Glorious Utah, the Patriachs

After the puma talk we caught the shuttle bus to see a few views that I had not captured before. The main one was a group of peaks known as Court of the Patriachs. 
You may have noticed a certain biblical tone to the naming of features in Zion.
This area had been occupied for centuries by the Native American Paiute and Ute tribes. The Southern Paiute had grown crops as well as hunting for meat and so were very settled in the Canyon. In the late 1700's the first white people entered the Virgin Valley. Initially traders coming up from New Mexico, were  followed by American fur trappers and government surveyors. The Virgin Valley became a route for wagon trains. In 1847 Brigham Young led his Mormon followers to Utah and the Great Salt Lake  Valley. From here they spread to the more southerly parts of Utah, including Zion. Isaac Behunin built himself a house in the Canyon in 1864 and grew corn, tobacco and fruit trees. The Mormons named the place Zion. The first road was built in the Canyon in 1917 and in 1919 Zion Canyon was established as Zion National Park. The tourist invasion had begun.
We ended our time in the Canyon by walking a little way along the Watchman Trail which follows the Virgin River.

Court of the Patriarchs



The Watchman Trail

The Watchman Trail

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