Trendy desert towns like St. George and Moab get all the accolades in the Beehive State, but another southern Utah paradise is fast rising to acclaim: Kanab. Tucked along the Utah-Arizona state line, this American West classic offers homegrown hospitality that harkens back to its cowboy roots. Long a filming site for Western films, today Kanab is famous for its thriving arts scene, inventive cuisine, and outdoor adventures.
Driving through Tucson, Arizona introduces a landscape quite unlike any other in the United States—no matter which direction you look, there is a towering Saguaro cactus dotting the horizon. They’re found in abundance on this arid terrain, along with other types of cacti. You wonder if anything else can grow amidst such harsh weather—temperatures soar well north of 100°F in summer!
Nobody obsesses over peppers like the denizens of New Mexico. Not your uncle who holds the family record for eating jalapeños. Not your buddy who’s a self-professed “chili-head” and boasts shelves lined with hot sauces with punny names in his man cave. Not that lady who just pulled a bottle of hot sauce out of her purse at the restaurant table next to yours. Nobody. First of all, in the Land of Enchantment, peppers are called “chiles.” (“Chili” is that thick spicy soup with beans that may or may not have some meat in it.)
