Planning a trip to Zion National Park? Let Traveler help you plan some of your exploration of this southwestern Utah wonder with our checklist to the park.

After leaving Mesa Verde National Park, David and Kay Scott, on the road to update their guidebook, "The Complete Guide To the National Park Lodges," made a stop at Canyon de Chelly National Monument for a stay at the Thunderbird Lodge. It is one of their favorite destinations in the Southwest.

Take a fiddle or three, add in a banjo, a guitar, and perhaps a standup bass and you have the key ingredients for a rich, traditional American artform: Bluegrass. The story of how this uniquely American musical genre came to be will soon be told at the Blue Ridge Music Center along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Ahh spring in the national parks. It's a great time to witness the arrival of wildflowers, wildlife on the move, and, in more than a few parks, the road crews with their orange vests and flags. In Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, these crews will be highly visible this summer, much to the chagrin of drivers.