I recently took an eight-day bus tour of national parks out west including the “Mighty 5” in Utah: Arches, Zion, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Bryce Canyon. While Arches National Park was on my bucket list to complete, the entire trip was amazing with all promised services and activities delivered and then some. Below are ten Barbservations:
Travel in Later
Life-
There were several people on the tour in their late 80s who were not able to
partake fully in scheduled hikes at the parks. There were definitely past the
“go-go” (65-74) and “slow-go” (75-84) retirement years. One older gentleman lost
his balance and took a nasty fall, requiring a trip to the ER. I couldn’t help
but think that he should have taken the trip a decade earlier. If you are an older
traveler with balance issues, bring a walking stick.
Career Change
Success Story-
Our excellent tour guide worked for the National Park Service for 27 years
before he was DOGE-ed in 2025. His NPS knowledge and experience added so much
to our understanding of the parks and the state of Utah, where he lived. The
federal government’s loss (now they want him back!) was our gain. His story is
a reminder that people can often transfer well-honed job skills to a new
workplace or self-employment (like I did).
Amazing Scenery- Rock formations
throughout the five national parks and the national monuments (federally
protected areas that are generally smaller than national parks) that we visited
were breathtaking. An extra special treat was synchronized music with our
travel itinerary such as Rocky Mountain High in the Rockies, movie
soundtracks when we drove up mountains, and Viva Las Vegas when we
pulled into Las Vegas.
Benefits of a
Travel Agent-
I was part of a small group that used a Cruise Planners travel agent and two-thirds
of the bus came with a travel agent from AAA. Our travel agent negotiated an
excellent value package for us including airfare and airport transfers. Travel
agents frequently have access to discounted rates and special promotions.
New Technology
Tools- During
this trip, I used WhatsApp for the first time. WhatsApp is a free instant
messaging app owned by Meta. The tour guide invited us to join a messaging
group where he shared messages, schedules, and graphic images. He also used
another new (to me) tool, PhotoCircle, to share photos taken during the tour.
Neutral Topics- We were warned
in advance not to discuss “touchy” topics like religion, politics, and current
events and, best I could tell, everyone complied, even with the White House
cage fight and Washington, DC reflection pool stories being reported at that time. It was
refreshing to simply “be present” in the moment, see less national news, and
focus on what we were seeing and doing and neutral topics like the weather and
where we live.
Payment Methods- Several
locations did not take cash including a downtown Denver hotel restaurant and
several national park concessions. Not sure why. I asked ChatGPT and reasons
included reducing the risk of robbery, and employee theft, lower cash-handling
costs, and easier accounting. Conversely, some venues charged a 3% fee to use a
credit card, presumably to offset the merchant’s fee that they are charged.
National Park Status- I did not see any
evidence of poor service following the 2025 federal government staff
reductions. Park rangers were readily available as guides and to answer questions and
gift shops and bathrooms were clean. I did notice long lines for cars to enter
the national parks but we breezed in early in a special lane for busses.
National Park
Stamps-
Stamps were available at each of the national parks and monuments and people
flocked to stamp their national park passports with a free ink cancellation stamp showing the park’s name and
the date of their visit. I learned that there are more than 430 units managed
by the National Park Service, including national parks, national monuments,
national historic sites, national seashores, national battlefields, and other
protected areas.
Wildfire Danger- While we were
driving throughout Utah, our tour guide pointed out some newly forming fires
way off in the distance. Several days after we came home, huge wildfires in
southern Utah were on the national news. I sincerely hope that our tour guide, his
family and his property are safe as well as others who we met along the way.
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