I live in Zion Canyon
By Chris Beltran

I live in Zion Canyon. I didn’t realize how beautiful it was until one day I got into a bike crash. As I was walking up the stairs to my house, I turned around and saw the most beautiful sunset ever. Then the next day it was a full moon and I sat on a rock next to the river and saw the moon shining on the mountains. It was so beautiful. Everything about Zion is beautiful. I recommend living here!

What I hear when I walk into Zion is the sound of the river and peacefulness. Zion reminds me of a place where it is peaceful every day, with no fighting and no arguing. It’s a place that makes me feel safe and at home. My favorite spot is a place where there are a lot of bushes covering the river. When I open up the bushes there is a tree next to the river that I can jump off of.

When I walk further into Zion, I hear children playing. I feel like I’m back in the past and seeing what it was like and how happy people were when they first saw Zion. I hear people saying, “we’re staying here forever.” I hear old people telling stories to little children. I can feel that they were really happy to be here.

Their voices are heard through the night and through the day. But we only hear them when it’s really silent. Sometimes you have to go really deep into Zion to hear these voices. If I concentrate really hard then I can see ancient people climbing the mountain walls. I see people walking to the river to be refreshed.

There is one image of a person that i see a lot. It’s an Indian that lived up here. I see him playing with his kids. I hope that I get to see him everyday that I go to Zion. Zion will always be my favorite place that I visit or live; it’s the home of peace.

[box]This post is one of the winning entries in the Z-Arts 2013 Writing Contest and has been reprinted here with permission of the author, who retains the copyright. Opinions expressed in this piece are not necessarily those of the Zion Arts and Humanities Council.[/box]