Scenic Parks Explorer – October 2021
Since COVID added an unsavory element of suspense to my international travels in 2021, in lieu of a “passport required trip” with the obligatory COVID test and wait methodology, I decided to become a “domestic denizen”. I decided this would be an excellent time to tour the U.S., specifically the National Parks of the west. I was not going to waste precious vacation time because the rest of the world had not quite opened up.
This tour was not an intensive “trek til you drop” deal, it was more a taste test or sampling of each park. We literally spent a day in each city over the course of 15 days. The U.S. is a beautiful country that many of us never explore, myself included. You can see our route map above.
13 Cities, 8 states:
Las Vegas, Bryce Canyon, Salt Lake City, Montpelier, Jackson, Moose, Billings, Rapid City, Crow Agency, Interior, Keystone, Denver, Moab
Day 1: Las Vegas, Nevada
We started in Las Vegas, Nevada. Now, I know many people love Vegas but I was definitely not a fan. Since I don’t gamble, drink or smoke so many of the draws of Vegas were definitely lost on me. I found it to be a bit much and somewhat cheesy. LOL! Just my humble opinion but that did not stop me from taking a photo underneath this iconic sign.
Day 2: Zion National Park, Utah
The state of Utah is home to five national parks and I visited four of them on this trip. Zion National Park, located in southwestern Utah, is the most visited of the five sites. Zion is also the state’s first national park. A key draw to the park is Zion Canyon which is features beautiful reddish-tan colored Navajo sandstone. There are numerous hiking trails affording visitors unbelievable views of the natural rock formations and picturesque landscapes. Spanning 229 square miles, the canyon is 15 miles long and a half mile deep in some areas.
In 1909, the canyon was designated a national monument by President William Howard Taft. He also changed the name to Mukuntuweap, which the original inhabitants, the Southern Paiutes, called the region. Mukuntuweap means “straight canyon”. Then, in 1918, Horace Albright, the Acting Director of the newly formed National Park Service, changed the park’s name to Zion National Monument. Zion is a term used by the Mormons taken from the ancient Hebrew meaning ‘sanctuary or refuge’.
Name Change
According to historian Hal Rothman, the name change played to a prevalent bias of the time. Many believed that Spanish and Indian names would deter visitors who, if they could not pronounce the name of a place, might not bother to visit. They believed the new name, Zion, had greater appeal to an ethnocentric audience. Subsequently, on November 19, 1919, Congress redesignated the monument as Zion National Park and President Woodrow Wilson signed the act.
Human Habitation
Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small family groups of Native Americans, one of which was the semi-nomadic Basketmaker Anasazi (c. 300 CE). Subsequently, the Virgin Anasazi culture (c. 500) and the Parowan Fremont group developed as the Basketmakers abandoned their nomadic life and settled in permanent communities. Both the Virgin Anasazi and Parowan moved away by 1300 CE and were then replaced by the Parrusits and several other Southern Paiute subtribes. By 1858, the Mormons had entered the area and by the 1860s had started settlements.
Geography
The park has a unique geography and a variety of life zones that allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park’s four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches.
Day 3: Bryce Canyon, Utah
Bryce Canyon National Park, also located in southwestern Utah, was designated a national monument by President Warren G. Harding on June 8, 1923.
Hoodoos
The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon, which despite its name, is not actually a canyon, but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters. Bryce’s defining features are irregular columns of rock called “hoodoos” formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of the river and lakebed sedimentary rocks. With their otherworldly appearance, the red, orange, and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular views for park visitors. While hoodoos exist on every continent, Bryce Canyon is home to the largest concentration found anywhere on Earth.
Early Inhabitants
Unfortunately, little is known about the early human inhabitants of the Bryce Canyon area. However, archaeological surveys of the canyon and the Paunsaugunt Plateau show that people have been in the area for at least 10,000 years. Basketmaker Anasazi artifacts several thousand years old have been found south of the park and other artifacts from the Pueblo-period Anasazi and the Fremont culture (up to the mid-12th century) have also been found.
The Paiute Native Americans moved into the surrounding valleys and plateaus in the area around the same time that the other cultures left and developed a mythology surrounding the hoodoos. They believed the hoodoos were the Legend People whom the trickster Coyote turned to stone. One elder said his culture called the hoodoos Anka-ku-was-a-wits, which is Paiute for “red painted faces”.
The Mormons
In the 1850s, Mormon scouts visited the area to gauge its potential for agricultural development, use for grazing, and settlement. In the 1870s, the Church of Latter Day Saints, sent Scottish immigrant Ebenezer Bryce and his wife Mary to settle land in the Paria Valley. The Bryce family settled in the area right below Bryce Amphitheater—the main collection of hoodoos in the park. Bryce grazed his cattle inside what are now park borders and reportedly thought that the amphitheaters were a “helluva place to lose a cow”.
Days 3 – 4: Salt Lake City, Utah to Jackson, Wyoming
We traveled from Bryce Canyon due north to Salt Lake City, Utah. Salt Lake City was founded in 1847 by Brigham Young, a religious leader and politician. He was the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) from 1847 until his death in 1877 and served as the first governor of the Utah Territory. Brigham was dubbed the “American or Modern Moses” because he led his followers through the desert to what was deemed the promised land. It must also be noted that Young was a prolific polygamist having 55 wives and 56 children (seriously?!).
Salt Lake City
By 1869, immigration of international members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, mining booms, and the construction of the first transcontinental railroad brought economic growth to the area and the city was nicknamed “The Crossroads of the West”. Today, Utah is the nation’s fastest growing state and over the last decade has had the youngest population in the U.S, despite the rest of the country increasing in age.
I didn’t take many pictures of Salt Lake City, as I was not overly impressed by anything I saw. Nice, clean city, laid out like a grid organized around the Temple of the Latter-day Saints, that’s pretty much it. Sorry, Salt Lake.
Jackson, Wyoming
On to Jackson, Wyoming, more affectionately called Jackson Hole. Jackson was named in 1894 after trapper David Edward “Davey” Jackson, who trapped beaver in the area in the late 1820s. The name “hole” was a term used by early trappers or mountain men to describe a high mountain valley and Jackson Hole refers to the entire valley.
Pre-dating Mountain men and trappers and homesteaders, Native Americans lived here seasonally for hundreds of years. Because the soil is not great for raising crops, when homesteaders first arrived, they ranched rather than farmed. Needless to say, tourism quickly became popular with the establishment of dude ranches. Jackson Hole is the gateway to two national parks – Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.
Fun Fact:
Jackson elected the first all-woman city council in America (in 1920). Wyoming was the first state to have a woman as governor and it was also the first state to give women the right to vote (in 1869).
The elk antler arches on each corner of the Town Square are one of the most iconic images associated with the area. No elk were killed for the arches to be made. Elk annually shed their antlers and the Boy Scouts are tasked with collecting them. The official name of the Town Square is George Washington Memorial Park.
Wyoming’s landmark watering hole is called The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and is located on the town square. The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar is a unique Western drinking and entertainment venue that was established in 1937 and has saddles as the seats at the bar.
Days 5 – 6: Grand Tetons en route to Yellowstone
While en route to Yellowstone from Salt Lake City we quickly noted an amazing mountain range surrounding us.
Grand Teton National Park
Ten miles south of Yellowstone lies Grand Teton National Park. The park takes its name from the tallest mountain in the Rocky Mountain range. The name “Grand Teton” is attributed to early 19th century French speaking trappers. The trappers felt the range reminded them of parts of the female anatomy – les trois tétons (the three teats). This was later anglicized and shortened to Tetons.
After Yellowstone had been established in 1872, conservationists wanted to expand the boundaries of the park to include at least the Teton Range. Residents of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, were vehemently opposed to an expansion of Yellowstone. They were more in favor of the establishment of a separate national park to include the Teton Range and six lakes at the base of the mountains. After congressional approval, President Calvin Coolidge signed the executive order on February 26, 1929 establishing Grand Teton National Park.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park located mostly on the northwest corner of Wyoming but extending into Montana and Idaho, is the oldest national park in the U.S. Established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone is also widely believed to be the first national park in the world. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful geyser, one of its most popular.
Fun fact:
Yellowstone National Park is part of the Rocky Mountain eco-range, which spans from western Canada all the way down to New Mexico.
Well over half of the world’s geysers and hydrothermal features are located in Yellowstone, fueled by its ongoing volcanism. While Native Americans lived in the Yellowstone region for at least 11,000 years, aside from visits by mountain men during the early-to-mid-19th century, organized exploration did not begin until the late 1860s.
Spanning an area of 3,468 square miles, the park is comprised of lakes, canyons, rivers, and mountain ranges. In fact, Yellowstone Lake, centered over a caldera of the same name, is one of the largest high-elevation lakes in North America. Yellowstone Caldera is the largest supervolcano on the continent. Trust me, we NEVER want to find out what would happen if this dormant supervolcano sudden reawakened.
Well, day six was a wash. It snowed overnight and while it was not much snow by New York standards, it was enough to close all roads leading into and out of the park, except one. So, the day was spent at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel trying to entertain ourselves and not eat ourselves into oblivion. LOL!
Days 7 – 10: Billings, Montana
Losing a day in Yellowstone forced an itinerary change, we would forego Cody, Wyoming and head straight for Billings, Montana. After spending the night in Billings, our next stop was the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn in south-central Montana.
Day 8: Little Bighorn, Montana
The Battle of Little Bighorn combatants were warriors of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, battling men of the 7th Regiment of the US Cavalry.
Historical background
In 1868, many Lakota leaders agreed to sign the Treaty of Fort Laramie. This treaty created a large reservation in the western half of present-day South Dakota. The United States wanted tribes to give up their nomadic life which brought them into conflict with other Indians, white settlers and railroads (typical colonizer double speak when they wanted to take land that they had no rights to).
Lakota leaders such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse rejected the reservation system, as did many roving bands of hunters and warriors. They felt no obligation to conform to its restrictions and their forays off the “designated” lands supposedly brought them into conflict with settlers and enemy tribes outside the treaty boundaries.
There’s Gold in Those Hills
Tensions escalated between the United States and the Lakota escalated in 1874. Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was ordered to explore the Black Hills inside the boundary of the Great Sioux Reservation. During his expedition, professional geologists discovered deposits of gold. Needless to say, once word of the discovery got out, it caused an invasion of miners and entrepreneurs, which was in direct violation of the very treaty the U.S. government was trying to impose on the Indians.
Negotiations with the Lakota to purchase the Black Hills fell flat, as the offer price was rejected. As a way around this rejection and to “lawfully” take the land, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs issued an ultimatum requiring all Sioux to report to a reservation by January 31, 1876. The deadline elapsed with virtually no response from the Indians and matters were handed to the military. I think many of you know how this battle ended.
The battle was a momentary victory for the Lakota and Cheyenne. The death of Custer and his troops became a rallying point for the U.S. to increase their efforts to force native peoples onto reservation lands. Determined to conquer the Northern Plains Indians, the US flooded the area with troops and within one year of the fight the Black Hills were taken by the US government without compensation to any of the tribes.
Day 9: Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
We entered the Black Hills area of South Dakota and visited Crazy Horse’s Memorial and Mount Rushmore.
Crazy Horse (circa. 1840 – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota tribe war leader of the Oglala band. He is best known for taking up arms against the United States government to fight against encroachment by American settlers on Native American territory. He was also a huge proponent of preserving the traditional way of life of the Lakota people.
The Battle of Little Bighorn
His participation in several famous battles, one of the best known being the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, in which he led a war party to victory, earned him great respect from both his enemies and his own people.
Crazy Horse died in September 1877, a mere four months after surrendering to U.S. troops under General George Cook. He was allegedly resisting imprisonment at Camp Robinson in present-day Nebraska when he was wounded by a bayonet-wielding military guard.
The Crazy Horse Memorial has been in progress since 1948 and is far from completion. Once completed, it will depict the warrior riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land. The memorial was commissioned by Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, to be sculpted by Korczak Ziolkowski.
Family Legacy
Following Ziolkowski’s death in 1982, the work was taken over by his wife, Ruth. After her passing in 2014, their children and grandchildren have taken on the responsibility to complete the project. If completed as designed, it will become the world’s second tallest statue at 641 feet long by 563 feet high. It will be second only to the Statue of Unity in India. The memorial is a non-profit undertaking and does not accept federal or state funding.
Mount Rushmore
Not far from the Crazy Horse Memorial sits Mount Rushmore, a colossal sculpture carved in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota.
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture’s design and oversaw the project’s execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum.
The sculpture features the 60-foot heads of Presidents George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The four presidents were chosen to represent the nation’s birth, growth, development and preservation, respectively.
Days 10 – 11 Colorado
Day 10, we were on the road for the majority of the day barreling toward Denver, Colorado and Day 11 we visited Vail. Renowned as a top skiing location, Vail has been attracting skiers since the 60s.
Days 12 – 14 Utah
So, can I tell you? Utah was beyond beautiful. Housing 5 National Parks (we visited 4 of the 5). After Vail we settled in for the drive across Colorado to Canyonlands National Park.
Canyonlands National Park
In the early 1950s, Bates Wilson, then superintendent of Arches National Monument, began exploring sections of Utah and after viewing the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, began advocating for the establishment of a new national park that would include the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers, the Maze District, and Horseshoe Canyon.
In 1961, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall was scheduled to address a conference at Grand Canyon National Park. On his flight to the conference, he flew over the Confluence (where the Colorado and Green rivers meet) and the amazing view apparently sparked Udall’s interest in designating a new national park in that area and Udall began promoting the establishment of Canyonlands National Park.
The usual uphill battle ensued and Canyonlands was designated a national park in September 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Bates Wilson was assigned the first superintendent and is often referred to as the “Father of Canyonlands.
Arches National Park
Next up, was Arches National Park, pictures of which continue to grace many a computer screen in the form of screensavers. The pre-Colombian Fremont people and Ancestral Puebloans lived in the area until about 700 years ago. Spanish missionaries encountered the Ute and Paiute tribes when they first came through the area in 1775. The first European-American settlers, the Mormon Elk Mountain Mission, arrived in 1855.
More than 2,000 natural sandstone arches are located in the park, including the well-known Delicate Arch, as well as a variety of unique geological resources and formations. The park contains the highest density of natural arches in the world.
In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a proclamation that enlarged Arches and in 1969, President Johnson signed a proclamation substantially enlarging Arches. Two years later, President Nixon signed legislation enacted by Congress, which significantly reduced the total area of the park but changed its status to a national park.
Day 13: Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Prior to heading to Monument Valley, we popped back over into Colorado and visited Mesa Verde National Park.
Mesa Verde is Spanish for “green table”.
Established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Mesa Verde occupies 52,485 acres near the Four Corners region of Utah. With more than 5,000 sites, including 600 cliff dwellings, it is the largest archaeological preserve in the United States.
Near the dwellings is a ceremonial structure thought to be an ancient Pueblo astronomy observatory called the Sun Temple. Researchers discovered that this complex was built using the same basic geometry found in ancient monuments from Greece to Egypt. Hmm, how’s that for a piece of history?
Day 14: Monument Valley, Utah
Characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes, Monument Valley is a sacred region that lies within the Navajo Nation Reservation. This remarkable landscape is located on the Utah-Arizona state line near the “Four Corners” area. The largest butte rises a thousand feet above the valley floor.
Featured in many western movies since the 1930s, Monument Valley quickly became a favorite “set” for Director John Ford. The Valley is the backdrop many people think of when they imagine the American West. The lodge we stayed at, Goulding’s Lodge, was in the valley and we had amazing views of the most famous buttes.
Up next…the piece de resistance…the Grand Canyon and my fly-over, Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon.
Day 15: Grand Canyon, Arizona
Helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon, a visit to Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona.
Ok, so this is the end of my National Parks excursion. The organzied tour ended with a bang at the Grand Canyon. I added on Horseshoe Bend and Lower Antelope Canyon in Arizona the following day before returning to the East coast. I figured I’m here, right?
The Grand Canyon measures 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and more than a mile deep. Establishing its course through the area approximately 5-6 million years ago, the Colorado River is responsible for this amazing geological formation.
The uplifting of the Colorado Plateau due to the movement of magma below the tectonic plate started the cutting of the canyon. The winding river and its tributaries cut channels through layers of rock, exposing nearly two billion years of the earth’s geological history.
Continuously inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years, the Pueblo people considered the canyon a holy site. They built settlements here, inhabited its numerous caves and even made pilgrimages to this site.
Grand Canyon National Park became the 17th U.S. National Park under an Act of Congress signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on February 26, 1919.
After a fabulous helicopter ride over the South rim, we departed for Vegas where our official tour ended. Bright and early the next morning, I headed out to check out the picture perfect Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon. Neither of them disappointed this intrepid traveler.
Days 16 & 17: Horseshoe Bend and Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona
Horseshoe Bend is the aptly named U-shaped incised meander of the Colorado River, sometimes erroneously referred to as the “east rim of the Grand Canyon”. This impressive overlook is 4,200 feet above sea level with a 1,000 foot drop to the Colorado River.
After taking in this view, I hit Lower Antelope Canyon. I’m sure you have all seen these images splashed across computer screens in the form of screensavers. Pictures do not capture the beauty of this slot canyon.
Known by the Navajo as “the place where water runs through rocks,” Antelope Canyon was formed over the course of hundreds of years by water that ran through sandstone.
Antelope is situated on land belonging to the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation and is considered sacred. The Canyon symbolizes the gifts of Mother Nature, the passage of time, and the fact that there are things larger and greater than humans. Every four years, the Navajo people have the Canyon blessed as they give thanks to the natural elements of the world that helped to form its unusual shape. Designated a Navajo Tribal Park in 1997 due to its importance to Native American heritage, visitors may only access the park by obtaining a permit and utilizing designated tour operators.