I thought I was going to be stuck on this week’s ABC Wednesday … until I realised that one of my favourite places begins with the letter ‘U‘, and that is Utah! Now, although we visited Utah only a short while ago, these pictures are from a holiday we took in 2008 It was my first sight of that beautiful state – and yes, I did put the wrong date on the pictures when I was resizing them!
You know what I thought of Utah when I first saw it? Unbelievable! The scenery is unbelievable.
The sky is an unbelievable blue –
And it’s unbelievable to an Englishwoman that there are no barriers between Joe Public and that very steep and rocky drop indeed.  Joe seems to find it pretty unbelievable, too, doesn’t he? He’s just staring and staring at that gorgeous view – and the young lady clearly thinks the folks back home will find it unbelievable that she was so close to the edge, because she’s having her photo taken to prove it. That’s Bryce Canyon, by the way – one of my most favourite places in the whole world, and it’s in Utah.
The rocks are unbelievably red –
… and unbelievably spiky! Isn’t that just beautiful? Josephine Public seems to think so. She’s just standing on the edge staring, too. I’m glad she managed to stay upright!
In other places, and depending on what time of day it is, the rocks can be unbelievably orange.
It’s also unbelievably hot and dry to this delicate English Rose! See? Even the trees have dried out and fallen over. And that dryness makes things unbelievably dusty.
Heaven knows, we’d all have choked to death if we’d been cantering along instead of walking sedately! Oh yes, and they have a lot of horses in Utah. Not really unbelievable, when (to us, at least) it’s one of the ‘cowboy’ states. But we were all unaccustomed to riding, so they took us along nice and gently.
Yep, that looks like a cowboy – and those are definitely horses! I think that guy is preparing to unsaddle.
Not all of the rocks are red or orange, of course. Some are unbelievable white and pink.
That’s Zion National Park, which is also in Utah. Oh, how we loved Zion! The trees looked a tad healthier there, too, possibly because of the run-off from all those mountainous peaks, and a little more shade from the unrelenting sun.
Another unbelievable thing to us was the amount of free parking.
And also just how unusually clean and tidy everything was. In England, we’d have been fighting for a very expensive parking slot indeed, and I can guarantee you’d find litter in it, which is very sad.
We did see some wildlife in Utah too. I didn’t get pictures of much, because it was all too fast and too far away for me with my little point and shoot camera – all I had with me that trip. But this ground squirrel was so keen on picking up scraps at the little cafe we stopped at, that he didn’t mind posing for a picture or two.
I was later told they carry Bubonic Plague, which was another unbelievable thing for us, since we haven’t had plague here in the UK for hundreds of years. I wish I’d known it at the time … although we did manage to avoid infection.
And that’s a good thing, not only because it would it have been very unpleasant, but also I’d hate to be known as the person who unlawfully brought that back into the United Kingdom.
How upsetting that would have been!
Some stunning views there. I’m glad you didn’t bring the plague back, too.
.-= Anthony North´s last blog ..UNITY =-.
I understand your undying love for Utah. It is uniquely beautiful and a very underated place.
.-= Don’t Bug Me!´s last blog ..Welcome to Paradise! =-.
Beautiful, Jay! I’ve seen only a small part of Utah as we drove through it on the way to Oregon. Obviously, I missed the most scenic part. Glad you didn’t catch the plague either, but I doubt that little chipmunk could have given it to you–unless you tried to pet him, that is:)
.-= Rose´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday: Not the Usual =-.
Utah is indeed a gorgeous state! And what a grand collection of shots for your Unbelievable world! Loved them all!
Have a great day!
Sylvia
.-= Sylvia Kirkwood´s last blog ..Evening, Wisdom and Beauty =-.
Great post Jay. Beautiful shots. You’ve been just about everywhere.
Those are great captures of the beauty of Utah! I also love that state and the red rock there…we have visited there numerous times and then moved down to northern Arizona for more incredible scenes! Beautiful post!
.-= carolynUSA´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday / "U" is for Unicycle =-.
Unbelieveble alright. I always think of Salt Flats rather than mountains in Utah. I’d love to go trail riding along that valley. Looks fanasticl
.-= Baino´s last blog ..Drawn to Shiny Objects =-.
Lovely photos and an obvious love of the place!!! I like squirrels too (whatever they are carrying)!
.-= kate´s last blog ..Mini Christmas Cakes mmmmmm…. =-.
Anthony North – Thanks – me too!
DBM – Thanks! Yes, it is indeed.
Rose – Oregon is one of the many states we haven’t seen. I’ve heard it’s beautiful in an entirely different way.
What I worry about most in terms of squirrels/chipmunks and the plague is that it’s spread by fleas .. and fleas JUMP!! LOL!
Sylvia – Thanks, yes it is! 🙂
Sistertex – Thanks – but no, there are LOTS of places we haven’t been!
Carolyn USA – We haven’t yet ventured down into Arizona. Maybe that’s one for our next trip – I hear they have some great scenery there too – and, I think, some ghost towns?
Baino – When I was writing this post, I realised I was only portraying one part of Utah. I have a picture somewhere taken from a plane, which I’m fairly sure is Salt Lake City, but I couldn’t find it.
Kate – I like them, too, but now I know they carry Bubonic Plague, I’m going to be very wary of the US ones!
Ive only been to Utah once, and it IS breath taking.
.-= meleah rebeccah´s last blog ..The Top Five Things That Made Me Laugh – Holiday Edition =-.
Wow! It`s a beautiful place. I love the rock:-)
Have a nice day!
.-= Spiderdama´s last blog ..Julebloggkalender – luke nr. 10 =-.
Only been to Utah once, in 1994. Climbed a mountain, came down badly, tore my right meniscu. But it WAS lovely. s
.-= Roger Green´s last blog ..MOVIE REVIEW: Amreeka =-.
Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos! The rock formations look like castles! Very beautiful!
.-= Reader Wil´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday, U for Urban Legends(horror stories) =-.
You bring back a lot of memories ! I have been there too and was breathless when I saw the “Bryce Canyon” for the first time ! The whole landscape in Utah is so gorgeous, I have only seen a similar landscapes in Morocco and Turkey.
I was quite often in the States when my aunt still lived and then we combined 10 days roundtrips and 10 days staying with her in Madison/Wisc.
.-= Gattina´s last blog ..SKYWATCH FRIDAY =-.
Thank you for taking us along on your Unique trip to Utah. What a gorgeous, awe-inspiring place it is! Just looking at the spiky rocks and the steep, deep valley made me feel quite dizzy!
.-= jabblog uk´s last blog ..SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 22 =-.
Wow, how beaUtiful!
Your photos make me want to go there too… it is so cool you have done so much travelling.
.-= Maureen´s last blog ..The Nightmare Before Christmas =-.
stellar pics – Hi Sid from the 5 sighthounds here..sandy Whta is your Christmas card address?
.-= sandy´s last blog ..He carried her to school one day , school one day, school one day and that was against the rules =-.
Great pix, Jay! I also LOVE Utah… only been there once and only hit the big 3 (Zion, Bryce & Arches) and loved all of them for entirely different reasons! It staggers me that those 3 (plus all the other Nat’l and State parks) are so different from each other!
And yep – stay away from the ground rodents for the fleas! ‘Course plague is treatable now but who wants to go through that!?
The vast perspectives and blue skies look wonderful, all this and free parking too.
.-= Joy´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday – Un =-.
Meleah and Spiderdama – Thank you! 🙂
Roger Green – You do need to be careful on the mountains, that’s for sure! Did your knee heal?
Reader Wil – Thank you! Yes, they are!
Gattina – I’ve never been to Turkey, but I have seen pictures of the hot springs and I think I see what you mean. Funnily enough, I’d never thought of Turkey as beautiful, which just shows the depth of my ignorance.
Jabblog UK – Well, it’s a stunning place to visit, that’s for sure. If you ever have the opportunity, grab it with both hands!
Maureen – You should go there! I tell everyone to go there. It’s stunning!
I didn’t actually travel at all until I was in my mid-thirties and we went to New Zealand. Believe it or not, I’d never left England, till then!
Sandy – Hey, Sandy – I’ll email you and we can swop addresses. 🙂
Jeannine – Next time we venture into Utah, we should take you along for protection, huh? 😉
Joy – Isn’t it wonderful? I’m so glad we found this particular holiday spot!
Bubonic Plague? I’d no idea that was still around!
Utah is a place I’ve always wanted to see. It’s so spectacular. I’ve loved this post 🙂
.-= Dragonstar´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday – U. =-.
Oh, it is beautiful; I can’t believe I live right here in the States and have never seen it.
Bubonic plague? Wow, THAT’s scary.
I kept thinking I’d be able to point something UGLY..nope, not a single ugly thing in sight!
.-= ethelmaepotter´s last blog ..Funny Things Are Everywhere =-.