In praise of Peppers sunglasses

On the first day of our US vacation we were confronted with the fierce heat and glaring sun of southern Utah. So we descended on Gearheads Outdoor Store in Moab and kitted ourselves out.

The moment we stepped out of the store I realised that my sunglasses were something special - fantastic polarization, greatly reduced glare, light and comfortable. Smudges cleaned off really easily. And a week later, they were still unscratched despite occasional tumbles.

So I was really upset when I lost them a couple of weeks later. I went back along the trail for an hour looking for them, with no luck. Then I searched every store I came across hoping to find a replacement as good. No luck.

On my return to the UK, I called the store in Moab, found out the brand (Peppers) and started looking for resellers online. There were just a few and they didn't have the models I wanted. So I e-mailed Peppers HQ, which turned out to be exactly the right move. A charming and helpful lady called Joy went out of her way to get some replacement sunglasses off to me. And in the space of just over a month, I have gone from never having heard of Peppers to being a big fan and advocate.

The formula? A really great product at a good price, plus excellent customer service.

Unexpected vacation high point

The family is gradually recovering from a US vacation of 3,000 road miles from the spectacular desert scenery of southern Utah (Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce) to the unique splendour of Yellowstone.

Amid all the memorable wonders of those great National Parks, my personal fondest moments came in between - literally. Driving up from southern Utah we stopped off a a little town in the north, Brigham City. The usual motels were all booked up, but we found a little family-owned place called the Bushnell Motel. It didn't have a pool or a breakfast facility and it wasn't arranged in the cookie-cutter lay-out that we found everywhere else (yawn). But our room(s) had plenty of space for the five of us and it felt just like home. It was such a wonderful change.

And instead of using the standard-issue motel pool, we drove a mile to the magnificent municipal pool and had a great few hours in the desert sun there with the the local people. And when the pool closed at 8 pm, we noticed a ball park nearby. So we wandered over and enjoyed the warm wind, the metallic clunk of baseball bats connecting with the ball and the gorgeous evening light on the mountain. Perfect.