The state of Utah, named for the Native American Ute people, is spectacular. One quickly runs out of superlatives to describe its vast landscapes and geological features. From Salt Lake City, ringed by the Wasatch Mountains, to the extensive national parks reached after hours and hours of driving through desolate countryside, it seems beyond description.

The temple square of the Church of the Latter Day Saints dominates the city centre. The main temple is being extensively renovated and will only open again in 2026. But the tabernacle and the nearby conference centre, with their extensive gardens, are enough to keep one open-mouthed. Wherever one goes in the huge complex, young women appear to show you around, always in pairs, conservatively dressed and very polite. Many of them seemed to know about Hamilton, no doubt because of the Mormon connection. While impressive in scale and certainly pleasant to visit (the immaculate restrooms were very welcome!), one can’t help wondering whether some of the money devoted to these edifices could be funnelled towards the many homeless one sees in the streets of the city.

Canyonlands National Park is a vast area covering over 1,360 square kms so one has to choose which part to see in a morning. The roads are wonderful and all the features are signposted. Travelling with a geologist is great – he explained how various formations developed as we drove past them. To see some, you have to walk along trails and, despite the heat (35 degrees), it is worthwhile. Again superlatives fail when you try to describe towering rock formations and almost unbelievably vast vistas.

Arches National Park is, if anything, even more spectacular, as you drive past sheer cliffs rising from the desert floor. As its name suggests, it’s the rock arches that the park is famous for and they are indeed impressive. Late in the afternoon we walked along a trail to reach the wide so-called Landscape Arch. It was well worth the effort in the blistering heat and we returned to our very pleasant accommodation and jumped into the pool.

We were impressed by how well organised the national parks were. All the human additions are unobtrusive. The colour of the pathways matches the pallet of the landscape, trails are marked by fallen juniper tree branches, signposts are small and steps are indicated and made from blocks of rock. These national parks are a credit to the USA and it would be a great pity if they were to suffer any degradation from funding cuts.

The town of Moab is like an oasis in the desert. It has a wide Main Street with lovely cafes, restaurants, craft and jewellery stores, selling locally made products of high quality, far from the tat we’ve seen in other tourist towns. There is also an impressive book shop, called Back of Beyond Books, in which I spent a happy half-hour, though I didn’t buy anything, the weight of my luggage hindering me.