Provo, Utah, October 3rd

For the first time since the drive from Naches to Missoula I didn’t do much other than get from A to B yesterday. ‘Montpeelyer’ to Provo, just south of Salt Lake City. I had intended to go to church but this is very much Latter Day Saint country and there was not a Presbyterian or Baptist church in sight. Provo is not anything to write home about. It is just another settlement off the freeway.

I enjoyed the drive across. I almost need a video recorder on permanently to convey the scenery. I passed Bear Lake on the west and then up and over Mount Logan. The deep valley on the descent would have been worthy of National Park status in the UK but it is just another deeply wooded canyon over here. The Rockies are what they say they are, too. Mountains. Not just hills. Within them, though, are several wide valleys, such as the ones containing Bear Lake and Salt Lake. The mountains flank these like walls and roads connect the valleys through steep passes. I keep taking photographs of lakes and mountains but they all look remarkably similar.

It looks like I may not quite do the same amount of small town America in the next week. I am staying 3 nights in Cedar City, whilst doing the three nearby national parks and will probably stay 4 nights in Monticello after that. It is near Arches, Monument Valley, Canyonlands and Mesa Verde.

I went to an all you can eat for $12 in the evening. I am mightily impressed with the service. Not knowing my way round what was on offer, or the form in availing myself of it, I asked one of the waitresses what was what. She gave me a one-to-one guided tour. The girl who was in charge of the table I ended up at was similarly attentive and I noticed it went for all those in my area. I know it is a cliché about quality of service but it is true, all the same.

And boy, do they like sweet things. Almost everything is possible to consume with added sugar. Milk, bread, a variety of sauces and probably the sugar itself comes with added sugar. The only thing I couldn’t get at the restaurant was a non-sugared drink. It was coke or fizz.

I am writing this with the Ryder Cup on in the background. It is most interesting to watch the US coverage.  I guess it is exactly the same in reverse at home. Lots of home team focus and attention given to home successes, whilst glossing over the losses. It is all getting a bit too close.