Utah - Virgin

The road to Zion National Park runs along the Virgin River, through the small town of Virgin, Utah. Wikipedia reports a population of just 400 people at the last census, so don't blink as you pass through or you'll miss it altogether. Here is a typical Virgin residence.

You'll notice the marked absence of neighbours, as well as the moon, still visible at 10:30am.

The Virgin general store features a petting zoo and a model frontier town. I secretly wanted to go in and look around, but was too shy to pay the fee without a kid to hide behind. Instead, I bought a thoroughly grown-up CD of Native American flute music. I also admired some unusual plush toys made by Wishpets. I'd never seen such a cute, fluffy, yet surprisingly lifelike tarantula or scorpion before. I really wanted one of them too.

The model town boasts a very prominent jail (gaol) right in the main street. Knowing a little bit about Virgin, Utah from Michael Moore's 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine, I wasn't surprised. This tiny town was mentioned in the film for the singular distinction of having passed a law in May 2000 which requires every homeowner to own and maintain a gun in the residence.

I didn't pause here long. I don't think I'm really a Virgin kind of girl.