Zion National Park

As wondrous and mesmerizing as slot canyons in southern Utah and northern Arizona can be, they can be even more deadly, as last week's tragedy at Zion National Park underscores.

Search and rescue crews at Zion National Park on Thursday recovered the seventh and final body from a group of canyoneers who entered a tight slot canyon on Monday for what they thought would be a relatively short, but enjoyable, journey through one of the park's serpentine wonderlands only to be overcome by raging waters of a flash flood.

Ongoing vandalism investigations, possible new "national parks," and 3 million visitors to Yellowstone National Park are among the stories floating about the National Park System.

It's not often that I'm stopped in my tracks by a product. After a quick loop through our local REI in Salt Lake City a while back, I headed over to International Mountain Equipment just a few doors away. This small shop is the real deal for climbers and outdoors people. It's the type of store that sells things you'll use for decades until they wear out. So, as I looked over some climbing nuts and harnesses I spotted a book on the glass counter: the 3D Atlas of Zion National Park in Utah. Sounded interesting.