This installment in my series of insider guides to great places to visit in the United States focuses on the great State of Utah, a land of extraordinary beauty. Our tour guide today is a proud Utahan (a.k.a. Utahn), my colleague Chad Berbert, Chargé d’Affaires in our Embassy in Apia, Samoa.

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UTAH – THE ULTIMATE OUTDOOR PLAYGROUND by Chad Berbert

From world famous desert red rock to some of the greatest snow on Earth, the diversity of Utah’s geography is both astounding and inspiring. The State is home to no less than five magnificent U.S. national parks, 14 world class ski resorts, and the Great Salt Lake, the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. Utah is an outdoor lover’s dreamland, as well as the historic and geographic center of the great American West.

The territory was originally inhabited by Native Americans from various tribes including the Anasazi, Fremont, Ute, Paiute, Goshute, Shoshone, and Navajo. The State is named for the Ute tribe, meaning “people of the mountains.” The Apache referred to the Navajo inhabitants as the “Yuttahih,” meaning “one who is higher up.” In 1540 an expedition led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado passed through Utah in search of gold, and Spanish missionaries, traders, and fur trappers followed.

Although claimed by Mexico after its independence from Spain, the territory was not colonized. Utah was eventually settled by Latter-day Saint (Mormon) pioneers fleeing religious persecution in Missouri and Illinois. The first large contingent of Mormon settlers arrived in the Salt Lake valley on July 24, 1847, and the State still celebrates the Days of ’47 with a large parade every year.

Today the State has 2.8 million residents occupying 85,000 square miles (220,000 sq.km.) nestled amidst (clockwise from the northwest) Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. In terms of territory, we are the 13th largest State in the Union (and about 85% the size of New Zealand).

Our terrain attracts and mesmerizes visitors. The landscapes are vast, colorful, ever-changing in the sunlight, and filled with unexpected shapes and forms, as though a race of giant children left their toy blocks scattered about.

Utah has more than 30 State parks, several national monuments, and five national parks — Zion, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef – all stunning in their own right. Travelers flock from the world over to hike, bike, drive, and swim through some of the world’s most unique and breathtaking red rock formations.

Slot canyon hiking in Zion and Canyonlands is particularly popular with outdoor enthusiasts, though be careful to watch for flash floods or falling rocks. The true story of hiker Aron Ralston’s experience in Canyonlands was recently made into the movie 127 Hours starring James Franco and directed by Danny Boyle.

For those who like to combine red rock with water sports, Lake Powell is a popular boating, waterskiing, and cliff diving location where I spent memorable weeks as a child. It was here I first learned to slalom waterski with friends of mine during a weeklong scout campouts.

We camped on the beach at night and spent the days boating, skiing, cliff diving, and doing summersaults down gigantic sand mountains. It was great fun, though I think my mom spent at least two weeks trying to get the sand out of my clothes.

For those interested in prehistory, my home State is also a geological treasure trove — home to some of the most significant paleontological finds in the world. Utah, together with Colorado, plays host to the U.S. Dinosaur National Monument and there are many quarries where you can watch or even help with excavation of dinosaur remains.

Museums such as the Natural History Museum of Utah and the Museum of Ancient Life have excellent displays of actual dinosaur bones and artifacts found in the State. The museums even host a “Night at the Museum” experience (inspired by the movie of the same name, of course) where children and their parents can sleep over with the dinosaurs at the museum. We did this for my nephew’s birthday, and it was great fun. My favorite part was when museum staff played a dinosaur noises soundtrack late at night. The older children appreciated it; the younger ones not so much.

The State capital is Salt Lake City, a thriving economic center of 190,000 residents nestled in the Wasatch range of the Rocky Mountains. Known for its majestic peaks and beautiful sunsets across the Great Salt Lake, the city is blessed with a wide range of outdoor activities close at hand, including Snowbird and other famous ski resorts within an hour or less drive. But there’s more for visitors and residents to enjoy than panoramic views.

The city is home to the University of Utah and its full array of sports teams and events, Utah Symphony, Ballet West, Utah Opera Company, film festivals, Utah Jazz NBA team, Real Salt Lake champion soccer team, Salt Lake Bees AAA baseball franchise, and expansive shopping centers at the City Creek Center and the Gateway.

For history buffs and architecture aficionados, not to mention religious pilgrims, the Salt Lake Temple in downtown Salt Lake City is not to be missed. Massive, breathtaking, and iconic, it is where my wife Anne and I were married nearly fifteen years ago.

The first stone was laid in 1853, when early pioneers were still settling the Salt Lake valley, and construction continued for 40 years. I’m told that at the base the walls are an impressive nine feet thick, making the Temple a formidable, if inviting, architectural feat.

Temple Square, as the area around the Temple is known, forms the heart of the five-block headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The area also has a museum, library, visitor center, and The Roof restaurant where I proposed to my wife. Lucky for me she said yes. I like to think it was because of my charms but it may have had more to do with the very popular all-you-can-eat dessert buffet.

The Square is also the home of the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which broadcasts its weekly Music and the Spoken Word from the Square every Sunday. Originally started in 1929, the program is currently the world’s longest running network broadcast. The Choir’s Sunday concerts are free and open to the public.

Utah is known for some great food including unique haunts such as Ruth’s Diner, nestled in an old trolley car in Emigration Canyon, and the Red Iguana, one of my favorite Mexican establishments.

Both eateries recently made an appearance on Guy Fieri’s televsion show Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. DD&D is dedicated to highlighting America’s most interesting and unusual restaurants, and I wasn’t at all surprised to see Ruth’s and Red Iguana featured. I strongly recommend that you follow in Guy’s footsteps and try both.

Ruth’s has some of the best barbecue I’ve ever tasted anywhere, and the Red Iguana is authentic Mexican food at its very best. Even Grammy-winning band Los Lobos, famous for its cover of “La Bamba,” frequents the Red Iguana for the “killer” mole. In cause you haven’t experienced it yet, mole is a thick, rich, flavorful chili pepper sauce.

And then of course there is my favorite diner of all time, Sill’s Café. You can’t get more down home than this, a family-run establishment older than my parents. It’s American comfort food at its greasy-spoon best, including platter-sized fresh cinnamon rolls and scones that take at least three sittings to eat … and which you dream about for years afterwards.

The arts scene in Utah is also amazing. For example, during the summer months the mountain town of Cedar City — where my English-maven wife was born — plays host to the Tony-award winning Utah Shakespeare Festival. Every year the Festival mounts a series of The Bard’s famous plays as well as more modern works, all set in an idyllic outdoor mountain atmosphere.

The Adams Shakespearean Theatre where many of the plays are performed is patterned after the Tudor stages used during Shakespeare’s time. The stage is so authentic that the BBC actually sent a crew all the way to Utah to film part of its own Shakespeare series. (I wonder how many of my British friends know that.)

The town of Park City hosts the annual Sundance Film Festival, launched by Hollywood legend Robert Redford, which experiences a high-powered Hollywood pilgrimage to the mountain slopes each winter to enjoy skiing during the day and great movies in the evening. The Film Festival has become a significant launch pad for independent film makers.

In fact, it was at the Festival earlier this year that my mom caught a screening of Tusi Tamasese’s Samoan movie The Orator. Mom was able to speak to Tusi directly about the film and say hello for me. Such direct access to the movie makers is one of the hallmarks of the Festival.

I have a particular fondness for Sundance because it was at Redford’s ski resort of the same name that I learned to ski with my Dad. Thereafter for years my friends and I would ride the school bus up to Sundance one day a week after school to enjoy the slopes and hone our skills.

If you like skiing, I can vouch that Utah is the place for you. We have prime snow conditions, reputed to be the best in the world, as well as world-class amenities close at hand. Northern Utah’s ski resorts are close to the urban center and an international airport, and you can easily visit multiple slopes and resorts in a single day if you wish. A recent Ski Magazine survey found that Utah has six of the top ten ski resorts deemed most “accessible” as well as six of the top ten based on snow conditions.

In 2002, Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics, an event so successful that the Salt Lake Organizing Committee was left with more than US$ 40 million after the closing ceremony. They used the surplus to found the Utah Athletic Foundation, which maintains the Olympic venues so that athletes of all skill levels can still ski Olympic runs, learn curling at the Ogden ice rink, skate the short track where Apollo Ohno won his first gold, or even take an exhilarating bobsled ride down the Olympic bobsled track at Utah Olympic Park.

Owing to excellent snow conditions, varied terrain, and world class facilities, Utah’s Park City continues to serve as the headquarters and training location for the United States Ski Team. But you don’t have to be an Olympian to enjoy the facilities. Some of the Olympic venues are open to the public for skating, skiing, ski jumping, and bobsledding.

If what I’ve already mentioned isn’t enough, adrenaline junkies can get their kicks in other aspects of the State as well. The Bonneville Salt Flats in western Utah are the site of multiple world famous land speed records, and still play host to races every year. The vast expanse of wide open salt flat surface makes for excellent racing conditions.

The Spirit of America, driven by Craig Breedlove at Bonneville, was the first land vehicle to break 600 mph (966 kph) back in 1965. Breedlove also set another, more dubious record when during an earlier trial run he left the world’s longest skid marks (more than six miles long) when he lost control of the vehicle. Luckily he survived and went on to set a new record.

Also, Burt Monro, the famous Kiwi from Invercargill, spawned the legend that would later become the story told in The World’s Fastest Indian when he set the under 1,000 cc motorcycle land speed record in 1967. That record still stands.

Today, both private and professional racers enjoy getting out on the flats to test their racing and mechanic skills, and a variety of records are set every year. Amateurs are allowed to race, and spectators can enjoy watching the proceedings and viewing the amazing vehicles, some of which provide fascinating lessons in aerodynamics even at casual inspection.

Utahns may play hard, but they work even harder. Known as the Beehive State because of the industrious values of the common beehive, we take great pride in our economy and work ethic. Utah has become a target location for business, with major industries including mining, tourism, cattle ranching, salt production, and government services.

Those long-term mainstays are quickly being overtaken by information technology. In 2007, Utah ranked number 1 in the State New Economy Index, a scale measuring which State economies have the most information-tech-based, entrepreneurial, globalized markets. In addition, Forbes listed Utah as the best State for business in 2010, the same year Newsweek labeled Utah the “New Economic Zion.”

The Ambassador gave me a word limit, and I’ve already run a big long, so I had better wrap up. What I’ve already described are just a few of the highlights of my home State and some of my favorites. Whatever your interests and preferences, there is a great deal more to explore, discover, and enjoy in Utah when you visit, including …

… the world-renowned Brigham Young University … scenic mountain lakes … remote getaways where you can unwind from the stresses of modern life … the annual Ragnar endurance relay race … the Park City Hot Air Balloon Festival … excellent fishing … world-class golfing … camping and trekking … photography or painting expeditions that will inspire you … great American rodeos … and glacier sliding, just to name a few more attractions.

And best of all, Utahns have a well-deserved reputation for being very friendly and welcoming people. Perhaps that is why Utah has one of the largest concentrations of Samoans in the United States. Both peoples are so friendly and warm, I think that is why I feel so at home in both places. I heartily recommend that you come see for yourself. I know I’m looking forward to my next visit home.

- CJB

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For more information about Utah, what to see, and how to plan a visit, please take a look at Utah.com. If you have specific questions, let me know, and I’ll ask Chad to do a short supplemental article for us.

I’m a big fan of the Peace Corps, and I enjoy hearing about the great work that volunteers are doing around the world. In chatting with a Peace Corps friend recently, I learned that Camp GLOW has reached Samoa’s shores. GLOW stands for “Girls Leading our World,” and the initiative is intended to help build self confidence and challenge campers to think beyond traditional gender roles.

The first Camp GLOW was held in 1995 when Peace Corps volunteers and local teachers in Romania spent a day together addressing the particular challenges that local girls and young women were facing. The girls and everyone else involved considered the gathering a big success, and word of the model spread. Since then, Peace Corps volunteers elsewhere have run Camp GLOW programs for thousands of young women in more than 60 countries.

In Apia, a team of local Peace Corps folks in partnership with UN Women assembled a group of 50 dynamic young female students from school years 7 & 8 for a daylong conference led by successful Samoan women professionals. There were career panel discussions, a leadership workshop, small group sessions about health and sports, and a short dramatic performance. The girls were encouraged to speak out about the challenges they face and how to overcome them. 

Organizing committee member and Peace Corps volunteer Karen Corey explained to me that the first Camp GLOW in Apia had two main goals: “First, we wanted to expose the young women to different careers and career paths so they could see how women got to where they are today. Second, we wanted to provide the campers with knowledge and information that could be useful in the future to help them overcome obstacles and reach their goals.”

Karen was very pleased — but not at all surprised — by the high quality of the presentations and the high level of interactive engagement by the campers. I’m told that particularly useful and dynamic were goal-setting exercises at the end of the day, as well as a session in which the girls prepared presentations about the day’s discussions and lessons to give to other female students when they returned to their respective schools.

At the heart of the Camp GLOW initiative are the imperatives of promoting women’s empowerment and cultivating the potential of young women to be future leaders in their communities.

The model is easily adapted to local needs and circumstances. In some places the camps are one-day events. In other places they have grown into a full week of learning, skills-building, and fun. Boys as well as girls have been included.

The most powerful common element, however, is bringing young women and girls into direct contact with successful female role-models from their own locales and cultures. Sometimes there is even a special guest from overseas, as when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at Camp GLOW Malawi in August.

If you are interested in learning about different approaches to Camp GLOW employed in other locations, you can take a look at blog posts written by participants in camps held in Burkina Faso recently and in Macedonia a couple of years ago.

I could not be more proud of our Peace Corps team in Samoa for organizing and running Camp GLOW Apia. I’m glad that local media covered the event and gave the girls the encouraging visibility that they deserve. Plus, I was particularly pleased to hear that the volunteers and UN Women are planning to institutionalize the Camp and expand to Savaii.

From everything I’ve seen and heard, it’s clear to me that this year’s event is the start of something exciting. I am very much looking forward to Camp GLOW Samoa 2013, and to seeing what the future holds for the campers who participated this year and who come through the program in the years ahead.

Malo lava tama’ita’i ma teine Samoa.

Each November the U.S. Marine Corps marks the anniversary of its founding with birthday celebrations wherever Marines are stationed around the world. Earlier this month I had the great honor of attending my third Marine Ball as Ambassador.

Here in Wellington more than 200 guests assembled for cocktails, dinner, and dancing. A brief formal program included a video message from Washington, the posting of the colors, a ceremonial cutting of the birthday cake, and remarks by our special guest speaker, Major General Ronald L. Bailey, Commanding General of the First Marine Division, of Camp Pendleton, California.

The General’s unit has a special relationship with New Zealand. The Marines who first marched off the USS Wakefield onto King’s Wharf in Wellington on June 14, 1942, were from the First Marine Division. General Bailey himself was last in New Zealand just a few months ago to participate in our celebration of the 70th anniversary of that arrival and the launch of formal U.S.-N.Z. diplomatic relations.

I also spoke briefly to remind guests of the Corps’ long history and of the great service that Marines provide each day to American diplomats around the world. I traced the origins of the Corps back to October 5, 1775, when the Continental Congress of revolutionary American colonists instructed recently commissioned General George Washington to employ and staff vessels to defend against the Crown.

A month later, in November 1775, Continental Congress president John Hancock  commissioned Samuel Nicholas, a Philadelphia innkeeper, as Captain of the Marines. The formal birth of the Corps is considered to be November 10, 1775, when the Continental Congress specifically resolved that two battalions of Marines should be raised. (That makes the Corps older than the American Nation itself.) Using Tun Tavern in Philadelphia as his recruiting station, Captain Nicholas proceeded to fulfill that charge.

On January 4, 1776, Captain Nicholas and 200 of his recruits sailed from Philadelphia on the Alfred to engage a British garrison in the Bahamas that had been conducting raids against the colonists. On March 3, 1776, the Marines made their first amphibious landing, occupying Nassau and capturing much needed gunpowder and other stores. On April 6, 1776, the Marines engaged in their first naval battle when the American squadron engaged HMS Glasgow.

Since then, the Marine Corps has distinguished itself in legendary battles such as the Christmas 1776 campaign at Princeton (where Marines first died in combat), Barbary Coast, Mexico City, Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Chosen Reservoir, and Khe Sanh. Although far less well-known, the Marines even fought in my hometown during the 1846 seige of Los Angeles.

The Marines have a long history of working with the State Department, guarding missions, serving as couriers, and protecting Americans in unsettled locales since the early days of the American Nation. In December 1948, the Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of State formally established the Marine Security Guard Program and deployed 83 Marines to protect American Embassies overseas.

Today there are more than 1,000 Marines deployed in approximately 150 Marine Security Guard detachments at American Embassies and Consulates around the world. These Marines protect our facilities against attack, assist with evacuations during times of crisis, and insure that civilian diplomats are able to continue their important work. Since 1968, eleven Marine Security Guards have been killed defending the diplomatic missions at which they were stationed.

To commemorate that strong history of collaboration and service, each year the Secretary of State issues a statement on the anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps. At our Marine Ball here in Wellington this month I read the following words of appreciation and congratulation from Secretary Clinton:

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Statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Department of State
November 2012

On behalf of the entire Department of State family, I am honored to extend my warmest congratulations and best wishes to you, the brave men and women of the U.S. Marine Corps, on the Corps’ 237th birthday.  

“In every clime and place,” Marines have repeatedly demonstrated their valor and dedication to service; many have given the last full measure of devotion in defense of our liberty and freedom.  To every Marine – those currently in uniform and those who have proudly worn it in the past – we thank you for your sacrifices, your courage, and your service to this country we all love.

This celebration provides all of us in the Department of State a special opportunity to acknowledge and thank all of the Marines who are serving and have served alongside our diplomatic personnel around the world.

The Marine security guards in our embassies, consulates, and missions play a vital role in providing internal security to our facilities and vigilance over classified government information and equipment.  

These Marines do not just stand at “Post One” – they stand for the United States. In my travels, I have met many of our Marine security guards, and I am ceaselessly impressed by the manner in which they represent our country.  

We are likewise grateful to the many other Marines who even now are detailed to protect our facilities and personnel in volatile regions.  For those you protect, it is a comfort to them to know that you are standing post, enhancing their safety and security, and enabling the vital work of our diplomatic and development professionals in a dangerous world.

Our Marine friends and colleagues have met unique challenges in supporting the Department, and they have —without exception – responded bravely and effectively. They have responded to natural disasters, civil unrest, and violent attacks.  They have defended the integrity of our facilities and worked courageously to save human life.  

I want to commend specifically the actions of Marines during recent incidents at our facilities throughout the world.  Despite the dangers, their actions directly contributed to the safety of U.S. government personnel at these embassies, proving once again that every Marine lives the Corps’ credo, “Semper Fidelis” – always faithful.

I join the entire State Department family, and indeed the entire country, in thanking all Marines, and especially those who have served and continue to serve side by side with the Department abroad, for selflessly performing their mission every single day and for being a Marine.  We salute you and your work, today and every day.

Happy 237th birthday, Marines!  Semper Fi!

- HRC

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The Marine Ball is a party, so there was plenty of time for fun after the formal program concluded. We shared a fine dinner, posed for photos with the Marines, and then danced until well past midnight. As usual, the Marines thoroughly enjoyed themselves and mugged a bit for the camera (see below).

All in all it was a great evening. More than two centuries of service and sacrifice was honored. An iconic partnership was celebrated. Appreciation was shown. Tales were told. Cake was eaten. Rugs were cut. (If you’re under about 35 years old, google that last one.) And a good time appeared to be had by all.  Semper Fi.

I was working my way through a stack of files this morning and was reminded of a recent visit of my distant colleague Dennis Kelly about which I meant to write last month. Unfortunately, the account is second-hand because I was out of town on business at the time. In fact, I had just left Auckland for DC as our visitor from DC was landing in Auckland.

Dennis is Director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park in Washington, and he traveled to New Zealand to hand-deliver kiwi feathers to representatives of Ngati Whatua and the Department of Conservation. The transfer was conducted at the Auckland Zoo during a traditional Maori ceremony attended on my behalf by our Consul General Jim Donegan and his wife Sue.

Kiwi birds moult throughout the year, and their feathers are highly prized by traditional kairaranga who weave cloaks with them. As I first learned from director Dr. Eric Dorfman during a wonderful couple of hours exploring the vaults and basement at the Whanganui Regional Museum, the cloaks are cultural treasures passed down through many generations.

Our National Zoo began collecting kiwi feathers for “repatriation” only last year after noticing a visitor from New Zealand picking up feathers while visiting the kiwi exhibit. When the Zoo’s Kathy Brader learned from the visitor about the kairaranga, she decided to start collecting and saving the feathers so that they could be put to good use, rather than simply sweeping up and discarding them as in the past.

Kathy worked her way through all the GNZ bio-security hurdles with the help of friends at the New Zealand Embassy, and the first box of feathers arrived in Auckland in October 2011, during the Rugby World Cup (which probably meant not too many folks noticed). The feathers were received by Maori elders at the airplane and escorted through customs.

This year the Smithsonian gathered kiwi feathers from 12 other zoos around the world, and the shipment delivered to Auckland from Washington was thus an international mix of expat plumage. My understanding is that our National Zoo will continue to gather feathers from around the world and send a shipment home to Maori elders each year.

Americans understand the cultural importance of certain feathers. Our own Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act prohibits the collecting or possessing of eagle feathers unless you are Native American (and have the proper permit). The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has long had in its collections ceremonial Maori cloaks woven from kiwi feathers.

The National Zoo in Washington has an extended history with kiwi birds. The Zoo has been exhibiting them for more than a century and has had a specialized kiwi study program for about forty years. Seven kiwis have been hatched in DC, and in fact Kathy oversees all kiwi breeding that occurs outside of New Zealand.

The Smithsonian has written a nice article with more details about the feathers, the partnership between the Auckland Zoo and the National Zoo, and related details. You can access that article by clicking here.