I was in California for work a few months ago, and we flew from there to Las Vegas. Then we drove to Salt Lake City, visiting three national parks on the way.

Las Vegas We got out of Las Vegas as fast as we could, being somewhat crippled by only being able to make right turns. We got a look at the place from the air and boggled at the slot machines in the arrivals hall, and figured that was enough sin for us.

Hoover Dam. We stopped by the Dam and peered over the edge. Its a very impressive concrete plug with miles of weirdly suspended power lines. Naming a depression-era Keynesian employment scheme after Hoover is a bit like naming Tony Blair as middle east peace envoy. Now, of course, the dam provides the power for the millions of air-con units and miles of neon in Las Vegas. The dam has flags and eagles and angels and a monument to the builders. And Nevada has two senators arguing against the US government spending money to create jobs. Nowhere is history's sense of humour more evident than in the USA. Anyway, we saw a Turkey vulture over the dam.

Grand Canyon We spent three days in a tent on the side of the Grand Canyon. It is nearly impossible to describe. We hiked down into the canyon, we walked along the edge, we saw a California condor, we disturbed deer, we watched the sun set, we sprinted along a road to be there for sunrise, and we were very sad to go in the end. A spot to return to.

Quick aside: One of the things that is great about the USA is that food is good and cheap. We ate at the Grand canyon lodge each morning, and they did a massive and tasty breakfast for a very reasonable rate. Another aside: folks in the states (like everyone else) export their terrible beer and hang onto the good stuff. All across the South-West, I found myself drinking local, excellent, beer.

We drove from the Grand Canyon to Zion. Due to road closures and a urge to stay on the right side of the Arizona highway patrol, this took all day. On the radio there was: a right wing radio host so controversial he had been banned from Britain, a preacher preaching on a point of theology so complex and fiddly that we couldn't tell if he was a Mormon or not and both sorts of music. The heat pounded down - there were mirages on the road. The Indian reservation was a grim sight. We carefully avoided: a town (called Virgin!) which passed a by-law insisting that all residents own guns and a town infamous for being the last stand of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, complete with polygamy. We did find this sculpture next to the Powell dam.

We see why the USA is the land of the road trip - fuel is cheap, roads are good, distances are massive, speed enforcement is lax. Its the only place we've been where owning a Harley or a massive pickup truck makes sense. However, when we rolled into Zion, we were pretty sick of driving.

Zion National Park is a place we hadn't heard much about until we started researching for this trip. That is a real pity, as its as glorious a national park as America has anywhere. We walked around the bottom of the park, looked up at the hanging gardens, saw more deer and had a good time. We went up Angels Landing, along with half of the population of Utah.

This deer came right at us

Around the park

hanging gardens.

Desert Bighorn sheep

Angels' Landing

I did think, both on Angels landing and in the Grand canyon, that the national park service is a bit too cautious. Angels landing has a major advantage over every Scottish scramble - the rock is dry most of the year. I did see a lot of people clinging to the chains for dear life rather than trying to stay balanced.

Bryce Canyon was the final park. It contains thousands of wind and water created spires called Hoodoos. The man who the canyon is named after was the first Mormon settler in the area. Asked what he thought of the rocks, he replied "Its a hell of a place to lose a cow". We got there right on sunset, and could not believe our eyes.

Salt Lake City. We rolled into Salt Lake at the end of our trip. We had budgeted a day in the city to soak up any delays. We ate at the Copper Onion, which was the best bit. They have an excellent stroganoff. A stroganoff so tasty that I wished that flights from Europe stopped in SLC so I could go there more often. We also went to the Mormon Temple, since that is the only thing to do in Salt Lake City. The Temple is very pretty and the grounds are full of flowers. We didn't go in, not being one of them. I probably would have refused to give them money to wander around and have a gander, but its free.

This man is one of the founders of a major world religion, and not, as I thought, a pirate.

Mormons are a sensible, serious group.

I do think that the temple builders have a certain amount of envy for the Vatican. And I do think that the Mormon faith is, at best, weird. We headed for home, with Laura throwing a tray at a TSA officer on the way.

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