National Parks II (CO/AZ/UT)

Capitol Reef NP: The scenic drive is quite nice, but cannot compete with the splendor of the other parks. In Fruita, a ghost town, a few buildings are conserved. The petroglyphs on the stone walls at the other side of the highway are certainly historically valuable, but fail to impress us.

Canyonlands NP: The park is divided into three parts by the two major rivers, the Colorado and the Green River; there are no road connections between the different areas within the park. The landscape is characterized by deep canyons, which can be watched from certain viewpoints.

Arches NP: The park has the largest concentration of natural stone arches in the world, with over 2,000 “arches” counted to date. In addition, there are a lot of bizarre stone formations having such strange names as The Three Gossips, Babel Tower or Balanced Rock. The most famous destination is 14 meters high Delicate Arch, which decorates the cover of many travel guides of the American southwest.

Rocky Mountain NP: The national park just outside Denver is crossed by the Trail Ridge Road, which runs across the continental divide from Grand Lake in the west to Estes Park in the east. The park is a hiker’s paradise where, with a little luck, you can see moose and other wildlife.