If you have very limited time to visit the National Parks, let me tell you, you can do see 3 National Parks including the 28-hr travel time.

We drove from East to West, from Omaha, NE, which was 14hrs from these National Parks. It will be good if you’ll start driving in the morning of your first day out of your 3 days and sleep close to one of the National Parks. On our way to Zion National Park, we stopped by Arches National Park. Slept overnight close to Zion National Park. The parking was terrible at 10am at Zion National Park and we ended up driving around and went to Bryce National Park.

Arches National Park

The hike to the famous arch was so long. In the summer, it was scorching hot. Be prepared. Bring at least a liter of water per person, sunscreen, and wear the most comfortable shoes.

Zion National Park

Make sure to be here early so you can get a good parking spot. At around 10am, we couldn’t find a parking spot so we just drove around and the scenery was still worth our time.

Bryce National Park

This place was majestic. The trek was easy. It could get hot in here, so remember to bring water, sunscreen, and a granola bar with you before trekking. Also, each spot was worth a photo.

On our 3rd and last day, we drove back home. It was a sweet and short trip but our eyes are filled with good views and memories.

Or starting strong but not finishing.

Ningas Cogon has a literal meaning of quick flame in the grass, but a Filipino idiom which means that you only show an initial burst of interest or effort for a new project or task but fails to sustain it over time. It highlights a lack of perseverance and consistency, where something is started with fervor but abandoned once the initial excitement fades.

The past few weeks, the headlines in the Philippines news were about the Nepo babies and their lavish lifestyle. But, they are unacceptable nepo babies because the wealth that they flaunt comes from corruption. Corruption causing the decade flood control problem and other flaws in the societal system where poor and average taxpayers suffer the most.

The sad thing is, we are ningas cogon. We only focus on the initial trending news. We forgot to fight until the end. Let’s take, for example, the case of Alice Guo. Where is she now? Is she getting punished the same way as those poor people convicted for stealing a tray of eggs because they are hungry?

After a while, once this news on nepo babies and billions getting to the pockets of greedy officials and contractors, are we just gonna end up forgiving and forgetting these cold-hearted people? Are we not tired of suffering from floods? While these cold-hearted people enjoy our taxes?

I wanted to remind myself that, as part of the community, it is my responsibility to not forget easily these people who do not play fair in the game of life. May we all learn to persevere and fight for the better life of our next generation.