0:00:48 > 0:00:53This is not the South, this is not the Midwest. This is the True West.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55The West of cowboys and of westerns.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59A landscape that America shares with nowhere else on Earth.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15'This is the Rio Grande rift, a tear in the Earth's crust,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19'through which the Rio Grande flows south towards Mexico.'
0:01:19 > 0:01:22The river has an iconic place in the American imagination.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25It marks much of the southern border,
0:01:25 > 0:01:29but also the beginning of a new frontier, west of the Rockies.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31A frontier that rolled ever westward
0:01:31 > 0:01:34as the pioneers, gold diggers, oilmen and homesteaders
0:01:34 > 0:01:39transformed, in a matter of decades, the lawless Wild West of legend
0:01:39 > 0:01:43into the most affluent and vibrant place on the planet.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51You have timed this very well, I must say!
0:01:59 > 0:02:03From here in the foothills of the Rockies in northern New Mexico,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07I will drop into the spectacular deserts and canyons of Arizona,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11Utah and Nevada, before crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15finally to reach the Pacific Ocean at San Francisco, California.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17On the outskirts of Taos,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20a favourite haunt of artists and hippies,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23a very American phenomenon has sprung up
0:02:23 > 0:02:25on the semi-arid desert of the high mesas.
0:02:25 > 0:02:31The Earthships have landed and put down their rather untidy roots.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Born of the counter culture movement of the '60s and '70s,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37these eco-friendly dwellings are still in the forefront
0:02:37 > 0:02:40of sustainable housing, not least
0:02:40 > 0:02:43due to the inspiration and dedication of founder Mike Reynolds.
0:02:43 > 0:02:49Yeah, we launched about 38 years ago into this realm
0:02:49 > 0:02:55and just kept going deeper, because we kind of got our eyes opened
0:02:55 > 0:02:59by early media talking about clear cutting timber
0:02:59 > 0:03:01and early oil shortage,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04talking about energy, and we just kind of moved in this direction.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08And then, of course, more timber issues, more energy issues,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12more water issues, more pollution issues, more garbage issues,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15more housing issues, so we just kept going.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19We saw we were on a path that could lead to our own safety in the future.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Goodness me, it's the scale of it that's so surprising.
0:03:24 > 0:03:30Yeah, this one's a little larger scale than a typical home,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33because we're trying to demonstrate a large portion
0:03:33 > 0:03:37of the square footage for food production.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41- Including herbs, I see. - Yeah, herbs and fruits and grapes.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44There is actually grapes starting over here.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Bananas, vegetables...
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Pretty much the idea is a family of four could live here
0:03:51 > 0:03:55with no utility bill whatsoever, be totally comfortable,
0:03:55 > 0:03:57have plenty of water and plenty of food.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59You've got lots of bottles everywhere,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01into the cement, or into the adobe as it's...
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Both, it's cement and adobe.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07The wall outside is bottles laid in mud,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11which you could totally do in Africa without any cement whatsoever.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14- As are the cans.- It dries and becomes a bottle and mud wall.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Which is both beautiful and, of course, somehow,
0:04:17 > 0:04:19a rather good symbolic reminder
0:04:19 > 0:04:22of all the detritus that we tend to leave behind.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25And you say you use photovoltaic, ie solar, panels?
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Solar panels, they are pretty common.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33But the reason they are not used that much is because most housing
0:04:33 > 0:04:35requires a tremendous amount of power
0:04:35 > 0:04:39for heating, cooling, and pumps and all kinds of things like that.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Whereas these homes do most of everything for themselves,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45so what little bit of power we need
0:04:45 > 0:04:48is easy to achieve with solar, photovoltaic cells.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52And here you've got, you know, all the normal kitchen things,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56lights and coffee machine and cooker and so on.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Yeah, flat screen TV and computers.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02In other words, you don't have to do without anything to live
0:05:02 > 0:05:06- completely independent of all fossil fuel utilities.- That is amazing.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Is it done through there, the electricity?
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Well, this back hallway is kind of a buffer zone
0:05:12 > 0:05:16between the living spaces and the exterior walls.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19And it does show how the walls are built in this home,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21they are earth ram tyres.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23You could drive a pick-up truck into that,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27and, you know, go through the windshield yourself.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30And there, actually, is the water organising system
0:05:30 > 0:05:32with the pumps and filters.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35So that you have conventional household hot and cold running water.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40- Do you recycle the water? - Yes, we do, we have a limited amount
0:05:40 > 0:05:44of water in this arid climate, so we take the water from the cisterns,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47run it through our filters, take a shower in it,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50then it runs into these planters.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54What, the plants actually filter the grey water, as they call it?
0:05:54 > 0:05:56They filter the grey water and actually clean it up,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00so we flush the toilet with water you took a shower in yesterday.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03But it's clean. It's not drinkable, but it's clean enough that you can't
0:06:03 > 0:06:07tell it, it's certainly clean enough for a toilet flushing.
0:06:07 > 0:06:14And then that water goes out into a conventional septic system,
0:06:14 > 0:06:20which, rather than going into a drain field or a municipal sewage area,
0:06:20 > 0:06:25goes into more outdoor botanical cells that are used for landscaping.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29So no sewage ever leaves the home. It's used by plants.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32And that's very unlike the way we do things
0:06:32 > 0:06:35in the 20th and 21st century,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38where we like to send our poo away as far as possible
0:06:38 > 0:06:39and not really to think about it,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43and to think about the enormous quantities of it that we produce.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48'Mike's vision of a sustainable, self-reliant lifestyle
0:06:48 > 0:06:52'is gaining wider recognition, as both the financial
0:06:52 > 0:06:56'and the environmental cost of oil seems inexorably to rise.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58'Not so long ago, this was the only way to live.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02'For hundreds of years before Europeans invaded these lands,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06'the local Indian population had adapted to this harsh environment
0:07:06 > 0:07:10'by banding together in adobe or mud-wall villages -
0:07:10 > 0:07:11'pueblos, in Spanish.'
0:07:11 > 0:07:14And hence their name, the Pueblo Indians.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17New Mexico has one of the highest percentages
0:07:17 > 0:07:18of native Americans of any state.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26I'm in Santa Fe, which was America's very first capital city
0:07:26 > 0:07:28when it was founded in 1610 by the Spanish
0:07:28 > 0:07:30and given the splendid name,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33La Villa de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Today, it is the state capital of New Mexico,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40but it's justifiably proud of its Pueblo Indian and Spanish heritage.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48It is the architectural jewel in the crown of the south west,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51and even if the adobe style is a spot over-indulged,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55it makes a change to be able to walk around an American city.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11Well, this is just another old Santa Fe courtyard, stuffed
0:08:11 > 0:08:14with colourful knick-knacks for the tourist trade, you might think.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19But actually, this was once the most secret address in the world.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23It was simply a post office box, 1663, and it was the only conduit
0:08:23 > 0:08:26from a rather special place in the mountains.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37So this is the centre of nuclear America,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40the nucleus, if you like, the cradle.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43It's where it all began, it's where mankind first learnt
0:08:43 > 0:08:46to harness the power of the atom.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50Both a terrible and a magnificent event, I suppose.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55And that building there, that half timber building,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00was, in the 1930s and '40s, a school that actually boasts such alumni
0:09:00 > 0:09:03as the literary figures Gore Vidal and William Burroughs.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06And it was that school that was bought by the US government
0:09:06 > 0:09:12and formed the kernel of the Los Alamos nuclear research laboratory.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15This is the Quark Bar in Los Alamos.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17Those of you who are good at physics might remember
0:09:17 > 0:09:20that a quark is an elementary particle
0:09:20 > 0:09:22named after a James Joyce word.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25I don't know what this place makes me think of.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29There is something very moving and very extraordinary
0:09:29 > 0:09:31about the photographs of the pioneers.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34There is a kind of optimism in big science,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36and there is an optimism in being American.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41And when the two come together, you create an astonishing energy,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43rather like the energy that they created
0:09:43 > 0:09:47when they split that atom and made that first bomb.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49I suppose some would think
0:09:49 > 0:09:52this is a grizzly place, a place of death.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54But to me, I see nothing but optimism,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57that's probably because I believe in science.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58Many people these days don't.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02I think America, for all its faults, still does.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Los Alamos still looks after America's nuclear arsenal,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12But with its 2.5 billion budget and its massive supercomputers,
0:10:12 > 0:10:16it's at the cutting edge in practically every area of research.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18'Terry Wallace is Director of Science at the lab.'
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Oh, that's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!
0:10:21 > 0:10:23I can't begin to guess what it does.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27So what we really have here is a very fancy electron microscope.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29It's a microscope?
0:10:29 > 0:10:31So we can prepare the materials
0:10:31 > 0:10:34and look at them on a sub-microscopic level.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37And at the same time, be able to probe them with ions,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41so we can get the chemistry, the dynamics of the materials.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43And it's everything from organic matter
0:10:43 > 0:10:46to wafers of this, that and the other, is it?
0:10:46 > 0:10:48The work that's going on here right now
0:10:48 > 0:10:49really is concentrated on films,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52in which we can push individual atoms around on the film.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55And the idea would be able to build atom-based circuits
0:10:55 > 0:10:57so you can have a quantum computer.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Los Alamos National Laboratory.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03They are taking individual hydrogen atoms and moving them.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05So those are hydrogen atoms,
0:11:05 > 0:11:06that are spelling...
0:11:06 > 0:11:10You are actually corralling the hydrogen atom, pushing it into...
0:11:10 > 0:11:14So we grab those with probe tweezers, and we can spell out LANL.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18So you have all this power of quantum mathematics behind you,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20and this extraordinary supercomputer,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23are there other areas that you are developing?
0:11:23 > 0:11:26A substantial effort into what we call "living machines".
0:11:26 > 0:11:29So can we make materials that self-reproduce?
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Now, the idea there that we are working on
0:11:32 > 0:11:36right now in the research is not focused on making living systems,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38but systems which are self-aware.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40And the example I would use is that if we could,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43instead of having just normal concrete on a bridge,
0:11:43 > 0:11:47we could have this self-aware material on the outside,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51it could heal its own cracks with stress, when time comes along.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54And so, I think this is a very realisable dream.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Our laboratory is here for one reason,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58that's national security science.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01But to be able to get to do national security science,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03you have to be at the frontiers of science.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05And since so much work is done here,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08it's attacked about 3.5 million times a day
0:12:08 > 0:12:12from all the different ways to try to either probe our information...
0:12:12 > 0:12:13Hackers trying to get in.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17But they are mainly state-sponsored hackers, and so...
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Really? So, countries which we won't name,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24but let's say they rhyme with "shina" and "bussia",
0:12:24 > 0:12:28actually have people constantly, as it were,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31- hammering at your digital gates, trying to get in.- Exactly.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Oh, my Goodness! I dare say Britain does too.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37When the theory and then the practice of the power of the atom
0:12:37 > 0:12:41was proved it was the most momentous moment in science's history, really.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Is there anything in science now which will yield
0:12:45 > 0:12:48equivalent astonishment, do you think, in the future?
0:12:48 > 0:12:51The real answer, I mean, we don't understand dark energy.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54So, our solar system is filled with dark matter
0:12:54 > 0:12:57and we see the interaction with dark energy, and...
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Because energy and matter are consubstantial, because of Einstein.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Exactly, and so, potentially, the concept of what we can get
0:13:04 > 0:13:09from dark energy or the conversion with dark matter could dwarf anything
0:13:09 > 0:13:12that we see within our particular system of light matter,
0:13:12 > 0:13:13or what we see.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20Leaving the boffins at Los Alamos to ponder the conundrum of dark matter
0:13:20 > 0:13:23and dark energy, I head for the light.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Possibly the best light to be found in the entire country.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41This is Monument Valley,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43part of the Navajo Indian reservation
0:13:43 > 0:13:45that straddles Arizona and Utah.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48'I'm meeting up with Jameson, a Navajo whose family
0:13:48 > 0:13:52'have lived here from long before the coming of the Europeans.'
0:13:52 > 0:13:57In 1938, John Ford shot his first western here, Stagecoach,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00which was also John Wayne's first western, I think.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04He did nine more movies here. Have you ever seen any of those movies?
0:14:04 > 0:14:05Yeah, I did, yeah.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08It's all because of Mr Goulding.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12- Yeah, now, Mr Goulding, he was a trader?- Yeah.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15- In the 1920s and 1930s?- Yeah.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18How did he get John Ford here?
0:14:18 > 0:14:24Well, they said that he went around and took pictures of the valley,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26and then he made a trip down to Hollywood.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And he wasn't really accepted into the office,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33in Hollywood, but he slipped the pictures underneath the door.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37So when they saw those pictures,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40they were, you know...
0:14:40 > 0:14:42They were amazed by what they saw.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44- And that's what brought John Ford here?- Yeah.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47'In the hogan, the traditional home,
0:14:47 > 0:14:52'Jameson's sister, Sally, has something to show me.'
0:14:52 > 0:14:55What we do is, like, if we want to make a basket,
0:14:55 > 0:15:00if we don't have material, we have to go out to Colorado
0:15:00 > 0:15:04or Utah but it's still, like, 300 or 400 miles.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06- Really, this is where these trees grow?- Yeah.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10So you have to look for something long, like this one, that grows.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12- And it's got to be bendy?- Yeah.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14- So are they quite young?- Yeah.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16They are shoots.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18And what's the name of the plant?
0:15:18 > 0:15:21- This is called sumak.- Sumak, right.
0:15:21 > 0:15:27And what we do is split them into three parts, like this.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30It's a lot of work just to do this.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34But you have to know how to do that. If you don't, you just break them.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Oh, that's beautiful.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Oh, it's like the pith, yeah?
0:15:44 > 0:15:50- So one shoot becomes six different parts.- Three.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Three. Each one has the pith taken out and you discard it.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00So it's flat on one side, and you pull that.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05And then this is the one that we have to put it up and let it dry.
0:16:05 > 0:16:11And it takes a couple of days to dry, what we do is we take off that.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Oh, my goodness.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19So this is the one that we use to weave with,
0:16:19 > 0:16:21this is the one that we colour.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24So this is what it is, right there.
0:16:24 > 0:16:25Ah, yes, white and black.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28So those four colours are the ones you use.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33Yeah, and then we start off with sumak, like this one here.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Ah, so you leave one which you don't peel, you don't divide.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40And that becomes... And you coil it up.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45And then, when you're weaving, this one has to be moist.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49And then what I do is...
0:16:49 > 0:16:51I have to make a hole in here.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53- Will you let me have a try?- Sure.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55I might well screw up.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59You don't ever stab that finger by mistake? Do you?
0:16:59 > 0:17:01No, my hand is always right here.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Ah, you keep it out of the way.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07OK, put that on my lap, yeah. Oh, Lord!
0:17:07 > 0:17:12OK, so the hole goes here, yeah?
0:17:12 > 0:17:16- Don't poke your knees! - No. Is that going to go through?
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Oops.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Oh, it's gone through.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23And that's going to go through.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Oh, I hope the hole's big enough.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Back out the other side and pull.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Yeah!
0:17:34 > 0:17:36I've made my first loop.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- Is this an important source of income for you?- Yeah.
0:17:39 > 0:17:40It is, it's your major source?
0:17:40 > 0:17:44And the tourists, how much do you charge?
0:17:44 > 0:17:46I mean, because they seem very good value to me.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Yeah, if it's a twenty-inch, I sometimes sell it
0:17:49 > 0:17:54for, like, 3,000, 6,000, 7,000.
0:17:54 > 0:17:55Well, I think it's fantastic.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Have you got any... oh, you've got ones here.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03Yeah, this one is called a traditional ceremonial basket,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05and they call it the wedding basket.
0:18:05 > 0:18:11The middle is the earth, and this is the mountain,
0:18:11 > 0:18:15and this is the rainbow, and the clouds.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20And this one right here, we never close it, we always have an opening.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22And it's the mind, the spirit line.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Which goes between and through all the different elements.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28This is the same, but with different colours.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32It's very skilful and lovely.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I shall have to buy one now.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38I may not buy one of your 3,000 ones, though!
0:18:57 > 0:19:00'You can see why Ford was drawn to this place
0:19:00 > 0:19:05'and why Navajo like Jameson and his family have no desire to leave.'
0:19:13 > 0:19:16If ever there was a place where humans can feel connected
0:19:16 > 0:19:20to some sense of the spirit world, this is it.
0:19:35 > 0:19:40'Exposure to the spiritual always leaves me more than usually peckish.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42'Jameson's wife answers my prayers.'
0:19:42 > 0:19:46- This is Navajo fried bread? - Navajo fried bread, I'm making.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49- She makes the best fried bread ever. - Yeah?
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Family loyalty, but I believe it.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58I think it's great that you are all speak Navajo.
0:19:58 > 0:20:06Because I was up in South Dakota on the reservation with the Lakota,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10and they were saying that 10% of the children speak Lakota now,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14and that's terrible, isn't it? You lose the language.
0:20:14 > 0:20:20Yeah. Few years back, they were saying that they had a complaint
0:20:20 > 0:20:24about kids kind of forgetting their language.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Really? So they are making an effort now,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29in college and school, everybody learns.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34Look at those steaks! I'm a bit tempted, can I taste some of that?
0:20:34 > 0:20:35I'll tear a bit off.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Oh, my, that's as good as it gets.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44It's light, it's fluffy.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Soft. Delicious.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49Absolutely...
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Good, isn't it?
0:20:53 > 0:20:57- Here, you can help yourself, all of you.- Oh, that's good.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Oh...wow!
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Right, here's the plates.
0:21:04 > 0:21:10- Oh, what a place to eat! Isn't it? - Quiet...
0:21:10 > 0:21:13But what's amazing to me is that you manage to live here,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15right in the middle of Monument Valley
0:21:15 > 0:21:19and have a private family life, while today, there are probably,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23what, a thousand tourists up there, in cars, going round,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26and you wouldn't know they were there, would you?
0:21:26 > 0:21:30Some, they really want to step inside and talk to the family,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33sometimes they'll do that, they just walk over here
0:21:33 > 0:21:37and say a friendly hello, and we just go along with it.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42- You don't mind that?- Yeah.- Cos you wouldn't go down an American street
0:21:42 > 0:21:45in the city and just open somebody's door and go, "Hello!"
0:21:50 > 0:21:55Bordering the Navajo reservation, Lake Powell stretches for 250 miles
0:21:55 > 0:21:58in a filigree pattern of extraordinary beauty.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02Looking at these ancient rocks,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05it's easy to think this would be a scene
0:22:05 > 0:22:07you could imagine thousands of years ago.
0:22:07 > 0:22:13But actually, it's only been visible for the last 30-odd years.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16This is the completion of the great project
0:22:16 > 0:22:18of damming the Colorado River.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21And this is an artificial lake, a man-made lake.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26It's the Colorado River risen up into an old canyon.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30And maybe that's what adds its spooky kind of atmosphere,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33the fact that there is no life that's grown up with the lake.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36It's a new lake, so nature hasn't yet caught up with it.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Maybe in a hundred years, the kingfishers and the grasses
0:22:39 > 0:22:45and the reeds and things will make this a proper aquatic environment,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48but at the moment, it's more like an album cover
0:22:48 > 0:22:50or a computer-generated image.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23This is going to be conceivably eggy.
0:23:28 > 0:23:34The one word in the American phrase as you know probably is "over easy".
0:23:34 > 0:23:37"Over easy" is when you flip it over and just barely cook it,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40just to get the, you know, the runny bits off the top cooked.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43The problem with that is the word "easy".
0:23:43 > 0:23:46How do I get that over? Ohh, come on!
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Now it's broken, well, it's not exactly broken,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52but half the white's sheared off it, and if I flip that over,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55I can guarantee it's going to burst in a... Ahh!
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Hmm, it's not bad.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06The extraordinary thing about Lake Powell
0:24:06 > 0:24:08is that it's not better known.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11It's as if someone filled the Grand Canyon with water.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Admittedly, we are not at high season now,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17but we are about the only boat on this huge stretch of water.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23HE WHISTLES AND CLAPS TO MAKE ECHOES
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- That's...what do you call that? - That's Navajo Mountain.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33Navajo mountain. So that's very particular to your people.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35That's another one of our sacred mountains.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Rob Bighorse, my Navajo captain,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42wants to show me something very special to his people.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44The largest natural bridge in the world.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47The Greek goddess of the rainbow was called Iris.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52Which is why we call the eye the iris, because it's like a rainbow.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55All the spectrum is there with all the colours, if you look at it.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07So, would you like to tell me about the story of that?
0:25:07 > 0:25:11Legend has it that there was a little boy that got lost here,
0:25:11 > 0:25:16and to make it across, back across, the deities made a rainbow.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20And he made it back across, and after that, they just turned it into stone.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23And since then, it's been sacred to the Navajo?
0:25:23 > 0:25:24It's been sacred to the Navajo.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27And how is that sacred nature shown?
0:25:27 > 0:25:32- By never...- By never going over it of underneath it.- Right.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34I read somewhere that actually,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37- you could fit the Statue of Liberty under there.- You can.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40Western science has its own explanations, what is that?
0:25:40 > 0:25:44- That it's caused by wind or water? - Yes, by water.- Water.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47So at one point, the river, they say, was high enough
0:25:47 > 0:25:50to have carved this out through the rock?
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Yes. Just carved right through it, and there you have it.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Absolutely staggering.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08'I've jacuzzied my way around the world,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10'but this just about beats it all, I have to say.
0:26:10 > 0:26:17You know, there are 1,900 miles of shoreline
0:26:17 > 0:26:20on this man-made lake, it's quite extraordinary.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26Very American, isn't it, to do it in this kind of brash style?
0:26:26 > 0:26:30And I have to say there's a part of me that is entirely suited
0:26:30 > 0:26:33to this Mr Toad-like way of getting around a lake!
0:26:33 > 0:26:38Others would pull on paddles and oars, but not I.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41'Leaving the other-worldly landscape
0:26:41 > 0:26:43'and my gloriously gargantuan house-boat,
0:26:43 > 0:26:46'I realise just how much Americans are used
0:26:46 > 0:26:48to super-sizes in everything.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52The distances out West are just vast, so it's with relish
0:26:52 > 0:26:56that I'm going to hitch a ride the 400 miles south to Tucson, Arizona,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59in another super-sized form of American transport,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02the Boeing B17 Flying Fortress.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21This is extraordinary.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27I've been on a British Lancaster bomber,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30but only as far as taxi-ing is concerned.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34This is a first for me to fly in a 1940s bomber.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Oh, yes!
0:27:51 > 0:27:55'The cloudless skies of the West make it the perfect place for flying
0:27:55 > 0:27:59'and the United States Air Force has bases dotted all about.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03'I'm heading for Davis-Monthan in Tucson.'
0:28:05 > 0:28:08It's too loud for conversation,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12so everything has to be done by signals.
0:28:12 > 0:28:13They have headsets,
0:28:13 > 0:28:18but they have to keep to very simple commands.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21You know, the bomber crews had a really tough life,
0:28:21 > 0:28:24there was nothing glamorous or romantic
0:28:24 > 0:28:26about being a member of a bomber crew.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29There were 5, 6 or 7 of them, depending on the nature
0:28:29 > 0:28:32of the flight, and they all had incredibly difficult jobs to do.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34They were very mathematical jobs.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38They were constantly having to adjust for magnetic deviations,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41and the compass, they were having to fly by dead reckoning
0:28:41 > 0:28:44with pencil and paper to find out where they were.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46They had to work out their height and their glide
0:28:46 > 0:28:49and climb attacks, all sorts of technical stuff.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51'There was nothing of the dashing warrior
0:28:51 > 0:28:54'of the air about them, as there was for the fighter pilots.'
0:28:54 > 0:28:57'They never really got the thanks at the end of the war
0:28:57 > 0:29:01'for the job they did. I suppose we were all too embarrassed about it.'
0:29:01 > 0:29:02Raining fire on civilians
0:29:02 > 0:29:04was not something that we should be proud of.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13As you might imagine,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16there are quite a few air force bases throughout the West.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18The guaranteed hours of sunlight
0:29:18 > 0:29:23make it an ideal place to send young pilots for training.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26But there are other functions, too.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30This air force base is very special indeed.
0:29:30 > 0:29:36It's where American aeroplanes go when they are retired.
0:29:36 > 0:29:42Over 3,000 of them, worth an estimated 30 billion,
0:29:42 > 0:29:46injected with synthetic rubber and wrapped in protective cling film.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52But don't be fooled - at a single sound of a bugle,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55they could rise again to serve their country.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58They are not dead, they are just mothballed,
0:29:58 > 0:30:00sealed up for the time being.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03Line after line of them.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05Fighters, bombers,
0:30:05 > 0:30:10attack aircraft, surveillance aircraft, supply aircraft,
0:30:10 > 0:30:12helicopters, fast jets,
0:30:12 > 0:30:14great lumbering transports.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Spooky.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32When I was a child, I used to think these tall cactuses
0:30:32 > 0:30:34were the entire invention of cartoonists.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37I didn't really believe there could be such a thing.
0:30:37 > 0:30:43And to see them now in virtual forests is such an iconic American sight, isn't it?
0:30:43 > 0:30:46It's called something like Carnegiea gigantea
0:30:46 > 0:30:48and they have white flowers and an edible red fruit
0:30:48 > 0:30:51but they don't seem to be fruiting at the moment.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54And they are very often rude, of course,
0:30:54 > 0:30:57because they have two arms and other protuberances.
0:30:57 > 0:31:03If there was an Arizona That's Life, then Esther Rantzen would be receiving rude cactuses very week.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07But they are noble - some of them are up to 45 feet.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10Enormous!
0:31:10 > 0:31:13Some of these saguaro cacti are over 100 years old
0:31:13 > 0:31:17and were well into their middle-age, when the Tucson film studios started life here
0:31:17 > 0:31:20as an alternative base to Hollywood for shooting Westerns.
0:31:20 > 0:31:27Since 1939, it has been graced by everyone from Jimmy Stewart to the Duke, John Wayne, himself.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31The studios are still used for filming, as well as being an attraction for us out-of-towners.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35- That's a stagecoach you got there, mister.- It is pretty fancy, isn't it?
0:31:35 > 0:31:40- You don't see too many around these parts.- Never seen one in my life.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43You should come to London, you will see hundreds of them.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46Mind you, we don't see many cowboys in London, so it's a fair exchange.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02Well, well, Fry.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05I thought I told you.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07We don't like your kind in this town.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10You see, me and my boys here, we run this town.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13We don't like you here.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15Yes, well, you've told me a number of things in the past
0:32:15 > 0:32:18and none of them have left me singularly impressed.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22Well, looks like we outnumber you three to one.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25So how best you get on your horse and ride right out of my town?
0:32:26 > 0:32:28TWO GUNSHOTS
0:32:28 > 0:32:32Well, that seems to have evened the odds up a little, doesn't it?
0:32:32 > 0:32:34Fine by me, Fry.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37I wanted to kill you anyway.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41Oh, really? Many have tried, Marshall, few have succeeded.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Only two, in recorded time, have succeeded in killing me
0:32:45 > 0:32:47and even they didn't do it very well.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51- Well, I'll do it right this time. - Make your move.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58Oh! Ooh.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00Ooh!
0:33:00 > 0:33:03Ooh, that hurt.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05Ooh, it's...it's rather like...
0:33:05 > 0:33:07Ooh!
0:33:07 > 0:33:09- Ooh!- You think about that next time.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Oh, excuse me, I think I may be having a death scene.
0:33:12 > 0:33:17Oh, sweet mother of mercy, is this the end of Stephen Fry?
0:33:17 > 0:33:19Oh.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23You win, Marshall.
0:33:23 > 0:33:28Yes, we showed that sheriff a thing or too, didn't we, Spinoza?
0:33:28 > 0:33:31He'd never heard of phenomenology, can you imagine such a thing?
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Let's see what this town has to offer us, shall we?
0:33:34 > 0:33:37The Three Amigos!
0:33:37 > 0:33:38Huh!
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Eschewing my taxi for an eagle's-eye view,
0:33:55 > 0:33:59I travel the 350 miles north towards Las Vegas, Nevada,
0:33:59 > 0:34:05passing the famous stretch of the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08At its westernmost end, the river is once again tamed.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12This time, by the Hoover Dam - an extraordinary engineering feat,
0:34:12 > 0:34:15born out of the great public works after the Depression.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18It's the dam that has created the water and light
0:34:18 > 0:34:23that powers the oasis of wealth, beauty, opulence and vulgarity
0:34:23 > 0:34:25that is Las Vegas today.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27Absolutely wonderful!
0:34:27 > 0:34:29Look at that!
0:34:29 > 0:34:32PILOT: And you have The Rio and The Palms.
0:34:32 > 0:34:37Sin City, as Vegas was known in the days of the Rat Pack, has evolved.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41Today, less than half its revenues come from gambling.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46Business Conventioneers are the new high rollers and with them come a host of arcane management rituals.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50The newest entrant in this lucrative field is an outfit called Spy Games.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54- Mr Fry?- Yes. - There has been an incident.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Really? Well, do come in.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Incident?
0:34:58 > 0:35:02Will you take the time to read the letter, please? Are you alone?
0:35:02 > 0:35:04Yes, I am...tragically.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09- They call me Trixie.- Do they?
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Trixie. Right.
0:35:12 > 0:35:17"Mr Fry, you have been personally selected to join forces
0:35:17 > 0:35:20"with the notorious Las Vegas crime boss, known as 'The Boss'.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22"You will be acting as our mole
0:35:22 > 0:35:26"in the newly-formed group of CCI special agents that think they can outsmart us."
0:35:26 > 0:35:29Here is the deal, Mr Fry. There has been a kidnapping.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31I've done the kidnapping.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35The problem is that the agents are getting a little too close.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37I need to know that I can trust you.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39Right. The agents of...?
0:35:39 > 0:35:45- The agents of the Agency. - Are getting too close?- Yes, to me, to the Boss. I need your help.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48- Right. I'm on your side, am I? - Yes, I hope so. Can I trust you?
0:35:48 > 0:35:51'Can Trixie trust me? Can I trust her?
0:35:51 > 0:35:55'Vegas, where the unthinkable, if you're not careful, becomes reality.'
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Sir, why do you have your glasses on your paper?
0:35:58 > 0:36:02- Ah, these. Well, I use these for limited vision. - Why aren't they on your face?
0:36:02 > 0:36:06- Why aren't they around your neck? - Because they are only necessary when I'm reading. I have presbyopia.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11- Are you being difficult?- No... - Get up against the wall. Get up against the wall. Spread.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15- Are you laughing?- Yes, because this was what I was looking forward to. - All right, we have case 257.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Missing Michael.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20The mission. We have received information that Michael Caprio,
0:36:20 > 0:36:24the PR director of Chippendales, has been kidnapped and he is in danger.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27Your PR director has been kidnapped,
0:36:27 > 0:36:30so you can't dance for those ladies if we don't get him back.
0:36:30 > 0:36:36The Boss has planted his spies throughout the city to take watch over the current situation.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40These spies are expecting a visit from informants
0:36:40 > 0:36:42whom they've never met face to face,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45but are identified by a secret code word.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50The special agents are to pose as informants by using the code word to gain information,
0:36:50 > 0:36:57where the ransom is going to take place and discover who the Boss truly is, since we have no idea.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00So do you guys get what's going on?
0:37:00 > 0:37:03- All right.- You want us to pretend to be informants for the Boss?
0:37:03 > 0:37:07Exactly. Man, he is bright!
0:37:07 > 0:37:12Your team must select a team leader, appoint a case file agent...
0:37:12 > 0:37:16'Spy Games run corporate bonding and team leadership courses.
0:37:16 > 0:37:21'All that management guff I have luckily been able to avoid in my life. That is, until now.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24'Only this course seems rather more complicated
0:37:24 > 0:37:28'than firing a paint gun at a portly middle-management colleague called Dick.'
0:37:28 > 0:37:31- Predictive text?- Are you on our team?- Yes, I am on your team.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35I'm the only one who might look as if he isn't a Chippendale.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37'I'm tagging along today with some of the Chippendales,'
0:37:37 > 0:37:41one of the big hits on the strip for the past five years.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45I don't know why they need this but self-improvement is a fundamental American right
0:37:45 > 0:37:49and they seem to take it pretty seriously.
0:37:50 > 0:37:51Oh, gotta get the camera.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53Come on!
0:37:53 > 0:37:55I am so sorry.
0:37:57 > 0:38:02'I think we are off on the hunt to find informants who have been planted all over the city.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07'And unless I've got it wrong, my job is to sabotage the whole thing.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11'Not quite sure how this helps team-building. Maybe I'm a lesson in the limits of trust.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14'Or just a pawn in a game I don't understand.'
0:38:22 > 0:38:26Excellent. This is fun, isn't it? Nice pool, nice day. 'Nice breasts!'
0:38:26 > 0:38:29'Anyway, what is abundantly clear is that Americans love this stuff
0:38:29 > 0:38:33'and take it all on board without a hint of the sneering or cynicism
0:38:33 > 0:38:37'that I fear my compatriots might indulge in. Not I, of course.'
0:38:37 > 0:38:43- The Boss talks about a guy named Whyler a lot.- Whyler? - But I've never seen them together.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46- The hostage exchange...- We have the phone number, the picture...
0:38:46 > 0:38:50..is going to take place by the railroad tracks.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53In essence, it's like a treasure hunt.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58'And, baffled as I am, it's an amusing way to see the mega resorts which have taken over the strip.'
0:38:58 > 0:39:02You've got the bureaucratic side of spying.
0:39:02 > 0:39:07One clue solved, so we're off to another of the many themed casinos.
0:39:07 > 0:39:12- Remind me what we are looking for here?- Well, we do not know. We are coming here for a clue.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15So we've just got to hope for a text.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18"Locate Jugs - Star Trek experience."
0:39:20 > 0:39:23And now we have to find a man called Jugs
0:39:23 > 0:39:27and we have to take photographic evidence of our meeting.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Excuse me, sir, would you take a picture for us?
0:39:30 > 0:39:33That would be very kind, thank you very much.
0:39:33 > 0:39:38'But being the cunning double agent that I am, I've turned off the flash.'
0:39:39 > 0:39:42Is it on the wrong setting?
0:39:42 > 0:39:45Well done, James.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48'I'm beginning to enjoy my duplicity.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53'Maybe I should have taken that job with MI6 after all.
0:39:53 > 0:39:59'Oh, and I must exchange a token with Jugs, without the chips twigging - all very Spooks.'
0:39:59 > 0:40:01You're right, I'm so sorry.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06- You gotta make sure you count Jugs in.- Jugs.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11He had a hand off, he has tried twice to misdirect us in the directions...
0:40:11 > 0:40:13And I think he took the flash off the camera.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15He is trying to slow us down.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19He also keeps leaving the camera. That's why it's in Sean's hands now.
0:40:19 > 0:40:25So, we are at the Hilton and we are going to the Grand, we think, yes?
0:40:25 > 0:40:28One, two, three, four, five stops.
0:40:28 > 0:40:33OK, gentlemen, we do have some things on our mind right now and that is the mole.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36So if everybody, right now, would empty their left pocket.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44- Way to go! Gentlemen, I think we have found our mole.- I agree.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49- Why, why, why?- Because, one, I saw you hand it to Jugs.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51Plus, at the Star Trek Experience you tried to misguide us.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54Even when I told you the right way, you tried the other way.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57You also turned the flash off, so we couldn't take a picture.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00And you tried to leave the camera on the bar.
0:41:00 > 0:41:06So, with all these things, every time we talked it over as a group, we've decided you're the mole.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10'I have to admit the Chippendales are not just a bunch of pretty pecs,
0:41:10 > 0:41:16'and like so many Americans, they just seemed instinctively to get to this, whereas I don't.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20'If only their foreign policy was this sophisticated.'
0:41:20 > 0:41:21I'm a weasel, I'll fight for anybody.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25'Well, we seem to be reaching a climax of this thriller.'
0:41:25 > 0:41:28We think so far, we've seen Wyler. That's the guy is on the station.
0:41:28 > 0:41:33We think may be the Boss, the Boss who recruited us in the first place is actually the Boss.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35Plus, the one who recruited me and calls herself Trixie.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39She's called Trixie. That's what she told me her name was.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41'So, we make the rendezvous and the game plays out.
0:41:41 > 0:41:46'It turns out that Trixie is probably the real boss and... Oh, who cares?!
0:41:46 > 0:41:50'What's important is that the Chips are better bonded
0:41:50 > 0:41:54'and I've at least learned that I'm no more cut-out to be a spy than a Chippendale.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57'Oh, well. That's two more career doors slammed in my face.'
0:42:01 > 0:42:04One of the lesser-known facts about Las Vegas
0:42:04 > 0:42:09is that in some respects you could say the city was founded not by the mafia,
0:42:09 > 0:42:13not by property developers but by the Mormons, of all people,
0:42:13 > 0:42:16the Church of Latter Day Saints.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20When they founded their home city of Salt Lake,
0:42:20 > 0:42:22back in the 19th century,
0:42:22 > 0:42:26they then sent out other Mormons towards California.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30And every 50 miles, which was as far as a telegraph could reach
0:42:30 > 0:42:31without needing a relay station,
0:42:31 > 0:42:34they would set up a community, a settlement of some kind.
0:42:34 > 0:42:39And on the way, at the 50-mile marker,
0:42:39 > 0:42:41hit this little place in the desert.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45It seems a very, very unlikely mixture -
0:42:45 > 0:42:47Mormonism and Las Vegas -
0:42:47 > 0:42:52but I'm actually going to what you might call a...
0:42:52 > 0:42:56secret photographic shoot involving Mormons,
0:42:56 > 0:42:58right here in the city of Las Vegas.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00How did you get this idea, Jad?
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Ah, it actually came to me last year.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05I was talking with friends and thought,
0:43:05 > 0:43:08"You know wouldn't it be funny if, you see the fire-fighter calendars,
0:43:08 > 0:43:11"you got the police calendars, Marine calendars...
0:43:11 > 0:43:13"Well, what about Mormon missionary calendars?"
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Yes, it's very tongue in cheek, it's very funny,
0:43:16 > 0:43:19it also has a really deep-rooted message about tolerance,
0:43:19 > 0:43:23about accepting and about tearing down those religious barriers.
0:43:23 > 0:43:28Is this the kind of thing that might cause the elders to frown
0:43:28 > 0:43:31and raise eyebrows, if you can do both at the same time?
0:43:31 > 0:43:37Um, no, I think if we went any past this they might, um,
0:43:37 > 0:43:40you know, we're not doing anything they can frown upon.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43- No?- We're not breaking any rules.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45No, right. What about the structure of the church?
0:43:45 > 0:43:50In the Church of England, or the Episcopalian church as it's called in America,
0:43:50 > 0:43:54there are Bishops and Priests, and a hierarchy, if you like.
0:43:54 > 0:43:55Is there a hierarchy, you have elders?
0:43:55 > 0:43:59Yes, there's the Prophet, who overseas the whole church.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03- Oh, so there is an equivalent of a Pope, an absolute head.- Correct.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06We want this to be a real angelic look
0:44:06 > 0:44:10because that's like a belief, you know, the Mormon beliefs are based on a lot of angels.
0:44:10 > 0:44:15- There is this thing about celestial sort of...- Celestial Kingdom.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17So you could become an angel?
0:44:17 > 0:44:19Well, it's more than just becoming an angel.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22It's actually becoming resurrected.
0:44:22 > 0:44:27So the Mormon beliefs are that we live here on Earth, we get a body, flesh and bone, you die,
0:44:27 > 0:44:30- and then through the grace of Jesus you're resurrected.- Right.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32- So it is a Christian church?- Yes.
0:44:32 > 0:44:37One of the core beliefs of Mormonism, which causes a lots of controversy with other Christian faiths,
0:44:37 > 0:44:41is the fact Mormons believe that they can actually become like God
0:44:41 > 0:44:44and become a God of their universe, like the God of our universe.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48In a strange way, science has at least vindicated the possibility
0:44:48 > 0:44:51by suggesting there could be infinite universes.
0:44:51 > 0:44:56It's interesting because the Mormon church is very conservative but their beliefs are very radical.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58It's an interesting point.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01It's that mixture of the straight-laced attitudes -
0:45:01 > 0:45:03no sex before marriage,
0:45:03 > 0:45:06no drugs including alcohol, tobacco, caffeine,
0:45:06 > 0:45:11even quite minor ones like cups of coffee or Coca-Cola.
0:45:11 > 0:45:16Yet, on the other hand, the most extravagant beliefs for the future,
0:45:16 > 0:45:21and in the nature of celestial transcendence and angelic beings
0:45:21 > 0:45:24and beatific seraphic and cherubic hosts.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27What language did you just talk?
0:45:29 > 0:45:32- You lost me, like, about 20 words ago!- Oh, I'm sorry about that!
0:45:32 > 0:45:36So do you think you will have a career in the church, or...?
0:45:36 > 0:45:40- No, I don't have the personality for it.- Really? Why do you say that?
0:45:40 > 0:45:42What personality do you need then, do you think?
0:45:42 > 0:45:48Um, I think you need a little more strict personality... a little more not-smiley.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Do you think there is prejudice against Mormonism in America?
0:45:51 > 0:45:54I really do believe that Mormons are looked at as a second-rate citizen.
0:45:54 > 0:45:59I think some of the prejudices are just lack of education.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02Like as far as the gays and the polygamists,
0:46:02 > 0:46:06- they that we believe certain things which we don't.- Yeah.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09- There's a moment when you have to mention it to someone.- Right.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12And you may not see it in their face but you feel that "Oh".
0:46:12 > 0:46:15"Oh?" A weird? Or do people just go, "Oh, OK?"
0:46:15 > 0:46:20Sometimes people ask me how many kids I have or how many wives. Stuff like that.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23- So you just get used to that? - I just laugh.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26I mean, you are a proselytising religion though?
0:46:26 > 0:46:30You do want to convert the rest of the world to Mormonism, unlike Judaism, say?
0:46:30 > 0:46:33Right, that's their mission. The mission of the church is to bring people in.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36I suppose some people would object to that.
0:46:36 > 0:46:42I mean, some people just don't like the idea that they are going to be preached to.
0:46:42 > 0:46:43Oh, absolutely. I don't like to be preached to.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45Who likes to be preached to?
0:46:45 > 0:46:49And I think missionary work is not necessarily to go convince people,
0:46:49 > 0:46:52it's to find those people who are looking for something.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56Looking for answers, and, you know, hey, this may work for you, it may not work for you.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59And this is the official uniform of missionaries.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01This is how they are identified.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04You got the white shirt, tie, name tag,
0:47:04 > 0:47:06sometimes backpack, bike, you know.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09These are the guys that you see going door to door.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13And then the guys that we shoot, you know,
0:47:13 > 0:47:15that's them for who they really are,
0:47:15 > 0:47:18to show that these guys are just regular guys.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21Regular kids. They are young, they go out when they are 19.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23LAUGHTER
0:47:23 > 0:47:27That's brilliant. That is very funny.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29That is hysterical!
0:47:29 > 0:47:31They said I was being boring,
0:47:31 > 0:47:35- so I tried to spice it up a little. - Really? What scripture was that?
0:47:35 > 0:47:37Of course, there is more to Nevada
0:47:37 > 0:47:40than the new kid in the desert called Vegas.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43It's known as the Silver State for good reason.
0:47:43 > 0:47:48Gold and silver mining reached a peak here in Virginia City 150 years ago.
0:47:48 > 0:47:5330,000 prospectors made this town one of the richest in America
0:47:53 > 0:47:56and, to help them spend their hard-earned scratchings from the mother lode,
0:47:56 > 0:47:59came inevitably the gambling dens and prostitutes.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01The mines have all but shut down now
0:48:01 > 0:48:05but the whore houses, like the casinos, are still booming
0:48:05 > 0:48:08and only in Nevada they are entirely legal.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11Queen among them is the illustrious Mustang Ranch,
0:48:11 > 0:48:13run by its formidable madam Susan Austin.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16Hello, yes, you must be Stephen.
0:48:16 > 0:48:20- I am indeed. Hello. Wow! - Well, what a pleasure.- It's a pleasure to meet you as well.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23This is my first time in a brothel, I have to confess.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26- I have a brothel virgin on my hands, what fun!- You do.
0:48:26 > 0:48:31This is our parlour and this is where the ladies do their line-ups.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34It's also where we have all our achievements.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37- Is there an award industry for brothels?- Oh, yes, there is!
0:48:37 > 0:48:40Brothel of the Year? Courtesan of the Year!
0:48:40 > 0:48:44I was trying to create a British gentleman's club,
0:48:44 > 0:48:48where the old hunters could sit around in front of the fireplace
0:48:48 > 0:48:52and discuss the animals they have hunted in Africa,
0:48:52 > 0:48:54as well as the women they conquered.
0:48:54 > 0:48:55It would raise eyebrows in the Garrick,
0:48:55 > 0:48:58which is a club I am a member of in London,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01but you've got comfortable chairs and dark wood. It's on its way.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05- A fireplace. - And you mentioned the line-up,
0:49:05 > 0:49:10- is that when a customer - would you say customer or John, or...? - Well, I use client.- Client, right.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14When a client comes in, we seat him here and then the ladies come out.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17One from each side of the room, one at a time.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19They introduce themselves and then step back against the mirror.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23- Hi, I'm Mandy.- Mandy, hi. Very nice to see you.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26Well, sit down. I'm here for a chat, as it happens.
0:49:26 > 0:49:31That way, the gentlemen see them walk, talk and up close
0:49:31 > 0:49:35and decide whether that's the one he wants to pick.
0:49:35 > 0:49:40See, if I were doing that, I would just be embarrassed about offending the one that I didn't choose.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44Oh, no, no, no. I always give a little preamble before.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47I say, "Honey, this is the way it works.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50"All the ladies come out, they introduce themselves.
0:49:50 > 0:49:51"You pick the one you like.
0:49:51 > 0:49:55"Now, if you don't come to a decision with her, you come pick another one.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57"You are not getting married, this is a business."
0:49:57 > 0:50:00How did you find the first time?
0:50:00 > 0:50:05Was it nerve-wracking, did you get help, were you all psyched up for it?
0:50:05 > 0:50:09Um, I was nervous, but I had... a friend of mine was here.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12Everybody, all the girls here are very awesome.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15Just very helpful, you know, and they...
0:50:15 > 0:50:20It's like, when you first start, you're either prepared to do it or you're not, you know?
0:50:20 > 0:50:24So, they choose and then their rooms are off here, are they?
0:50:24 > 0:50:29- And you haven't had too many weird requests yet?- Never. No.
0:50:29 > 0:50:34But what's weird to me is far beyond what's probably weird to other people!
0:50:34 > 0:50:38You're a young girl, an attractive young girl,
0:50:38 > 0:50:40and you might get some men like me coming in -
0:50:40 > 0:50:45great overweight, wobbly people in their fifties, and your heart must sink, "Oh, no!"
0:50:45 > 0:50:49- Not at all, not with me. - Oh, you're OK with that, are you?
0:50:49 > 0:50:54That's why I'm here. I like men of all different types, sizes, shapes.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57- I do.- And do you think that's... And you enjoy your work?
0:50:57 > 0:51:01- I love it. I love my job!- Fabulous. Not many people can say that.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04My mum knows and she's like, "I'm so glad you found a job you like."
0:51:04 > 0:51:07I'm like, "Me too! I should have been here years ago."
0:51:07 > 0:51:09Now, we're going to stop right here.
0:51:09 > 0:51:15These are our negotiating rooms. We don't discuss sex and money in the bedroom. Most brothels do.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19It has to be discussed in a private room. It can never be done in public.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21That's one of our state statutes. So...
0:51:21 > 0:51:24- Oh, so this is by law, not just...? - By law.
0:51:24 > 0:51:29And the girl will decide on the basis of what's required how much it will cost?
0:51:29 > 0:51:33- That's how she prices it.- And it's not your decision, as the madam? - No, it's not my decision at all.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35It's the independent contractor.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38She is a businesswoman, she sets her own prices.
0:51:38 > 0:51:44Right. So it's like having the Louis Vuitton concession in a department store, as it were?
0:51:44 > 0:51:48- That's right, exactly.- You are the department store manager but they can charge what they like.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50They can charge what they'd like.
0:51:50 > 0:51:57What would happen if you met a man - either a client, or a man you happened to meet in some other way -
0:51:57 > 0:52:01whom you completely fell for, who became THE man.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04Would you still want to carry on working?
0:52:04 > 0:52:08Yes. If he was "the man" he would have to accept that fact.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10So we are first going to the Italian Suite.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14Oh, my word, this is very grand!
0:52:14 > 0:52:17- Isn't this wonderful? - This is not what I expected at all.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20- No, not at all. - This is like a four-star hotel.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24Are there many advantages to legalised prostitution, then?
0:52:24 > 0:52:27When you control something like this and you make it legal,
0:52:27 > 0:52:29you have state statutes, federal statutes.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32Everything that guidelines how you operate.
0:52:32 > 0:52:37So the girls have safety checks, they use mandatory condoms,
0:52:37 > 0:52:40everything is done in a very legal, very safe manner.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44This is the mini Hawaiian Vacation,
0:52:44 > 0:52:47- complete with chickens on the ground. - It's extraordinary!
0:52:47 > 0:52:51The monies that are paid to the ladies now are taxable,
0:52:51 > 0:52:54so they become a productive member of society.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57They don't have a pimp beating them up and stealing their money.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00They are actually independent businesswomen.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02Now, we are at the Asian Suite.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05Asian Suite...
0:53:05 > 0:53:08Oh, my goodness, Chinoiserie a go-go!
0:53:08 > 0:53:10Look at that!
0:53:10 > 0:53:12It is the oldest profession in the world.
0:53:12 > 0:53:17You can only hide it by not making it legal. It goes underground.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21And the beautiful double-sized Californian king bed.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23- That is...- Now, that's a playground.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25You could party on this bed, couldn't you?
0:53:25 > 0:53:29Yes, you could party on this bed and never run out of room.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31And I've had a few groups who have.
0:53:37 > 0:53:42Leaving the lubricious delights of the Mustang forever behind me,
0:53:42 > 0:53:46I head for the mountains and the purifying alpine air of Lake Tahoe
0:53:46 > 0:53:49that straddles Nevada and California.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06Once over the Sierra Nevada mountains, it's California,
0:54:06 > 0:54:08with the scent of the ocean to lure me on.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12# All the leaves are brown
0:54:10 > 0:54:12All the leaves are brown
0:54:12 > 0:54:17# And the sky is grey
0:54:14 > 0:54:17And the sky is grey... #
0:54:17 > 0:54:20Unlike the pioneers and prospectors of old,
0:54:20 > 0:54:22I've had it pretty easy in my cab
0:54:22 > 0:54:27and I've now made it, as the anthem goes, from sea to shining sea.
0:54:27 > 0:54:33# ..If I was in LA
0:54:31 > 0:54:33If I was in LA
0:54:33 > 0:54:37# California dreaming
0:54:35 > 0:54:37California dreaming
0:54:37 > 0:54:39# On such a winter's day. #
0:54:43 > 0:54:45There we are - the Pacific Ocean.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51As Darwin remarked, the very badly named ocean.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56It's not being pacific today.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10It seems a long, long time ago
0:55:10 > 0:55:15and a lot of miles since I saw that first sunrise in Eastport, Maine.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18But the journey is still far from over.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21In the next episode I discover the delights of San Francisco,
0:55:21 > 0:55:24travel up the Pacific coast, meet vintners and dope smokers,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27encounter sasquatch believers and old believers,
0:55:27 > 0:55:31go hunting for whales and swimming with sharks.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:55:58 > 0:56:01E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk