking. As a former college kid who worked summers at a tourist resort near Bryce Canyon, I completely get it. Many people I grew up with and know in small communities like Southern Utah’s Garfield County need visitors to put food on their tables and pay mortgages. Heck, at this point in time, everyone with a small business is affected! No visitors = little to no income. Hearing that Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone NP will remain closed for the 2020 year just cinches it for me.
I originally intended for this post to be about an amazing trip to Bryce Canyon National Park on the 4th of July a couple years ago. But I think paying homage to the local businesses around Bryce Canyon would be a better post. Son A, B and I watched a vibrant sunset from Bryce Point in the Park, before oohing and ahhing at the sparkly fireworks over the Bryce Canyon Country Rodeo grounds at Bryce City. We spend the night in a cozy little cabin at the Bryce Canyon Inn in nearby Tropic. Prior to all of this, a stop at the Bryce Canyon Pines restaurant for a slice of Ethel Rich’s famous banana-blueberry cream pie was a must.
Garfield County locals, like I once was, definitely know about Ethel’s pies. Special trips up to the Pines just for pie are not uncommon. These slices of heaven are also the stuff of legend. The family recipe for Ethel’s banana-blueberry cream pie is heavily guarded. If you’re not in the inner circle of family or friends, forget trying to ask for it!
About 20 years ago, when Mom worked in the Ranger Division at Bryce Canyon National Park, Son A and I spend the summer with the folks in Tropic. The hubby was on a deployment to Southeast Asia for months on end. I decided to go home rather than look at the four walls of Coast Guard housing in the San Francisco Bay area. My mission, after chasing a toddling Son A around, was to crack the code on Ethel’s banana-blueberry cream pie.
Bryce’s permanent and seasonal park rangers were enthusiastic, pie-sampling volunteers! One prototype was whipped cream based. Others were founded in vanilla pudding, Cool Whip, or cream-cheese. Diced banana? Sliced banana? Fresh blueberries or canned? Graham-crust or pie pastry crust? When this curious nonsense was all done, the rangers ate their way through at least a dozen versions. My recipe for Blueberry Banana Cream Pie (below) is the one they felt came closest to the Pines’ famous version.
Now I have no clue if this is the exact recipe The Pines uses. I’ve never asked the Rich family to evaluate it. But it seems pretty close. And if you’re not able to make a quick drive up ‘The Dump” (AKA Utah’s All American Road Highway 12) from Tropic to snag a slice at the Pines, this is the next best thing. At least IMHO… But definitely stop in person for a slice!
Blueberry Banana Cream Pie is the perfect warm-weather pie. It’s completely no-bake and lives happily in the chill chest before company comes, up to a week. (Once your family digs in like mine does, expect 1-2 days max for this pie’s lifespan.) A buttery graham cracker crust serves as the vessel for layers of sliced bananas and canned blueberry pie filling. The cream layer is a blend of cream cheese, sugar, milk, vanilla and Dream Whip. Dream Whip? It’s a powdered whipped topping mix dating back to the 1950’s. It works in this copy-cat pie, but can be easily replaced with heavy whipping cream or non-dairy whipped topping like Cool Whip.
Whether or not you were planning to travel this summer, now’s a great time to research and think about supporting local, small businesses on your next adventures. My friends at the Bryce Canyon Inn or the Bryce Canyon Pines would definitely appreciate it! In the mean time, if you’re able to, support local businesses in your community. We’re all in this together!
PrintBlueberry Banana Cream Pie
Completely no-bake and completely luscious! This perfect summer pie is complete with ripe bananas, sweet blueberries and fluffy cream in a buttery graham cracker crust.
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Total Time: 15 Minutes + 2 Hours Chill Time
- Yield: 1–8 or 9-inch Pie 1x
Ingredients
For Filling:
1–8 oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope Dream Whip*
1/2 cup milk (whole or 2%), cold
1 tsp. vanilla
4 large bananas, sliced
1 can (21 oz.) blueberry pie filling
For Graham Cracker Pie Shell:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Prepare graham cracker crust by combining graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar and melted butter in a medium sized bowl. Press into bottom and sides of a 8 or 9-inch pie pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy. In another bowl, beat Dream Whip*, cold milk, and vanilla together until stiff peaks form. Add Dream Whip mixture to cream cheese mixture and beat until fully combined.
To assemble pie, place sliced bananas into the bottom of the prepared graham cracker crust. Pour blueberry pie filling over sliced bananas. Top with the cream cheese filling. Place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
*Heavy whipping cream or non-dairy whipped topping can be substituted for the Dream Whip. If using heavy whipping cream, whip 1 cup cold cream with 1 tbsp. granulated sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla until stiff peaks form. If using non-dairy whipped topping, substitute 1-8 oz. container for the Dream Whip, milk and vanilla.
A pie pastry crust can also be used in place of the graham cracker crust.
IMNPB
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