This is the first in a series of posts about visiting 12 national parks in Utah and Arizona over 9 days.

When facing a “milestone” birthday, the Grand Canyon seems like a good place to mark the occasion. How better to contemplate one’s mortality than to stare at a big hole in the ground? That was the joke that inspired our spring vacation. Ultimately, we planned a 9-day drive trip through twelve national parks in Utah and Arizona, using AAA TripTik and Magellan GPS to map the route.

We flew into Las Vegas and picked up our rental car. First good omen: a free upgrade to a hybrid SUV, big savings on gas for the 1,300-mile trip. We stayed in Sin City long enough to find a grocery store, where we bought a $6 cooler, a bag of ice, a case of bottled water and enough food for a week’s worth of breakfast and lunch. We knew we could count on dinner wherever we went, but services are limited in some of the more remote parks, so we planned to enjoy the world’s most scenic picnic spots.

Leaving the desert sprawl of Vegas, we headed north on I-15 into the red hills of Utah. Within a few hours, we were in Springdale, checking into the Three Diamond Desert Pearl Inn, a cool boutique hotel tucked up against the ruby cliffs of Zion National Park. We could have hopped aboard a free shuttle for a ride to the park gate, but we opted to walk—the weather was beautiful.

Zion Valley is closed to personal vehicles; buses run continuously in town and at the visitor center, except in the winter. The first thing we did was buy a National Park Annual Pass, which would pay for itself within a few stops. We didn’t have long to wait for a shuttle, and most of the riders were leaving the park for the day. The driver narrated as we rode along a winding road through the canyon, following the placid Virgin River. The sunset tinted the canyon walls a deep crimson.

Amateur photographers lined up with their tripods, waiting for a moonlit shot at the Great White Throne. It was dark by the time we reached the last stop, Temple of Sinawava, but we could see climbers on the rock face settling in for the night—suspended hundreds of feet above the ground. Walking back to our hotel, we found the Whiptail Grill, a wonderful little café in an old gas station. The heater was blowing on the patio, and we sipped wine under the stars and congratulated ourselves for a perfect first day of vacation.

Zion Valley and Bryce Canyon
The next morning, we were up before dawn, driving east on SR 9 to the Canyon Overlook Trail. We’d been warned to expect crowds at the parking lot just past the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, but it was empty. We hiked in peace, enjoying the solitude. By the time we reached the overlook, the sun was just gilding the tips of the famous Zion landmarks—Bridge Mountain, West Temple, Altar of Sacrifice, Streaked Wall, the Sentinel. It was cold up there in the wind, so we didn’t stay long.
Back in the warm car, we continued east through the park on SR 9, marveling at the scenery. In the dawn light, the slickrock—petrified sand dunes—was truly dazzling. We went as far as Checkerboard Mesa, a gray tower of crosshatched rock, before turning around. (Most people going to Bryce Canyon continue on this route to US 89.) Our next stop: the Kolob Canyons.

Fewer visitors see this section of the park—it’s about 40 miles from Springdale, north on US 15. Much of Zion’s wilderness is accessible only to backcountry hikers, so with our schedule, we were glad to find a way to see some of the valley by car. The 5-mile drive along Taylor Creek through narrow finger canyons was well worth the trip.

After lunch in Cedar City, we headed east on SR 14 and the Markagunt High Plateau Scenic Byway, which climbs to 11,000 feet overlooking Zion Canyon from the north. (Before leaving Springdale, we’d checked to make sure the pass was open.) Snowdrifts were six feet high, and signs warned of avalanches, but the sun was shining and the road was dry—what an adventure. We’d been in 80-degree Orlando a day earlier, so we couldn’t resist getting out of the car to make snowballs. The road to Cedar Breaks National Monument was closed for the winter, but according to the signs, we drove through the southern boundary. It counts, right?

By early afternoon, we reached the gate for Bryce Canyon National Park. As a friend explained, you enter Zion Canyon from the bottom and Bryce from the top, so as the road climbed through the trees toward Bryce Canyon Lodge, we didn’t see much. Mule deer grazed in the fields, and prairie dogs scurried around their burrows. (Wildlife sightings were rare on this trip.) Then we glimpsed a lone outcropping of the fabled hoodoos—eroded sandstone formations—and jumped out to take a picture.

Our cabin was less than a hundred yards from the canyon rim, so after unloading the car, we walked up the path—and stood there, stunned. The earth dropped away at our feet, and the lacework canyon stretched on for miles in rainbow shades of orange, red, pink and purple. Mother Nature has done some of her most creative work here, carving sandstone into intricate turrets and spires, some as tall as ten-story buildings.

Feeling energized, we started down the Navajo Loop Trail to get a closer look at the hoodoos. Thanks to the spring thaw, the mud was a foot deep in the slot canyon known as Wall Street, and we watched three hikers lose their boots. Backtracking, we chose the “easier” trail to the Queen’s Garden, about 300 vertical feet down. Here’s the catch—we had to hike back up.

A note about hiking. The signs for all of the park trails we took on our trip said “Level of Difficulty: Easy to Moderate.” These paths were often steep, jagged and slippery. We’re both in pretty good shape, so we had fun, but I couldn’t help thinking: If this is what the rangers call “easy,” there must be bodies littering the “hard” trails.

And then there's the problem of altitude. Bryce Canyon, like many of the parks we visited, was above 7,000 feet in elevation, and we were coming from sea level. By the end of the week, I could barely walk up a flight of steps without gasping for breath. Fatigue, headache and nausea are other common symptoms of altitude sickness. For most people, getting plenty of water and sleep is enough to combat the effects, but for those of us who need more help, prescription medicine is available (next time).

We’d meant to attend the ranger astronomy program that night—Bryce Canyon is one of the best places on earth for stargazing, thanks to the lack of light pollution—but after our hike, we both crashed and didn’t wake up in time. Our cabin had a fireplace, so we made turkey sandwiches from the cooler and ate a late dinner beside a crackling blaze.

Next: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, Arches National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park.