Doug and Kerry Hudson in Utah

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Utah. As the focus for the Mormon religion, we found the Utah people to be far more educated and polite than we encountered elsewhere in the United States. The contrast with Las Vegas, where we had just been staying and where we would again stay briefly on our way back to San Francisco on the California coast, was particularly marked.

We based ourselves at the Dixie Hostel in Hurricane. Hurricane is a small town in south-west Utah that was originally settled by Mormons, although there is little evidence of the original settlement now other than the historical monument. We can honestly say that the Dixie Hostel is the best hostel we stayed at. The reasons were its size and location, and how quiet and clean it was. Its location was excellent because it was only half an hour from Zion National Park, and about two hours from both Bryce Canyon National Park and the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We also enjoyed excellent weather, as it topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit every day (40 degrees Centigrade).

We mentioned the size of the hostel being important. We found that big hostels are more impersonal, making it difficult to meet people. The Dixie Hostel was just right, and we met some very interesting people. One such was Charles, the osteopath and acupuncturist from London whose car was nearly hit by a flying cow when driving back from the Grand Canyon. The cow had been hit by a big truck coming in the opposite direction, and it sailed twisting through the air over his car. We also met Rosa from northern California, whose pet cat was taken by a mountain lion. There was also the Australian man who had recently been in England. We asked him what he had enjoyed seeing there, and he said, "I really liked the White Cliffs of Dover. Where are they again?"

"Er, Dover."

Last but by no means least, we also met Steve, a training consultant from the South Coast of England, who slept through his alarm clock for the first time when he was on holiday in New York in 2001. Would you believe it, the date was September 11th, and he had a ticket for the 9am tour of ... the World Trade Centre...

We don't have any anecdotes as cool as that, we're glad to say. Steve, we hope you've kept your ticket safe.

We mentioned the National Parks above. We can honestly say that they made visiting the United States worthwhile. The scenery surpassed everything we had seen up until then. In fact, in Doug's opinion the scenery was only surpassed eight months later by Khao Sok National Park in Thailand.

Following our tranquil stay in Utah, we returned to the bustle of Las Vegas for a one night stay before moving on to the wide open spaces and furnace-like heat of Death Valley National Park.

World Trip >> USA >> Utah

Last updated: Sunday August 27, 2006