Things I learned about Utah

A foreigner's first impressions of Utah, from a trip five weeks ago:

• Utahans really love putting giant letters on the sides of hills. Every time we would think of another letter, we would round the curve and see a giant white letter affixed to a hillside. I am pretty sure they have the entire alphabet somewhere, and probably some kanji as well
• Iodized water reacts with certain foods, such as Ramen, to create blue water. A little internet research tells me it reacts with the starch.
• Iodized water still tastes better than some bottled water, however.
• All pepper jack should be buried. That stuff is evil.
• It is really nice to have climbed down the rock after they find the baby rattlesnake sleeping next to the belayers.
• It was also nice when they waited until I finished climbing before telling me why everything was so tense.
• Never enter an airport security scanner marked EntryScan, unless you want the crap scared out of you.
• Sleeping in a van does not relieve you of the need for a sleeping bag. Also, if your sleeping bag is in a van right 10 feet away, it's worth retrieving it even if you lack a flashlight, (which turned out to be stuffed in the sleeping bag anyway.)
• Utahans also seem to like misspelling words, so you get places like "Stan's Burger Shak," "Quik Eats," and "Brazilian Cosine." The latter was spelled correctly on the reverse side, however.