August 15, 2020
After my strenuous dip into Utah’s national parks, starting at Zion, Bryce Canyon National Park was very “user friendly.” You can drive and park to all of the gorgeous viewpoints–offering the best perspective in which to view its prominent features: 14 amphitheaters of hoodoo action, layers of time-worn rock–some gracing Read more…
August 14, 2020
Like all of this land, indigenous peoples got to know it prior to European-American settlers’ arrival and established names based on its distinguishing features. The Southern Paiute called Cedar Breaks National Monument “u-map-wich”, which translated to “the place where the rocks are sliding down all the time..” The Southern Paiute’s Read more…
August 13, 2020
Before Zion National Park was declared a national park, it was a national monument–Mukuntuweap National Monument, established in 1909. The words of Mormon bigwig Isaac Behunin appealed to decision makers when it received national park designation. He said, “A man can worship God among these great cathedrals as well as Read more…
I will be seeing several ghost towns on my trip through Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Though most will be at the latter end when I am away from the tricky landscapes–within previous Gold Rush hot spots. But Grafton, established 1859 on order of Mormon bigwig Brigham Young, is right outside Read more…