If the states all competed in a beauty pageant, without a doubt Utah would make it to the finals. It’s just plain beautiful. This is particularly true in the southern half where there’s dozens of distinctive looks going on. A lot of it is about the red rocks distorted into strange, spectacular formations. Things like turreted canyon walls, crazily balanced boulders, larger-than-life arches and other stone features you just don’t see anywhere else. With the funky landscape comes a good number of hippies, too, which makes for a neat dynamic when chillin’ out in town.

Every once in a while I miss my old Jeep. After hanging out in Moab for less than a day, I had tears of longing streaming down my face. You just can’t find a better place to go Jeeping. Actually we saw every variety of 4x4 out there, old and new, and every one was jacked up to the sky with jumbo balloon tires slapped on. We even saw one pulling a pop-up trailer, where the trailer was lifted and sporting 33-inch tires. The kind of off-roading they do there is the insane sort… climbing up four-foot ledges, fording deep streams and creeping down vertical slickrock. Thanks to the casual description of an alternate Canyonlands National Park exit, we did a bit of precarious off-roading ourselves. For over an hour, we half-slid, half-rolled down Buck Canyon’s gravelly precipitous slopes. It took the better part of a pint at the local tavern before my white knuckles reclaimed some color.

At the top of Utah, there’s Salt Lake City. We’re not sure what to make of it; it’s about the tidiest and most spacious city around. You’d swear they spit shine the buildings. There’s not a beggar to be seen anywhere and I’m pretty sure an 18-wheeler could pull a U-turn on any of their super-wide streets. On the other hand, there’s a weird vibe that you feel as you walk around. It’s as if the locals are sizing you up as the non-Mormon you are and deciding which conversion angle to take. As you go by them, some confirm the leeriness by flashing what appears to be a disingenuous smile and you have to speed up before a spiritual conversation gets underway. Holly and I aren’t the only ones to feel like this, my friend drew the same conclusion when he visited here. Hey, just because we’re not paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not after us.