Dead Horse Point, Utah

Arid Lands, Utah

As we head out of winter and into spring, thought I'd raid the archives and show what the South Downs will look like once global warming takes hold ....

Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah is an amazing place, quite unlike anything you'll find in northern Europe. From visiting Utah, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico, I've come to really appreciate the desert environment and scenery. The sterile, blinding-bright landscape, fashioned from nothing but rock, really does have a deeply-etched - if stark - beauty.

Maybe it's just because we're still exiting the California winter, but I wouldn't mind moving to, say, Sedona. Being a few thousand feet above sea level means it doesn't get as unbearably hot as does Phoenix, for example, but you still get all the buttes, canyons and mesas to play with. Alas, even a cursory glance at property prices shows that there's no easy escape. For the sort of place you'd like to live in then prices are very comparable with Silicon Valley, just with the added disadvantage of no jobs for the likes of me to be had.

Still, I'll definitely be heading there again someday soon, and since this year we're headed to Africa in July then "hot and dusty" will be in our future one way or the other.

Desert Bound

Canyonlands National Park, UT

Need to get past a Board meeting on Wednesday but then have something to look forward to: we have a sales meeting in Las Vegas next week so I've decided to take a day extra and drive there. The route will take me through Death Valley on Monday, but on the way home on Friday I'll go the more direct way. I've never been to DV before and it's about as late in the season as makes sense to visit. Temperatures should be in the mid-90s if the forecast holds. According to Google, getting to 'Vegas will consume about 12 hours drive-time. Given I'll be driving the 911 then I might be able to shave something off that, although the sports suspension might be a bit harsh for some of the roads I'll be on! Either way, should be fun!