Utah contains the most spectacular natural landscapes in the US. Much of the state is already National Park or Forest land, as it should be, but it was still a great disappointment on this trip to see the sprawl of Salt Lake City, the condominium/suburban housing encroachments, the gashes of the ski resorts, all now compromising the state's natural beauties. The miners and ranchers before us were even less respectful of nature, yet their detritus does have a picturesque quality. Our freeways, strip-malls and ski lifts might seem similarly charming to future generations (the Park City Olympic venue already resembles an abandoned mining site) - somehow I doubt it, though.