Grand Junction offers so many options you might want to stay over an extra night. Some of the best white water rafting in the country is available through companies that can pick you up at your campground. Colorado National Monument, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Orchard Mesa and the hairy mountain drive up to Telluride are all possibilities if you have an extra day to spend.

And there's another choice. If you think Grand Junction is too long of a drive from Lawrence, you can stop an hour earlier at Glenwood Springs. Its attractions begin with the world's largest hot springs. There's more rafting, hiking trails and a short drive out to the ski resorts of Snowmass and Aspen.

The drive from Grand Junction to Bryce Canyon is an epic, one of the most bizarre and spectacular highway trips in America. You will not only see spectacular country, but the scenery changes around every bend until your senses are overloaded. You can use up two rolls of film just on this drive. Some of the scenes are so surreal they look like you're on a foreign planet, and the fact that for long stretches you won't see any other vehicles only adds to the effect. To start this odyssey, get back on I-70 at Grand Junction (or Glenwood Springs) and follow it west into Utah. Make sure your gas tank is full.

You could add a few days to your trip by pulling off at Thompson Springs and taking 191 20 miles down to Arches National Park. You can camp there, in Moab, or over at Dead Horse Point State Park. We like the state park, but prepare for another unreal experience if you set up camp, drive into Moab to eat or look around, then return to your campsite after dark. The road and surrounding terrain will be thick with jackrabbits, hopping around in the dark so thickly you'll be forced to slow down. But the big attraction next day will be Canyonlands National Park, Edward Abbey's favorite haunt. This is a huge expanse of high cliffs, strange rock formations, thundering rivers, 100 degree heat and reminders that Indians and outlaws frequented the area. The Arches - Moab - Canyonlands area is a center of white water rafting and slickrock biking.

But if you're pressed for time, just stay on I-70 on to Exit 147 and take Route 24 South. From here all day to Bryce Canyon you'll be on a Designated Scenic Highway. Don't worry about the time. You don't have that far to go. Enjoy the show. You'll start off with a half an hour drive across salt flats between San Rafael Reef and the Henry Mountains. Then you'll turn West into Capitol Reef National Park, with the Waterpocket Fold Cliffs extending out to the South. As you come through Fremont Canyon you'll want to stop at the Indian hieroglyphics on the cliffs to your right. There's a Visitor Center worth a stop, for rest rooms if nothing else, and then you take Route 12 South. You'll climb high onto the Escalante Plateau. Along this road you'll be above and north of Glen Canyon and the Navajo Reservation. You'll want to stop frequently and look out one way or the other at the scenery far below you stretching out to the horizon.

For the next several days, you can drop down into the valley by different routes, winding through formations like Shipwreck and The Grotto. You'll immerse yourself in a bewildering maze of hoodoos, natural bridges, spires, cathedrals, domes, and slots. You'll find a series of loop trails with connecting spurs, so you can mix and match combinations to set up whatever lengths you want. No matter where you enter or exit the trail system, you always find yourself within a few miles of the lodge or one of the campgrounds when you emerge. Whichever trail you choose, you'll be dropping far down and climbing steep switchbacks to get back to the rim, in unshaded sun, 100 plus temperatures and bright reflecting surfaces. You can take half of one day for a mule or horseback ride through the canyon on entirely separate trails. Take advantage of one of the Astronomy Nights, taking advantage of the incredibly clear and dark skies for superb viewing.