Zion National Park

According to the commentary on the shuttle bus in the Zion Valley, Zion is an ancient Hebrew word meaning “Place of Refuge”, and one can imagine the early settlers finding this magnificent secret place and feeling safe and near to the presence of the Creator – everything is SO big, and the road leads one down, down, down, through deep gorges and one-way tunnels, winding back upon itself in an unbelievable series of hairpin bends until at last one reaches the valley floor and the road runs next to the river that carved this gorge in the first place – a small, unassuming river flowing along peacefully, looking deceptively calm and gentle.

Mighty rock faces rise vertically next to the water, and the valley is green with cottonwoods and grass. At the visitors’ centre cars are left in a series of car parks and shuttle buses take visitors to various points of interest along the river, where well-kept trail paths make walking along the river a joy.

The animals in the valley seem almost to enjoy the exposure to humans, and the little squirrels we saw stood on hind legs and posed – no, really, they DID! Mule deer ran across our path, and munched the new leaves on the tree nearby, completely oblivious of the camera clicks of delighted tourist! Despite the number of  people there, the silence and overwhelming peace left one with a lasting sense of having been in a very special, deeply spiritual place of refuge, and we left there very aware of how small we are, and how privileged to have been given a glimpse of  Zion.