The name Little Zion comes from my Great Great Great Granddaddy, Isaac Behunin. He was a Mormon pioneer sent by Brigham Young to settle the wilds of Deseret, the part which we know today as Southern Utah. He built a cabin in the middle of one of the most scenic canyons in the area. He named that cabin Little Zion. The name is from the Bible. It means "Place of Peace." When the canyon was made into a national park in 1909, the Park Service adopted the name. Today the park is known as Zion National Park. The cabin has long since been torn down. It was located where the main lodge is today. And even though Zion National Park is a Mecca for tourists, when I'm there on a quiet summer evening, camping out under the stars, sitting around a campfire with great friends, it still reminds me of a Place of Peace.
-- Waine Riches
