My conference in St. George, Utah wrapped up at noon today and then I hit the road home. Well, actually, first I had to fill the shopping list my wife had given me which involved several stops, the main one being the wonderful Costco.  It was packed, being Saturday, and as usual women were wandering around blindly pushing carts while looking every direction but where they were going.  Yes, women! 
Surviving that, I headed out into a sunny but windy and dusty Utah landscape.  I have two ways to get home from there.  One is to go through Zion National Park, not to be topped as a route to and from the grocery store.  But tourist season is already up & running, so I opted for the alternate route which takes me through Hildale, Utah & Colorado City, Arizona, where all the polygamists reside.  Since polygamy is supposedly outlawed, I do not understand how these people continue to thrive, but law enforcement apparently wants nothing to do with them.  The women, dressed in these ridiculous dresses that resemble miniature tents, are the plainest looking gals on the planet.  [Is this my second sexist remark of this blog so far?]
Otherwise, the route is barren and wide-opened, and smallish tumbleweeds were blowing back and forth across the highway.  The actual plant that is referred to as tumbleweed is Russian thistle, a shallow-rooted plant that dies, dries up, dislodges from its place in the earth, and then gets blown all over the place.
This alternate route that I take includes a desolate stretch of road that passes from Arizona back into Utah on what is called the Canebeds Road.  About 4 miles of it is unpaved and a can be like a washboard but it is a bit of a "shortcut."  The scenery is spectacular with red rock formations right up to the road and long lines of colorful mountains not too far off to the west.  [I think I may have a photo of the Canebeds Road in my pictures.]  When traveling this road in the early morning or late afternoon, one must watch carefully for the mule deer browsing on or near the highway.