The five beautiful national parks of south Utah will always have a special significance for me.
In September of 2001 my dear friend, Andrea Townsend and I had planned a fun adventure to tour the five parks in her home state. Then 9/11 happened. After the shock and horror of that day, we wondered if we should just stay home with our families and play it safe. After spending weeks glued to the TV news, we were depressed and scared for the future of our country but as the weeks grew closer to our scheduled trip we eventually decided that this trip was exactly what was needed to do. We agreed to turn off the news and instead we would turn our minds and hearts to the positive and hopeful by reconnecting with the great beauty of God's world in our National Parks. Knowing that the God who created the beauty before us, was also in control of the chaos of these days and we would always be safe in His hands.
So we spent an amazing week together. First in Arches National Park (pictured above) then traveling through Canyonlands NP, Capitol Reef NP, and Bryce NP before completing our heart filling journey in Zion NP.
Established as a national park in 1919, this area is considered by most geologists to be the planets largest dune field, blown here from the Appalachian Mountains, back during the Jurassic era. Today, a glorious vision of sandstone cliffs, rushing rivers and lush greenery. Issac Behunin, an early settler in the area once exclaimed "A man can worship God among these great cathedrals as well as in any man man-made church - this is Zion"
And the name stuck!
Andrea and I hiked the trails, took in the milky way on a clear night, laughed, prayed and sang together. This weeks National Park Art is of Angels Landing, one of my favorite vista's .... I do believe that their are angels everywhere watching over us, especially in these days and I can't imagine a better place for them to arrive than here!
Established as a national park in 1919, this area is considered by most geologists to be the planets largest dune field, blown here from the Appalachian Mountains, back during the Jurassic era. Today, a glorious vision of sandstone cliffs, rushing rivers and lush greenery. Issac Behunin, an early settler in the area once exclaimed "A man can worship God among these great cathedrals as well as in any man man-made church - this is Zion"
And the name stuck!
Andrea and I hiked the trails, took in the milky way on a clear night, laughed, prayed and sang together. This weeks National Park Art is of Angels Landing, one of my favorite vista's .... I do believe that their are angels everywhere watching over us, especially in these days and I can't imagine a better place for them to arrive than here!
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| Andrea and Barbara - Zion National Park - September 2001 |
Learn more about the National Parks in Utah by visiting:
www.nps.gov/state/ut/
http://utah.com/itinerary/grand-circle-tour
http://utah.com/itinerary/grand-circle-tour
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