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Salt Lake City
It's not likely that the words "This is the place"
- immortalised by Brigham Young, one of the original leaders
of the Mormon church and founder of Salt Lake City - will
be uttered by too many visitors to the city today. The natural
attractions of Utah are far more of a drawcard to the state
than its capital. However, those with an interest in the history
of the Mormon religion will find plenty to fascinate them
here. Salt Lake City is the centre of the Mormon Faith
and boasts a well-preserved collection of original architecture.
Most famously, the Temple Square occupies a 10-acre
block, guarded by high white walls housing the Temple, Tabernacle
and Assembly Hall. The Temple is closed to all but practising
Mormons, however, its façade and soaring spires are
in themselves impressive. If you know one thing about the
Mormon faith, you will know about the traditional belief in
polygamy (the taking of many wives). Beehive House,
Brigham Young's home, with its massive children's playroom
and additional wives' quarters, provides an interesting insight
into the manifestations of this belief. However, there is
far more to the Mormon faith than this, so be sure to have
a Mormon guide show you around the Temple Square.
The massive salt lake from which the city takes its name
is the largest of the USA's Great Lakes and has been declared
a World Heritage bird sanctuary for the variety and abundance
of winged life who nest and feed here. And in contrast to
the broad, ponderously laid-out street plan of Salt Lake City,
the Wasatch Mountains, at the base of which the city
is located, provide a spectacular wilderness setting for hiking,
camping and mountain biking, plus world-class skiing and snowboarding
in the winter.
Dinosaur National Monument
It's mildly surprising that there's never been an episode
of Friends set in Dinosaur National Monument, because
this place has got to be geeky Ross Geller's idea of heaven.
The largest collection of fossilised dinosaur bones in the
world have been excavated here, some forming full skeletons,
although these are now housed in other museums. Geller gags
aside, the Monument offers a fascinating glimpse into the
near-mythical Jurassic era, with one wall of the visitor centres
being formed by a sandstone quarry in which over 2000 bones
belonging to 11 types of dinosaurs have been discovered, partially
excavated and then left in place for visitors to examine and
even, in some places, to touch. The Monument had its beginnings
in the work of palaeontologist Earl Douglass in 1909, who
discovered 8 brontosaurus tailbones protruding from the earth.
The desolate surroundings of the monument add to the experience,
with two moderately strenuous hikes taking in dramatic rock
formations and petroglyphs.
Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument
A relatively new addition to the many national parks and
monuments in the Southwest, the Grand Staircase - Escalante
National Monument was created in 1996. Covering around 1.7
million rugged and remote acres, the area can be roughly divided
into three sections. To the west, the monument contains most
of the Grand Staircase, a series of sandstone terraces
ascending in successive steps of vermilion, white, grey and
pink; the infinite variations in these colours created by
the changing light both magnificent and surreal. Occupying
the vast middle section of the monument is the Kaiparowits
Plateau, an isolated area of canyons, sheer cliffs, ancient
trees and an abundance of wildlife. Finally, to the East are
the Canyons of the Escalante, an expanse of sandstone
carved into by the Escalante River and its tributaries, forming
a riddle of countless canyons, some so deep and narrow that
no sun reaches their depths - territory for experienced canyoneers
only.
Arches National Park
A massive concentration of around 2,000 natural arches comprises
the 115-square-mile Arches National Park. Magnificently bizarre
and striking, the landscape is marked with towering pinnacles
and spires, sheer, thrusting fins jutting upwards from the
desert and gravity-defying rock formations, including the
none-too-imaginatively named Balanced Rock, a 50ft
boulder perched on top of a narrow 75ft pillar. These sandstone
sculptures in gradated shades of red provide the setting for
hiking, mountain biking, camping and rock climbing (although
this is forbidden in specific areas). The arches themselves
range from the miniscule (3 ft across) to the massive; don't
miss the grandeur of the Landscape Arch, soaring 100
ft high and 200 ft across. Balanced scenically on the rim
of a canyon, The Delicate Arch, ubiquitous symbol of
Utah (it is featured on Utah license plates) is well worth
the trek to reach it, and the labyrinthine Fiery Furnaces,
a complex maze of ridges and gullies, may be explored in a
ranger-led hike.
Natural Bridges National Monument
At Natural Bridges National Monument, a graceful cluster
of sandstone bridges marks the convergence of three canyons.
Sipapu Bridge is the largest, rising 200ft high and
268ft thick; the youngest, Kachina Bridge, is almost
as high but twice as broad and has Ancestral Puebloan pictographs
and its base. The oldest, Owachomo, spans 180 ft across
and 100 ft high, but is only a wafer thin 9 ft thick, giving
the impression of aged, fragile grandeur. A 9 mile scenic
loop drive has a number of lookouts and bays for taking the
definitive photo; while a number of shorter trails in and
around the canyons can be linked up into a strenuous, 8-mile
hike, taking in spectacular views of all 3 bridges.
Guide by Sarah Rodrigues
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