Southwest USA [antikvár]

Destination Southwest USA The Southwest USA is cool enough to merit two Las Vegases. And both cities represent this triculturally diverse, historically rich, always artistic, sometimes outrageous and naturally gorgeous region with equal accuracy. Home to UFO fanatics, vortex junkies. Native American casino owners, pious Mormons, pot-smoking hippies. New Age artists and environmental warriors, the region is like nowhere else in the USA. The howl of a coyote, the smack of a golf club, the clank of a slot machine - all these images are the Southwest. A place that embraces adventure head-on and somehow manages to maintain a balance between Las Vegas' sex appeal and Salt Lake City's virgin saintliness. Mother Nature's beauty remains relatively untouched and ripe for exploration in the Southwest. Whatever outdoor pursuit you choose - be it horseback riding past majestic saguaro cacti in the Arizona desert, roaring down the Grand Canyon in a rubber raft or mountain biking slickrock in Utah's rainbow-hued canyon country - you can be sure the scenery will be stunning. This is the land of giant red arches, slickrock walls, humongous canyons, salt flats and vast deserts. A place where crimson rock monuments and crumbling rust buttes meet dazzling blue skies; where the desert landscape seems to have been invented for the backdrop of a John Wayne classic -or a John Denver music video. Natural scenery isn't the Southwest's only ace. The human-created stuff, be it from 1798 or 2008, is also pretty damn cool. Sinfully delicious Las Vegas is one neon-lit chaotic dream sequence that never wakes up (or goes to sleep, depending on your perspective and how much you've had to drink). You can dine in Paris (France), in a restaurant at the Eiffel Tower, where you just might bump arms with the other Paris (Hilton), in town to host a party at the Palms resort down the Strip. Which just happens to be where Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears and Hugh Hefner and the Girls Next Door also like to hold court. Yes, it's safe to say Las Vegas, NV, is as hot as Los Angeles when it comes to Hollywood star power these days. Vegas is far from the Southwest's only hot vacation spot. Also in Nevada is one of our favorite drives in the region, the 'Loneliest Road in America.' Running across the Great Basin, this is one solitary drive past barren brown hills and tumbleweeds, through stubborn old towns where the vintage neon signs are as authentic as the legal prostitutes and you can stop literally in the middle of nowhere at an oh-so-American family-run restaurant for fried eggs, a smoke and a spin on the poker slot machine. Or head to Lake Tahoe for sunbathing on sandy shores come summer and skiing fresh powder on the surrounding mountains in winter. In New Mexico, spunky Santa Fe is not just the USA's oldest capital, it's also its top art destination. Home to an eclectic lot of retired filmmakers and world-class artists, and all adobe architecture, it's the heart and soul of the 'Land of Enchantment.' Santa Fe's little sister, Taos, is almost as hot in the art department, and offers fantastic skiing, green chile beer, delicious food and the most famous Native American pueblo in the state. In Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson boast swank resorts, awesome golfing, big cacti and warm, sunny weather year-round. Places like New Mexico's Truth or Consequences, Arizona's Jerome and Utah's Torrey and Boulder, all filled with New Age crystal FAST FACTS Population of AZ,NM,UT, NV & Soutiiwestern CO: 12.5 million Inflation: 5% Regional unemployment rate: 4.5% Miles of lighted neon tubing in tas Vegas: 17 Sprinting speed of a roadrunner: ISmph Grand Canyon's widest cliasm: 18 miles Annual reported UFO sightings in New Mexico: 400-650 Number of pueblos in New Mexico: 19 Percentage of land that is public in Utah: 65% Miles of railway track on the Durango to Silverton line: 45