Utah, Spring 2010: Our First Week

We spend one night at Hotel Nipton, in the 'town' of Nipton. It's not exactly a town, though. More like a tiny collection of eucalyptus and scraggly brush 10 miles off Highway 15 in the Mojave desert. It huddles around the X formed at the interesection of a train track and an intermittently paved country road. The hotel itself is a small adobe structure with four guest rooms. Surrounding the hotel there's a ragtag collection of ancient rusting RVs, and a few shacks built of found lumber and corrugated tin. The advertised 'hot tub' isn't hot and smells like they've been cleaning fish in it. Nevertheless, the hotel itself is scrupulously clean, the beds are comfortable, everything works properly. We are the only guests, we have the hotel to ourselves and we enjoy our stay.

Cynthia, at Hotel Nipton

David stands in the cactus garden in front of the hotel and watches a train pass, horn blaring loudly.

Next morning our drive takes up through Zion National Park, where we stop in Springdale, Utah to enjoy an Earth Day Celebration. This band of 13-year-olds has just launched into "I was born in a cross-fire hurricane..." when we arrive, and the behbehs are clearly rockin' out in front of the speakers.

The falls at the Temple of Sinewava in Zion National Park.

David is dwarfed inside an overhang in the face of a massive rock wall at Zion.

Finally -- here comes Kanab!
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