Day 12

Note: Some of you have had problems leaving a comment. I've changed the restrictions so it should be easier now. Hey ... this is new to me!

Another cold day but we are intrepid ... well for part of the day anyway. In a light snow fall we head North to Mountain Meadows Memorial. Never heard of it? Probably because the massacre of 120 emigrants from Arkansas was ignored, if not covered up, by the powers that be in Salt Lake and by history in general until recently. In 1857, local Mormons, letting their paranoia caused by years of persecution get the best of them, dressed up like Indians and attacked the wagon train. After a 5 day stand off they negotiated a surrender that required the emigrants to put down their weapons. As soon as they were disarmed they were murdered in cold blood.

When we got to this sad and lonely monument it was cold and snowing. Jill stayed in the car (wimp) so I trudged down the 200 yard path to the memorial expecting there to be some sort of plaque describing the incident. There were in fact 2 plaques each with a self serving message about how gracious it was for the church to authorize the monument and the plaques... indeed it was a plaque about the plaques. I wanted to scream.

Several years ago we visited suicide cliff in Saipan where 10,000 Japanese walked off a cliff fearing that if caught by the invading Americans they would be tortured and eaten. It's what they had been told by their masters and they had no reason not to believe it. It was a wind blown isolated spot. As we peered over the 1000 foot drop to the rocks below we were both overwhelmed by a profound sadness. It was almost as though we could feel thousands of hearts beating in fear and dread.

The small, sad and mostly ignored monument outside Cedar City Utah exudes similar feelings. The wind sounds like the cries of desperate people who's only error was trying to find a new life in the West. The date these religious fanatics chose to slaughter these innocent people ... Sept. 11, 1857.

On the way back to St. George we went through Snow Canyon National Park. Incredible petrified sand dunes on the edge of the city. This area has some of the most unusual topography and geography I've ever seen. After a vigorous workout in the RV gym we retired to El Gato for dinner and the first game of the World Series.