This has to be short, because writing things takes time! Pictures will
follow in a later e-mail. --ashish
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Mar 28 thursday: I board the 9pm flight from SFO to Las Vegas. I get a
free upgrade to first-class! Since I didn't want to try any alcoholic
beverages, that only meant that I got a larger seat to relax and something
more than just salted pretzels to eat. Outside it was bright because of
the full-moon and I got a splendid view of the snow capped peaks of the
Sierra Nevada range. I saw a light at what looked like a mountain pass,
and I was convinced that it was Tioga pass, a conviction which was later
confirmed when I saw the huge mono lake soon after.

11pm: I checked into the Marriot suites at Las Vegas. Las Vegas was, as
usual, bright with no effort being made on conserving the slightest of
electricity. I was tired and went to sleep immediately.

Mar 29 friday: Had breakfast at a McDonalds and started off on I-15 at
9am. The stretch in Arizona is quite a pleasure to drive on. I was at the
entrance of Zion Canyon National Park by 1pm. I parked and took the Zion
Canyon free shuttle (courtesy National Park Services) into the park. Got
to the Angels Landing trailhead and started my climb. This 2.5 mile (one
way) hike is interesting because the last 1/2-mile stretch, that takes you
to the top, goes over a really narrow ridge. So, people who are frightened
of heights are usually adviced to not do this hike. From the top, you get
an almost 360 degree view of the Zion Canyon.

I left Zion NP soon after doing this hike and headed further north on I-15
to Cedar Breaks National Monument. I turned onto highway 14, but I soon
found out that Cedar Breaks was closed---as it is located at 9500 ft
elevation and there was a lot of snow on the small road that leads to the
monument, which they hadn't cleared. In any case, I continued driving on
highway 14, which goes over at a high elevation for quite some time.

It was late evening when I got to highway 89 and I soon located a small
motel & restaurant, where I decided to spend the night. I had some
Broccoli soup, small pizza and some milk.

Mar 30, saturday:  A quick drive took me to Bryce Canyon NP. Since I had
seen this park before, I didn't spend much time there. Just said hello to
Bryce and moved onto highway 12. Highway 12 is supposed to be one of the
most scenic highways, it cuts through the Giant staircase national
monument in southern Utah and is very colorful (literally)! On the way, I
took a small detour to Kodachrome State Park, did a 2 mile (roundtrip)
hike there. Continued on 12 until I hit 24. A subway at the 12/24
intersection rescued my starving stomach. Highway 24 matched highway 12 in
every bit, and it got even better as I soon found myself at Capital Reef
National Park. It was around 3pm. I did the scenic drive inside the park,
and did some 5.5 mile of hiking in the canyon narrows (refers to the
narrow bottom of these deep canyons, surrounded on both sides by huge
vertical rocky cliffs). After rainfalls, these places are flooded with
water, but at the time, it was all very dry. At around sunset time, I went
to goosenecks point, where the colorado(?) river made 4 U-turns and carved
a very symmetric canyon...very pretty.

I drove a long way thereafter to interstate 70 and from there to Moab!
Found a place to stay there, went to pizza hut for dinner, and slept.

Mar 31, sunday: A short 5 mile drive to Arches National Park. I spent my
next 6 hours seeing the beatiful arches (all different kinds of them)
there. I did some 6 miles of hiking there. At 2pm, I left Arches and got
to "Dead Horse Point State Park". An hour later, I was inside Canyonlands
National Park. An incredible view from the grand view point at Canyonlands
and a 2 mile hike on the rim were the highlights. You'll have to wait for
the photos to see this...

Started back, had some food at a burger king on I-70. Found a place to
stay in a town close to I-70/I-15 junction.

Apr 1, monday:  Drove back to Las Vegas, and hopped onto the 2:30 flight
to SFO. On the way back, I got a clear view of mono lake and yosemite
national park again!