When Niece Kelly and Brother-in-law Lynn invited me to join them on a September road trip to southern Utah, I decided to climb out of the Covid cacoon and go along. I had gone nowhere in six months, cancelled eight trips and was — like everyone I knew — going stir-crazy at home.

My late sister, Carla, had lived in Salt Lake City in the mid-70s when she was completing her master’s degree as part of her Air Force career. Our family visited Carla for two Christmas holidays and enjoyed skiing and seeing the sights in the SLC area.

Little did I know what magnificence we had missed in the five national parks in Southern Utah: Canyonlands, Arches, Bryce, Zion and Capital Reef. Each one was more beautiful than the next.

Before we left, we laid down the ground-rules. We would share the driving throughout the trip. Lynn rented a SUV so we had plenty of room in the car for the three of us, our luggage and half a back seat full of too many snacks for three people to eat in ten days. Lynn selected the hotels and the route to get us through Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kansas, Colorado and to our first parks, Canyonlands and Arches just outside of Moab, Utah.

If anyone felt uncomfortable going into any restaurants, we could say so and we all would leave. And of course, if anyone got sick, we would head straight home. We ate most of our meals outside and wore our masks religiously when around other people.

As soon as we hit our first park, Canyonlands, I knew we were in for a treat. The majesty of the scenery was overwhelming — especially for a flatlander from Florida. Everywhere you looked, you saw something spectacular. The air was crisp and clean and worries seemed to fade away.

One of the most uplifting parts of the trip was seeing so many people wearing masks. It seemed like every person who visited the national parks was keenly aware of the pandemic, carefully prepared and respectful of others they met along the way. When walking a trail, folks stepped aside to let others pass by. Many people wore masks even when hiking outside.

I was also struck by the treasures that we have in our national parks, supported by our tax revenues. While so many complain and whine about what we pay in taxes, I must say that supporting our roads, schools, infrastructure and national parks seemed more like a priviledge than an obligation. If only every citizen could see the beauty of our national parks, I think they would agree that we are so lucky to have preserved these incredible properties.

Our driving days were long (8-10 hours) but we had five days of visiting parks and short drives. The hotels all seemed fine. There was no room servicing if you stayed more than one night. Some hotel restaurants were closed, others had limited service. The national parks had no food service, so we bought sandwich fixings at a local grocery store and ate lunches picnic style in the parks.

After staying home for so long, it did my heart good to get outside, see our beautiful country and spend time with family. For RVers, now is the perfect time to see the United States. You can stay safe in your camper and travel wherever you like. We ran into people from all over and many were on two- or three-month adventures. Some were escaping the fires in California but everyone seemed to enjoy the chance to get outside, hike and enjoy the scenery in our beautiful country.