(MONEY Magazine) – Autumn leaves

In late October, the foliage is just beginning to change color in the desert Southwest, temperatures have cooled and the tourists are scarcer, making it a great time to visit the region's national parks.

Through November, the red and yellow leaves make Utah's Zion National Park appear to be on fire, and Zion Lodge (888-297-2757; www.zionlodge.com) is the only place you can stay within the park. The 40 four-person cabins with fireplaces and the 81-room lodge, designed in the 1920s by noted national park lodge architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, sit at the base of massive sandstone canyon walls, within walking distance of many hiking trails. From Nov. 1 to Nov. 25, if you book one night in a cabin ($116), lodge room ($107) or suite ($135) at the full price, you'll get half off the second night.

At Arizona's Canyon de Chelly National Monument, you'll find some of the region's best-preserved Anasazi ruins. Because the sites are so old (some 1,200 years old) and on Navajo sacred grounds, you must use an authorized Navajo guide. Thunderbird Lodge (800-679-2473; www.tbirdlodge.com), built around a former 1896 trading post, is the park's only lodge and has a virtual monopoly on tours. Summer rates, which last until Nov. 15 and include a half-day tour, are $102 for a room with a queen bed, $145 for a two-room suite. From Nov. 16 to March 31, the rates drop to $64 and $90, respectively.

Let it snow

SkiEurope (800-333-5533; www.ski-europe.com) has early booking deals available for January. For $589 per person, you get seven nights at the four-star Sailer Hotel in Innsbruck, Austria, including breakfast and round-trip air fare from New York City (from Chicago, add $70; from Los Angeles, $230; other departure cities available). Or visit Italy's chic Cortina d'Ampezzo for $989 per person from New York City. The price includes air fare to Venice, seven nights at the Hotel Bellevue, breakfast and a seven-day car rental. All prices assume double occupancy. Lift tickets are not included; a six-day pass will cost about 145 euros ($148 as of mid-August).

Pocket music

The rage for merging two gadgets into one periodically produces a winning combo. The latest is the Nomad MuVo from Creative, a Zippo-size device that lets you move all kinds of files, including photos, from one computer to another--and listen to MP3 music files. Its detachable flash-memory module plugs into your PC or Mac's USB port--no cables, software or drivers needed. Though it lacks an LCD screen, expandable memory and a rechargeable battery (one AAA battery powers it for 12 hours), the tiny MuVo is affordable (64MB for $130, 128MB for $170), easy to use and relatively indestructible.

Price alert

Sony has long made some of the sharpest LCD computer monitors on the market--for a price. While others were selling 15-inch LCDs for $399 or less, a comparable Sony cost more than $500. With the release of the $449 DeluxePro Series 15-inch flat panel with an $80 rebate, Sony has finally cracked the $400 threshold. The DeluxePro has the crisp image that you'd expect and works with virtually any PC.