A scenic 9-day Southwest parks route for Max + Jessi: fly Madison to Las Vegas on Sep 15, rent a car, anchor on Zion and Bryce, then arc through Capitol Reef and Moab before returning to Vegas.
This is a candidate architecture, not final reservations. It favors scenic overlooks, official short walks, sunrise/sunset timing, and enough slack that Jessi is not asked to win a desert triathlon for content.
Built for September shoulder-season light, scenic payoff, and sane drive pacing from Las Vegas.
Pick a Madison departure that does not require goblin-hour misery, land in Vegas, grab the rental car, groceries, and make a low-drama drive toward St. George. Valley of Fire is optional only if flight timing is kind.
Make Zion the anchor: early start, shuttle logistics, riverside scenery, Emerald Pools or Pa’rus-style options, shade breaks, and a real lunch plan. Iconic, but not punishing.
Use this as the pressure valve: repeat the best Zion light, choose a gentler Kolob Canyons scenic drive, or keep the afternoon empty. This is where the trip avoids becoming a spreadsheet with trail dust.
Leave Zion without rushing, take UT-9/US-89 scenery seriously, and aim for Bryce viewpoints in forgiving light. Short rim walks beat ambitious canyon descents if knees/energy vote no.
This is one of the prettiest drive days in the plan. Keep it about overlooks, coffee, Boulder/Escalante texture, and arriving in Torrey with enough energy for pie or sunset. Mandatory? No. Worth considering? Very.
Do Capitol Reef as a scenic sampler — Fruita, orchards, overlooks, maybe one short official walk — then drive to Moab. This is a transition day, not a secret endurance event.
Timed-entry rules need a live check. Best pattern: early iconic windows/viewpoints, lunch and recovery, then a low-walking sunset option like Dead Horse Point if everyone still has a soul by 5pm.
Island in the Sky can be very high payoff per step: Mesa Arch area, Grand View, Green River Overlook. Or this becomes brunch/pool/laundry/coffee and one sunset overlook. Both are valid. The trip needs this valve.
Moab to Vegas is long enough to respect. The clean version is an early start and evening flight; the safer version adds a Cedar City/St. George buffer the night before if airfare timing is ugly.
Quick buttons draft a revision prompt for the Las Vegas round-trip board. V1 can wire this to an authenticated endpoint; for now it stays client-side and private to your browser until you copy/share it.