We have headed to Utah to hike and admire The Mighty Five after the summer crowds have left and before the winter takes hold.
To optimize our park visit time, we have purchased our annual National Parks Pass in advance and we drove without too many stops to get to our first park.
It is amazing to watch the geography, foliage and skyline change along the same latitude simply by heading west. From swampy and tropical to arid desert with a few cities, oil pumpjacks and windmill farms in the mix. We crossed the borders of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and finally Utah. 
We entered Zion National Park early enough to see the canyon’s splendor as we drove to our lodging in Springdale, Utah. We dined with a view of the canyons peaks at the Zion Lodge’s Red Rock Grill sipping prickly pear margaritas and planned our hike schedule.
Where is Wendy 