Drawing analogues between Utah or Idaho and Mars is like comparing a hot spring to a glacier. The environments are in no way comparable.

Sure, Utah is dry, but Mars is about 1000 times drier due to the low atmospheric pressure. The fO2 is completely different by orders of magnitude. Average temperatures differ by about 70 C. Radiation environments are wholly different due to Earth's thick atmosphere and active magnetosphere.

Most importantly, the surface of Idaho is surrounded by riotous organic growth over the whole of the Earth's surface and even carried aloft in its atmosphere.

To a first approximation, Mars' surface is dead everywhere.