Utah

Big Water, Utah So there I was, standing with about 30 other hikers in boots and backpacks, jammed into a room no bigger than a double-wide in a one-story beige government building in a destitute moonscape otherwise known as southern Utah on a warm Friday morning. If I sound surprised, I suppose I was. The day before I had flown to Flagstaff, Ariz., rented a car and driven more than two hours to Page, near the Utah border. I'd then gotten up early for a 30-minute drive to Big Water, only to find myself in the kind of hardscrabble wasteland that even rattlesnakes would be embarrassed to call home.

So, Lakers fans, if you are still in shock over what Andre Miller did to your team at Staples Center on Tuesday night and want to know more about him, pull up a chair. Miller seems to fit most fans' image of a journeyman. He is 36, has played for five teams — twice with the Denver Nuggets — and is not generally coveted by NBA fantasy league players. Tuesday night, when the Nuggets beat the Lakers and sent the playoff series back to Denver for Game 6 on Thursday night — a stunning result for Lakers fans — you saw a bit of Michael Jordan, a pinch of Chris Paul and a smidgen of Magic Johnson all in one point guard.

Jamal Farmer is somewhat like a Hawaiian gecko, the enigmatic lizard whose likeness is emblazoned on the T-shirts of countless tourists. Like a gecko, Farmer is quick and elusive, having rushed for 986 yards and an NCAA freshman-record 18 touchdowns at the University of Hawaii last season. Like a gecko, Farmer is a transplant who has flourished.

The trip wires rigged to potentially deadly booby traps in a popular Utah recreation area were so slender they were practically invisible to the average eye. But James Schoeffler's eyes are not average. During his tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was Schoeffler's job to find such trip wires and dismantle the explosive devices to which they were attached. He never expected to find himself doing the same job in a forest in Utah. Authorities are lauding Schoeffler as a hero after he spotted trip wires to a pair of deadly traps just off Big Springs Trail in Provo Canyon.

LAKERS TONIGHT AT UTAH Time: 6 PST On the air: TV: Channel 9; Radio: 710; 1330. Where: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Records: Lakers 6-4; Jazz 6-3. Update: The Lakers had no trouble with Utah two weeks ago at Staples Center, winning 96-71 despite playing their third game in as many days. The Lakers held the Jazz to 28.2% accuracy through three quarters in that game. Center Al Jefferson made two of 16 shots. —Mike Bresnahan

Mike Hanton's photo of mountains near Richfield, Utah, shows that there can be an upside to car trouble. As he was driving last year on Interstate 70 on a trip to Minnesota, the water pump in his 1992 Toyota Camry froze. "The car coasted for seven miles before coming to a stop," Hanton said. "This was the moment when I was stranded. It was beautiful. " The Santa Monica resident used a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT. View past photos we've featured . To upload your own, visit our reader travel photo gallery . When you upload your photo, tell us where it was taken and when.

A Utah inmate facing the death penalty for a violent 1985 escape attempt is scheduled to die on June 18 by firing squad, an execution method that has been phased out in nearly every state, including Utah. Ronnie Lee Gardner elected Friday to face a firing squad under a provision of state law that exempts five death row inmates who signaled their preference to die by firing squad before Utah all but banned the old, frontier-style practice in 2004. "I would like the firing squad, please," Gardner, 49, told District Judge Robin Reese during Friday's hearing in Salt Lake City.

at Utah 116, Denver 106: Andrei Kirilenko scored 22 points for the Jazz and Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 13 rebounds in his return after missing three games because of a calf strain. The Nuggets played without Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, who both have sprained ankles. at Chicago 95, Miami 91: Luol Deng scored 25 points, Derrick Rose added 24 and the Bulls ended a losing streak at three games. The Heat has lost seven of eight. New Orleans 104, at Charlotte 99: Darren Collison scored a career-high 24 points for the Hornets.

Clippers tonight AT UTAH When: 6 PST. Where: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 980, 1330. Records: Clippers 25-37, Jazz 39-22. Record vs. Jazz: 1-2. Update: The Clippers nearly lost a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Jazz on Monday at Staples Center amid a flurry of turnovers before pulling out a 108-104 victory. Utah has won 13 consecutive games against the Clippers at home, last losing in 2003. — Ben Bolch

Eighty miles south of Salt Lake City, JC Mickelson's Restaurant has a continuously operating collection of model trains. They go well with a piece of its strawberry-rhubarb pie. JC Mickelson's, 2100 S. Main St., Nephi; (435) 623-0152, http://www.jcmick.com Charles Woody Pacific Palisades

LAS VEGAS -- Just when you thought it was safe to go back on those mountain trails. In a case that has stunned authorities with its ruthlessness, two Utah men have been arrested in connection with a pair of deadly makeshift booby traps set up along a popular hiking trail. One of the traps involved a trip wire triggered to send a 20-pound, spiked boulder swinging into an unsuspecting victim. The other was designed to trip a passer-by into a bed of sharpened wooden stakes. The two suspects, ages 19 and 21, told investigators after being arrested last weekend on suspicion of misdemeanor reckless endangerment that the traps were intended for wildlife.

PHOENIX AT UTAH: 7:30 p.m. PDT Tuesday. TV: TNT. The resurgent Suns and Jazz are jostling with fading Houston for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. It could be a last hurrah of sorts for Phoenix point guard Steve Nash, who has said he would consider playing elsewhere next season if the Suns don't significantly upgrade their roster. But Phoenix has already looked like a different team while winning eight of 12 games to move back into playoff contention. The Suns have won both meetings against the Jazz this season, including a 107-105 victory earlier this month at EnergySolutions Arena.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Orrin Hatch, a six-term Republican from Utah,  has been forced into a primary battle in June after he fell short Saturday of the votes needed for an outright nomination during balloting at the 2012 GOP state convention. Hatch, 78, who entered the Senate in 1977, will face former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist, 37, in the June 26 primary. Hatch needed 60% of the convention delegate votes, but on a second ballot he came up with 59 percent. Liljenquist came in second with 41 percent.

Chris Paul, the Clippers' leader and resident closer in tough games, suffered a bruised right elbow with 7 minutes 37 seconds left in the third quarter of their 105-96 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night at Staples Center. After receiving medical attention while on the Clippers' bench, Paul went to the locker room. Paul came back onto the court and took a seat on the bench with 11:16 left in the fourth quarter and the Clippers leading, 83-66. He reentered the game with 11 minutes left to an ovation.

Within hours of Susan Powell's disappearance in Utah in 2009, police began focusing their suspicion on her husband, Josh Powell.  But the power of their case didn't become clear until Friday, with the release of search warrants that detail the astonishing fabric of deception Powell weaved in the hours after his wife went missing. The documents, unsealed in Pierce County, Wash., reveal that police found Susan Powell's blood on the floor of  the home she shared with Powell, not far from a wet, freshly cleaned sofa.

When: 7:30. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 980. Where: Staples Center. Records: Clippers 30-21, Jazz 27-25. Record vs. Jazz: 1-1. Update: This is the last of the Clippers' five-game homestand. The Clippers and the Jazz both are jockeying for playoff positioning: the top four seeded teams in the conference get home-court advantage for at least one playoff series.

at Utah 120, Orlando 111: Deron Williams scored 32 points and had 15 assists and eight rebounds, leading the Jazz to a victory that snapped the Magic's six-game winning streak. Boston 104, at Washington 102: Rajon Rondo's driving dunk with a minute remaining broke a tie and led the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics to their ninth straight victory. -- associated press

The St. Regis Deer Valley in Park City, Utah, offers a package with a free third night, free room upgrade and $50 dining credit. It's a nice deal at this luxury mountain resort that's good now and lasts well into fall. The deal: The SunSational Savings package includes a food and wine credit good at the hotel's Jean-Georges J&G Grill, the Wine Vault or the casual Ski Beach. Use promotion code "ZS3" when making a reservation. This deal might work for spring skiers or snowboarders who are planning a late-season trip.

"The Hunger Games" is big enough of a draw this weekend that movie theaters don't have to do much to sell tickets — in the opening hours, hundreds of thousands of fans dropped nearly $20 million for admission. But those who showed up at the Megaplex Theatre in Sandy, Utah, for the first screenings were able to participate in their own (nonlethal) version of the cinematic teen death match, donning sumo wrestling suits, picking up laser guns and jousting with inflatable swords. Before battling strangers and friends, patrons could visit Cinna's Salon and have their eyes decorated with glitter — just like the film's heroine, Katniss, gets dolled up by a stylist named Cinna before she's thrown into the arena.