Why can’t I see any detail on planets? I really want to know why I can’t see detail on planets.

This summer my Dad and I went on a trip to Utah I went outside to look at the planets and couldn’t see detail on Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. Saturn's rings were visible but very faint and Jupiter was a white ball and then it’s four moons, this was all out in the middle of nowhere with 0 light pollution at 6000ft. 

We then went into Bryce Canyon at 9100ft and still the same outcome the only difference was a very very faint strip on Jupiter, and it’s so dry in Utah and at an altitude of 9100ft where the atmosphere is not as heavy. 

Is there still dew? Is my telescope not powerful enough I have an Astromaster 130 reflector and a 60az explorerscope refractor. I’m very confused
Planets are really small!  (when seen from Earth) 

Deepskywatch has an example of what can been seen with a 150mm reflector and a magnification of x180 (ie slightly more than your Astromaster which has a 130mm main mirror, and comes with a x65 eyepiece)



You should be able to see the 4 moons, and one or two bands on Jupiter. This assumes good "seeing" (the amount of turbulence in the air, not the same as the clarity of the air), and a properly collimated and aligned telescope lens.

There are lots of other good deep-sky targets that benefit more from a dark sky than the planets.