Moab

And so onwards to Moab, an old uranium mining town that sits snuggly between the state parks of Arches and Canyonlands. It was "Outside" magazine which, tapping into a modern re-invigoration for adventure, helped to transform this once sleepy desert community into the thriving small town that it is today.

We arrived in the mid-afternoon after a long and pretty stretch of Highway 50, which the Beast devoured feverishly. Our first aim was to find lodging, something that we did, eventually, after slowly accepting that all local motels were going to charge an arm and a leg. That night, with an uncontrollable hunger, we hopped onto the main street to consume beer and pizza in a friendly bar which was nestled in-between the many T-shirt and 'craft' shops that dominate this town. The following morning, after a fantastic breakfast at the Eccentric Cafe, we went to Arches National park for a hike and some much needed exercise (this time armed with proper boots).

I am conscious that I am rapidly running out of adjectives to describe this state, which is concerning, but also inevitable when you consider that we have been confronted with such relentless beauty since we've been here. I guess that the best that I can do to describe the prehistoric stone structures that make up this park, is to emphasise their immensity and prevalence, and to describe how they appear to glide effortlessly out of the sun scorched red sands that dominate every view.

Honestly, never before have I seen so much geological beauty in such abundance across such a vast area.

Arches National Park (and Rebecca)

Arches National Park (and a very small Rebecca)

That evening, eager as we were to avoid the expense of the previous night, we checked into the friendly but infected Lazy Lizard youth hostel, where we cooked lemon courgette and watched Back to the Future in the communal room that sits in the middle of this incredibly cheap collection of wooden cabins. Then, fed and tired after a long day under the sun, we headed back to our wooden room, enthusiastic for sleep.

'Why haven't we stayed in more places like this' ...was the last thing we said to each other as we turned in for the night.

...4 hours later the answer to that question became abundantly clear. Miss Rebecca had been partially devoured by something nasty lurking within her mattress. Painful and very itchy. The cost of our frugality immediately swung into focus. We needed to check out of this place and check out fast.

Canyonlands & Arches National Parks (+ 2 intrepid adventurers).

Prior to arriving in Moab, I had been researching John Wesley Powell's 1869 attempt to navigate the aggressive Colorado River. With only one arm, and under instruction from President Jackson to survey the land for opportunity to initiate mass settlement for people with white faces, he managed to navigate a long stretch of this violent river. This tortuous experience almost turned him mad. It also forced him to respect the shear power and unpredictability that lies within nature; a respect that led him to speak out against others whose aim was the complete manipulation and domination of the natural world. His was an early green voice, now more relevant then ever.

With Powell's trip resonating in my mind, we booked a white water rafting excursion on a stretch of the Colorado, not far from Green River where his now famous journey began (click here to see a picture of this).

Right... bring on Colorado.

© All Images By Paul

Zion and Bryce

With the desert behind us we continued into Utah. I have to be honest, my knowledge of this state prior to arrival in the US was limited almost entirely to two basic facts;

1 - This is the state where lots of Mormons live.

2 - Johnny Utah was the name of Keanu Reeves character in Point Break.

Pitiful. The reality is that this state offers some of the most breathtaking scenery on the planet. So, equipped with a little research and the ringing endorsement of a few people in San Francisco, we ventured on into the 45th state with open minds and a will to see something beautiful.

Utah gets its name from Ute tribe (Native Americans) and it basically means "people of the mountains". This name seems immediately appropriate when you arrive from the south west, and see a long line of sharp rocky peaks emerging out of a colourful yet quickly passed plateau.

Our first aim was to get to Springdale, a small purpose built town that has been constructed as a gateway into America's second most popular national park.

Upon arrival, via Highway's 56, 15 and 9, we quickly found a campsite on the banks of the Virgin River and slept with an ache of anticipation for the hike that we would take the following day. The next morning we awoke to something truly spectacular; a towering ring of red rock, impossible to see in the dead of night, now cast us in a deep dark shadow. This is just what we had been looking for...

After breakfast, and equipped with some superbly inadequate footwear, we headed into the official state park via a shuttle bus. We then began our hot and sweaty ascent up one of the many trails, keen not to allow our city induced physical frailty to prevent the enjoyment of intense colours and wide expansive views.

Looking at a map of Zion, you can realise how easy it was for the the first few generations of American settlers to leave a permanent mark on their environment. You see, when they arrived here, no geological feature had a (European) name. So within the space of a couple of generations, and for the sake of providing points of reference, it appears that any Tom Dick or Harry has had a go at filling in the blanks. The result to modern ears, at least with regard to this park, is an arbitrary collection of names for rocks and cliffs that provide no historical insight to their significance or events that occurred within their vicinity. It's a pity really, because this is an ancient natural theatre that deserves a little more imagination.

Zion State Park

After a couple of nights in Zion, we took the Beast cross country to the huge amphitheater that is Bryce Canyon. This infinitely calmer state park is genuinely unique. The erosion molded hole that is its focus doesn't look like it belongs on this planet. Instead it looks like a giant sun trap that has captured and softened the glow of what it receives. Strange hoodoos (actual name) stand straight within its basin like the spires of a thousand melted churches. In between the red, orange and white rocks that make these spires, stand lush green trees, flourishing in defiance of their habitat. Quite simply, stunning.

Almost as impressively, I just saw my first chipmonk.

Bryce Canyon

© All Images By Paul

More Nevada Desert

Confused, I rose the next morning in Tonopah's surreal clown themed motel. I sat up in my bed and rubbed my head waiting for a sharp hangover to kick in. After a couple of minutes, nothing. I had got away with it. This must have had something to do with with the altitude, or the fact that last nights imaginative barmaid had created cocktails designed to enable you to function the next morning. What a genius. There were too many of her creations for me to remember each of them, however two do immediately spring back to mind; The Pink P**** (Sweet schnapps based. Pink. Tasted like bubblegum) & Dirty Bong Water (I don't know what was in this, but it was green and forced an uncontrollable facial gurn after every sip).

The Clown Motel. Tonopah

Long Straight Road

By 11am we had got back on the road to continue our journey east on Highway 6. Like the day before, the scenery remained vast and empty, and the roads remained long and straight. To our right we passed the huge and depressing Nevada Nuclear Test Site, where between 1951 and 1992, there were an unbelievable 928 "announced" controlled nuclear explosions. There is something deeply sobering about the consequences of that and all nuclear testing during this period. The proliferation that was its consequence has made the world a far more dangerous place, and jeopardised the very existence of every man, woman and child on the planet. Why any nation state anywhere feels it has the right to develop weaponry that can destroy the whole planet is beyond me. It truly is human and political arrogance of the worst and most dangerous kind.

Here are some of the local consequences of this testing...

A 1979 study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that: A significant excess of leukemia deaths occurred in children up to 14 years of age living in Utah between 1959 and 1967. This excess was concentrated in the cohort of children born between 1951 and 1958, and was most pronounced in those residing in counties receiving high fallout.

National Cancer Institute (1997) - determined that 90 atmospheric tests at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) deposited high levels of radioactive iodine-131 ... doses large enough, they determined, to produce 10,000 to 75,000 cases of thyroid cancer.

A Dead Cow

About a third of the way between Tonopah and the Utah state border we swung a right, down State Route 375, which is otherwise known as the "Extraterrestrial Highway". This lightly traveled road was rerouted past the infamous (CIA named) Area 51 following the nuclear testing in the 1950's, and is now a magnet for conspiracy theorists and sky gazers to come and stare excitedly at the stars.

We didn't see anything.

The "Town" of Rachel on the Extraterrestrial Highway

Eventually, the desert was replaced by vegetation, and the welcome sight of greenery and humanity.

After a delicious breakfast in Caliente and with a sigh of relief, we rolled the Beast into Utah and the prospect of three potential highlights of the trip; the state parks of Zion, Bryce & Moab.

Utah State Border

© All Images By Paul