Why does Utah bother posting signs to designate certain roads as scenic byways when nearly every road in the state is postcard-worthy? The highways run like chutes through red rock canyons and lasso craggy mountainsides as they propel the driver from one geological wonder to the next. In our ten days there, we visited four national parks (Arches, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion), three national monuments (Grand Staircase/Escalante, Bears Ears, Natural Bridges ), Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, numerous national forests, and three state parks (Kodachrome Basin, Dead Horse Point, and Coral Pink Sand Dunes). No, we're not tired, not tired at all. The nipping cold we'd begun to experience in western Wyoming--campgrounds were beginning to close up for the year!--lifted as we slipped into Salt Lake City. By the time we exited the state near St. George in the southwest corner we were surprised to see palm trees! Utah is a magnificent, hardscrabble place whose endless mountains, canyons, raging rivers, and historical sites offer a lifetime of exploration.