July 29, 2020Aimee and I are enjoying the cooler weather and our re-exploration of the West. But we are tired of living out of hotels. Besides the packing and unpacking, the restaurant food is mediocre, and our backs are hurting from sitting on the bed too much. We miss our motorhome. So we checked out this morning intending to head home. To get around the Grand Canyon blocking our way, we skirt it to the West this time. Our very scenic journey takes us over the Markagunt Plateau with its Quaking Aspen forest at the peak. I was surprised to see large areas of basalt lava flows. I thought we left that behind in Arizona. We descend down Cedar Canyon getting a view of Zion National Park in the distance. Past the town of Cedar City, we follow a farm valley until we reach the Mountain Meadows Massacre Site.
This National Historic Landmark has four Memorials to this horrific event. In 1857 a well-stocked wagon train of 140 Arkansas pioneers heading to California stopped in this meadow to graze their cattle. A Mormon militia disguised as Indians attacked the pioneers but were rebuffed. The Mormons then feinted rescue and convinced the group to disarm and follow them to safety. Instead on September 11 they ambushed them a mile away killing all except for the very youngest. Distressingly the majority were women and children. There is no consensus on the reason. Perhaps they wanted the extensive supplies of gold and cattle, or perhaps it was war frenzy related to Federal troops arriving in Utah. The Mormons attempted to cover-up the event and only recently have come to terms with the massacre. There was a trial twenty years after. The only man executed was John Lee, who is famous for fleeing to Arizona and running Lee’s Ferry at the head of the Grand Canyon.
The first two sites are Memorials where first the Men and Boys were killed and later the the Women and Children. The third is the Overlook Memorial created by descendants of the victims. The last site is a LDS reconstructed rock cairn atop the burial site. The wagon train encampment site is just a short hike away. I was spooked by a flock of turkeys on my walk up to the cairn. Aimee and I were both surprised to see a number of tourists visiting this remote site. My interest in this little known event was piqued by the Jon Voight movie September Dawn, a fictionalized account of the incident.
Unlike most California-bound settlers, these pioneers were following the Old Spanish Trail to the Los Angeles area. We decided to follow this arduous route and now National Historic Trail. Travelling south we pass more basalt and cinder-cone volcanoes. Just before St George, UT, we pass the red cliffs of Snow Canyon State Park. There we pick up Interstate-15 towards Las Vegas. This route dips into NW Arizona for 27 miles, most of which is inside the steep-sided Virgin River Canyon.
In Vegas we make a brief detour to visit Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument. This new park site is the preservation of the Ice Age fossils found in this dry wash area north of Vegas. As of now there is no infrastructure except for a couple of signs. I thought about hiking out to look for a fossil bone but I don't see any promising Badland-type geology. Plus it is 115 with no shade!!
Instead of following the Spanish Trail across the Mojave Desert, we cut south across the Colorado River at Black Canyon and make the long drive back home through the hottest sections of Arizona with the A/C on full blast. The one bright spot is Covid-induced unemployment has eliminated rush hour in Phoenix. We fly through the city in the mostly empty HOV lane. We arrive back in Tucson in time to have dinner before relaxing in our own bed. Unpacking can wait till tomorrow.
