“It’s like coming into Fort Knox,” our driver declares as we wind our way through the cacti and sage brush surrounding Amangiri, a southern Utah resort considered to be the most exclusive (read: superlative, private, bucket-list-y) on the continent. Not that there are armed patrols or trip wires anywhere, but point taken: The sandstone mesas of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area hover over us at dusk, acting like sentries as we drive farther and farther into the desert canyons. “Remote” doesn’t begin to describe our setting. We’re on a rare stretch of private land—900 acres acquired in a land swap with the federal government, which wanted a parcel near Lake Powell—amid a national-park bonanza in the American Southwest known as the “Grand Circle.” Within 2-3 hours’ drive (or a quick helicopter ride) are Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon’s North Rim, and all the hoodoos, slot canyons, and epic views this region has to offer. At..
