Zion National Park

Allow me to introduce? Zion National Park.

Location: Southwest Utah

Size: 579 square miles

Formation of the canyon: Approximately 170 million years ago

Appearance: Indescribably beautiful, one of the most beautiful landscapes, yes, I believe even the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen! The landscape consists of numerous canyons, rivers, and mountains that shine in the most diverse colors. Absolutely stunning! While there are red glowing cliffs on one side, the others appear sandy brown, some are gray, and the next ones are interwoven with green plants.

Wherever you look, it is simply incredibly beautiful and diverse. In this national park, you could spend days and just lose yourself in the beauty of the landscape. I have heard from some Americans that Zion is the most beautiful place in the USA for them. And I can absolutely understand why they say that. Such a unique, varied landscape is hardly to be found anywhere else in the world. Again, I tried to capture my experiences in pictures, but even here it is hardly possible to do justice to the beauty.

Traveling with Anthony is really fun. He is incredibly friendly and nice. Especially for a Frenchman, I find that astonishing :D Because if you live in Saarbrücken, you unfortunately create certain prejudices against the French when it comes to friendliness ;) But Anthony explained to me that the French are much nicer, especially in the south of France. I guess I got lucky.

And on hikes, everyone is really nice, so we also got in touch with some people here. Among other things, we met Jayson, an American who hiked with us. Very interesting, as he is a Native American from Utah and could tell us a lot about the state and give us insider tips.

But speaking of hiking: I have to admit, I couldn't resist today...even though I should be resting my Achilles tendon and I can't walk without pain, this beautiful landscape was simply too tempting not to hike there. And if so, then so be it:

We embarked on the Angels Landing Trail, which is approximately 8 KM long and quite steep. I think I have rarely had more respect for a hike in my life. At some points, we had to climb really steep passages without being really secured. Looking left and right was incredibly beautiful, but at some places just too intense not to give up due to fear of heights. But I love challenges and this hike was definitely worth it despite the pain!

Otherwise, we are also taking in a lot of American culture. We stay in motels that look exactly like I imagined them from American movies. Located in the middle of nowhere, sparsely furnished rooms, creepy figures at the reception, very bad breakfast, but somehow still totally cool and original.

The culture in Utah is very special because many people here belong to Mormonism (a Christian denomination that is also based on the Book of Mormon). Many consider Mormons to be an excessive sect, their daily lives are quite strict and religiously oriented. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to meet many Mormons yet. However, when we wanted to have dinner somewhere after a long hike today (Sunday) evening, we experienced the culture: Mormons sanctify the Sunday, they spend this day exclusively with their families and no one works on Sundays. Unfortunately, that meant no food for us...but it also has something to it that some tribes are so committed to traditional values. Everyone should live according to what makes them happy!