I love Utah. This is natural–in more ways than one. Utah has more national parks than any other state. It also has many national monuments. All of that is because it is such a spectacular place. I have found heaven—it is Utah.
Utah abounds in gorgeous.Utah is famous for its “Big Five” National Parks. It has more national parks than any other state. There is good reason for that. Yet, some of the state parks are also sensational.
These photos are all from a tiny state park, called Red Canyon. Named, of course, for its wonderful, red rocks
In particular I love the spectacular red rocks on the Colorado Plateau that covers much of Utah.
“Life elevated” is the state motto. They also say, “linger longer.” I can see why.
Land ownership by the government in both Arizona and Utah is extremely controversial. Partly that is because federal and state governments own so much of the land. Nearly 80% of all land in Utah is owned by the federal and state governments. That drives conservatives crazy! Conservatives think this land should be privately owned. Liberals think it should be owned publicly for the benefit of all. I agree with the liberals.
President Obama ordered the Land Management Bureau, which manages the public land for the benefit of all, to stop issuing coal mining leases. Just this year, the new President, Trump, unsurprisingly cancelled that order. Trump does not care about the environment. He cares about appearingto do all he can to encourage American jobs. I know jobs are important.
I just don’t believe we need to abandon efforts to fight climate change to do that. Jobs don’t trump the environment. Trump trumps the environment. Coal mining does not provide a lot of jobs and it does provide the means to increase greenhouse gases enormously, just when we ought to be cutting back. Added to that, it is highly unlikely that those coal-mining jobs will ever come back. Robots are not going away anytime soon. Robots, not government regulations have taken most coal mining jobs. People want cleaner power. Even the Chinese want cleaners power.
Utah is certainly worth protecting.
I am not sure there is any more beautiful place in the world than Utah.
It’s hard to exaggerate the beauty of Utah!! It sent me into rhapsodies as well, the first time I saw it. Then Sedona blew my mind and after that, Utah again. There really is no one specific adjective that can capture the essence of these other- worldly treasures. They invite you to come and then they ask you to be still as they wrap you in glory. Great pics!!