Postscript

It's been over a month since our return, so it's a good time to summarize the adventure. We had a wonderful time, and as always, we are excellent travel partners. I doubt that most couples enjoy being together constantly for 6 weeks as much as we do.

And as always, we thank you for reading along. We do this primarily to remind ourselves of fun places and events. But it is gratifying when others find it interesting...especially folks in other countries that we don't even know (We're talking to YOU, France and Russia!)

We'll just give a brief summary of each destination, in order of the itinerary, with highlights and downsides. And we'll note whether we'd visit there again, or if we've seen/done everything and---as we say---we have "bagged it."

Great Basin
We had never even heard of this park until we started planning this trip. This is a gem: beautiful scenery, nice trails, no crowds, with the bonus of excellent caverns to explore on a guided tour. The park is clean and unspoiled, probably because it is so unknown.
One downside: good nearby accommodations are lacking. But we'd definitely go back again.

Cedar Breaks
Amazing colors in rock, but definitely upstaged by its more dramatic cousin on the other side of the plateau, Bryce Canyon. Cedar Breaks is a nice park, but has limited hiking trails. There is a stunning 360 degree view from the peak of Bryan Head, right outside of the park. Because there are much more amazing landscapes relatively nearby at Bryce and Zion Canyons, and because we've seen pretty much all of it, we would say,
"Bagged it"

Bryce Canyon
An extensive canyon with vivid colors and spectacular formations, with some fine trails down into the hoodoos.
Downside: can be EXTREMELY crowded.
Definitely a place we would recommend, but since we've been here twice and done all the trails we want to do: ---bagged it.

Zion Canyon
This was our second time here as well, and we were really looking forward to revisiting a couple of lovely trails from our first stay. But due to high temperatures, we only walked---or rather, >waded< ---the Narrows, which was a major highlight. Zion is a stunning piece of natural beauty that we compare to Yosemite, but with less water.
Downside: it can be insanely hot and insanely crowded.
Nevertheless, since there is so much to see and do, we would go again... but always in the off season.

Grand Canyon North Rim
The far less-crowded side of this must-see canyon. Some excellent hiking available, or you can drive to different lookout points over the canyon. There are some accommodations outside the park, but it's a bit of a drive. We found the cabin at the Lodge to be basic, but quite comfy. And it's a quick stroll to the canyon rim. Excellent dining at the Lodge, though you need reservations. Can be crowded, but its more remote location keeps it from being like the relative Disneyland at the South Rim.
We'd go again.

Vermillion Cliffs
This is a fairly young park, and as such there is limited access. In fact, we would have had no way to see what we saw here without being part of a small guided tour. But the South Coyote Buttes section was one of the highlights of this whole trip: the most amazing landscape we have ever seen. A photographer's dream location.
Downside: You can only access this spot with a BLM Permit. And unless you are a SERIOUS off road expert with the right vehicle, you could get into a lot of trouble here.
We would absolutely go here again, but would want the same guide service--- Paria Outpost Outfitters--- They were great.

Lower Antelope Canyon
Another amazing sight, being at the bottom of a slot canyon full of vibrant color. Outstanding photo spot, as evidenced by our 200+ photos here.
Downside: The only access is with a guided tour. We lucked out with an excellent guide who was interesting and fun, with a minimum of canned chatter.
Again, a place we'd recommend. But we've probably bagged it.

Lake Powell
Interesting tour through the dam.
Downside: The Lake Powell boat tour, however, was something we should have skipped. It's cool to see canyon walls from a boat. But after seeing Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon, this is like taking a tour of your bathtub.
Bagged it and threw out the bag.

Monument Valley
Wonderful desert landscape, but there's only one short hiking trail. The drive past the Lodge was big fun in our Subaru. But with mud up to the doorsills I wouldn't have wanted a lot of other vehicles. The Navajo-owned View Hotel was excellent. But because we've seen about all we can see there, we've bagged it.

Mesa Verde
Fascinating ancestral Puebloan ruins, some nice hikes. Wonderful history lesson.  And half the park was closed for the season when we were there. Accommodation at the lodge was comfortable.
Downside: Only place to eat dinner is at the lodge, which is pretty pricey. But you can always make the mistake of eating at the bar---as we did.
We'd definitely go again, but first we would revisit Chaco Canyon.

Chaco Canyon
Another highlight of our trip. We had heard from several people how amazing this place is. They were right. This was the heart of a sophisticated culture, and we find it fascinating to be in places with such rich history. The ranger-guided tours added a lot to our understanding and appreciation.
Downside: unless you want to camp, and are lucky enough to get a campsite, it is a looooong and arduous drive to get here; 75 miles from the nearest motel, 17 miles of which are on unpaved road that can be brutal.
But we would go again.

Canyon de Chelly
A beautiful canyon of green in the middle of desert.
Downside: because the bottom is all Navajo land, the only way to get into it (other than one trail) is with a local guide. This can be interesting. But otherwise all you can do is drive to viewpoints and look over the edge. Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon both offer a much more intimate connection with what we want to see.
Bagged it.

Painted Desert/Petrified Forest
These two conjoined parks were a very pleasant surprise. Both offer overlooks of brightly "painted" landscapes, dotted with logs of petrified wood. An amazing place that we stopped at just because it was on the way. We wanted more time there, so we would go again.

Sedona
We know that Sedona is a very special place to many. But we found it to be over-rated, over-priced, over-commercialized and over-run. It is a beautiful site for a city, surrounded by towering red rock. But we saw far more impressive rocks elsewhere. In Sedona you can step out of your room and see it, but we don't mind driving or hiking to be in the middle of beauty. And if you do want to hike around here, be prepared to fight a traffic jam at the parking areas. A good place to be seen at the bar, take a Pink Jeep Tour, or get your aura photographed, but those are not our priorities.
Downside: See above
There are some pretty and interesting places nearby, such as Montezuma's Well and Montezuma's Castle (neither having any real association with the Aztec ruler), and the little town of Clarkdale where we stayed, just outside of Sedona, was lovely.
Balanced our own chakras and Bagged it.

Meteor Crater
OK, this isn't a national park. And it is a bit of a tourist trap. But it was very interesting and we're glad we went there.
Downside: despite billboard suggestions to the contrary, we saw not a single extraterrestrial life form (that we know of).
Bagged it.

Sunset Crater/Wupaki National Monument
Another set of conjoined parks that we only visited because they were on our route and we had time.
Sunset Crater is a beautiful volcanic area. Wupaki features more ancient ruins set in the desert. Located pretty close to Flagstaff AZ.
We would have liked more time, so we would return here.

Grand Canyon South Rim
We knew this would be crowded and commercial, so it was no surprise to find fierce competition for a good parking spot. But once we found that spot, we left the car for several days and traveled via the excellent bus system. An awesome trail along the rim, and two trails down into the canyon. Way more options for food here than at North Rim.
Downside: It's basically the reverse of the views we had from the North Rim. Considering the crowds, we would prefer the far more laid-back and natural feel of the North Rim.
Bagged it.

Joshua Tree
So glad we added this park to the itinerary, even if it was kind of an afterthought. A delightful surprise; stunning scenery, history, interesting plant life, some really nice trails, all located just minutes from accommodations and food choices. And despite proximity to LA, it was not crowded.
Downside: You must be crazy to even THINK about visiting here in the heat of summer.
Great park that we would definitely see again.

Getty Villa
Fascinating look at ancient european culture and art, situated in a reconstruction of a huge villa that was buried by the 79 A.D eruption of Vesuvius.
Downside: LA.  We really enjoyed the visit. But since to get there we had to suffer LA traffic (we're talking about 125 miles of traffic-jammed freeway!) and since we've seen it, we would say:
Bagged It. (Did we mention that we hate LA?)

Kings Canyon/Sequoia
Weather forced a cancellation of our visit here. So we shall try it again in the future.
Downside: You must be crazy to even THINK about visiting here in November...like we did.