Day 8 - Zion National Park

And I thought Monument Valley was tops.  What we experienced today makes Monument Valley the Hors d'œuvre! Just the appetizer to the scenery that was to come!

Zion National Park is arguably the most beautiful place the we have ever been privileged to see.  For those of you who may not believe one can feel more in union with one place than another, just skip this blog!
>From the time we entered the park, I felt a presence, an almost mystical sense of a "spirit" of which at first I could not fully understand; I only knew that I felt I had entered into a sacred sanctuary. Only until we took the guided tour, and learned the history of the park was I able to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Shortly after the pioneers settled in the area, (after the Anasazi Indians had left the area and moved to the southwest due to drought), an explorer named John Wesley Powell (yes, he was a Methodist!)  visited Zion on the first scientific exploration of the park.  As a result of what he saw, he was impressed to name the sights after Biblical history.
For example, he named a group of three magnificent mountain peaks "The Patriarchs" after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  A narrow ledge of rock that reached up into the sky he named "Angels Landing."  An imposing whitish-colored mountain he named "The Great White Throne." There is also "The Pulpit and the Altar."  As the guide began to share how Powell chose the names so many, many years ago, I began to realize the "spirit" I was feeling was the Spirit of our God, the One who created Zion National Park.

I could go on and on about this place, but I don't want to be boring (and I might run out of space!)  I must say though that I found healing and strength in this place.  I was astounded when I later read the National Park Service's Guide to Zion that ended with these words "Perhaps today Zion is again a sanctuary, a place of life and hope."
Whoever wrote those words could not have known ... or maybe they do?