Zion National Park: A Place of Peace and Sanctuary
“Road trips are the equivalent of human wings. Ask me to go on one, anywhere. We’ll stop in every small town and learn the history and stories, feel the ground, and capture the spirit. Then we’ll turn it into our own story that will live inside our history to carry with us, always. Because stories are more important than things.” – Victoria Erickson
Zion National Park is a natural wonder located in the Southwestern United States, near the town of Springdale, Utah. As I approached the park, the striking beauty of the towering red cliffs took my breath away. The park is home to several natural formations shaped by wind, water, and other natural forces over time.
Zion Canyon, which stretches for 15 miles and is up to half a mile deep, is surrounded by towering sandstone cliffs that change color throughout the day, depending on the sun’s angle. The canyon’s walls are home to several hiking trails, including the famous Angels Landing trail, which offers stunning views of the canyon and its surroundings.
However, I soon learned that this picturesque landscape was a harsh environment that belonged to the Southern Paiute Indians long before the arrival of Mormon pioneers in the early 1850s.
Despite the difficult conditions, these pioneers saw the potential of the land and sought to make it their home. One such settler was Isaac Behunin, who, in 1863, built a one-room log cabin near the Zion Lodge site. Behunin recognized the canyon’s grandeur and called it Zion, saying, “These are the Temples of God, built without the use of human hands. A man can worship God among these great cathedrals as well as in any man-made church – this is Zion.”