It was with great expectations that we two families made this trip.
There was a lot of promise. We were going to that part of earth that (likely) held the record for the highest density of national parks and national monuments. We were going to south-western Utah and northern Arizona. With Zion, Red Canyon, Bryce, Cedar breaks, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Dixie, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyon lands, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Red rock(Sedona), Grand Canyon and probably many more, the list of natural wonders there seemed endless. For the short one week that we reserved for this trip, it was not an easy task to pick what to see and what we could afford to skip. No matter how meticulous we were in our choices and execution, we were for sure going to miss some deserving ones!
In any case, this is how we thought out the plan: we were going to fly into Las Vegas, and drive to some of these places. Because of their proximity to Las Vegas, we were for sure going to do Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. We then debated at length whether to fit Arches National Park and the additional 4 1/2 hours + 4 1/2 hours drive that came with it into our trip or not. There was this tourism adage “if you try to see everything, you will see nothing” hanging over our heads. In the end, we decided to visit Arches. And, as you will see shortly, it turned out to be a good decision!
Following are my reflections on experiences of this trip: