Floyd's Travels and Thoughts on Life: National Parks of the Colorado Plateau

In September 2025 I joined a Journeys by Rail tour of the National Parks of the Colorado Plateau. I left Union Station in Chicago and traveled on Amtrak's California Zephyr to Grand Junction, Colorado, where I left the train and boarded a tour bus with a tour guide, a very no-nonsense bus driver, and 34 other people. We were to explore many places on the Colorado Plateau, a vast uplifted high desert area with stunning canyons, mesas, buttes and dramatic rock formations. The area consists of many layers of sedimentary rock sculpted over millenia by the Colorado River and many other natural forces. The area is arid (10 inches of rain or less annually) and makes up parts of 4 states: CO, AZ, NM, and UT. It also is the site of some of the best National Parks in the U.S. In order, this is what we witnessed and explored during the next 9 days: Arches NP, a boat trip up the Colorado River, Capitol Reef NP, ancient petroglyphs representative of Fremont Rock Art (450 - 1300 AD), Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument, Bryce National Park, Zion National Park, a visit to Glen Canyon Dam (one of the largest of the 15 dams on the main route of the Colorado River) and a boat ride on Lake Powell, and then lastly two wonderful days at one of the natural wonders of the world -- Grand Canyon National Park. Here are some photos of what was a wonderful trip.