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The Ultimate Southwest Vacation includes Zion National Park, Utah!
Stay in Mount Carmel Junction, the heart of the parks, and
visit the treasures of the Southwest.
Zion Park 12 miles
Grand Staircase 9 miles
Sand Dunes 11 miles
Dixie Forest 22 miles
Cedar Breaks 45 miles
Red Canyon 47 miles
Coyote Butte 57 miles
Bryce Canyon 60 miles
North Rim 85 miles
Toroweap 90 miles
Plan your Zion National Park Vacation with our Utah Maps and
Information
In these pages you will find insiders information on Zion National
Park lodging, adventures and hikes. This detailed guide includes road maps, park
maps, pictures, trail beta, backpacking, history, fees, geology, flora, fauna,
campgrounds, things for kids to do and even information on Zion's hidden treasures.
Making summer memories in the Utah National Parks and National
Monuments.
Utah!
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Zion
National Park Map
Directions to Zion National Park
From Salt Lake City: Travel I-15 south, past Beaver.
Exit on Hwy 20. Follow US-89 to Mount Carmel Junction. Take U-9 to Zion's east
entrance.
From Arizona: Travel 89A through Fredonia, Arizona
and Kanab Utah. Follow US-89 to to Mount Carmel Junction. Take U-9 to the east
park entrance.
From Las Vegas: Travel I-15 north. Take exit 16 and
travel through Hurricane. Make a right on U-9 at the second traffic light in
LaVerkin. Continue on U-9 to the south entrance of the park. U-9 through Zion
National Park is always open and is also called the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway.
Oversized
Vehicle Information
Zion
Canyon Shuttle Information
The Daughters of the Pioneers, in Orderville, is a quaint,
historic building. The Historic Rock Church in Mount Carmel is also charming
and worth the visit.
Daughters of the
Utah Pioneers
This charming old brick building is located on the Heritage
Highway (Highway 89) in the center of the small town of Orderville. The little
museum has artifacts, photos and books about the history of Long Valley (Mount
Carmel Junction, Mount Carmel, Orderville, Glendale, Alton). For more information
call: 644-5726. The building is open Mon-Fri 10:00-5:00 in the summer and by
appointment.
Mount Carmel and
Orderville History
Mount Carmel and Orderville History Historic Rock Church: This charming log
building located in Mount Carmel was built in 1890 and used as a church and a
school house. Sadly it burned down in 1919 and years later in 1923 it was rebuilt,
this time with rock. After the small building was rebuilt, the rock structure
was used almost entirely as a church. The kids that once attended school in the
log building were hauled to nearby Orderville in a covered wagon each day to
attend school.
The Settlement
Mormon Pioneers settled in the area in an attempt by Brigham Young to settle
all of Utah Territory, but Indians forced them to abandon the area. It was not
until 7 years later in 1871 that people returned and this time settled down permanently.
A charming log building located in the small town of Mount Carmel was built in
1890 and used as a church and a school house. Sadly, it burned down in 1919,
and years later, in 1923, it was rebuilt, this time with rock. After the small
building was rebuilt. The rock structure was used almost entirely as a church.
The kids that once attended school in the log building were hauled to nearby
Orderville in a covered wagon each day to attend school.
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A little bit of Southern Utah History
Zion National Park
History
Long Valley
Long Valley is the area from the junction of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Byway (Highway
9) & Highway 89 to the junction of Highways 89 & 14. The small towns
along this route include Mount Carmel, Orderville, Glendale and Alton. Mount
Carmel Junction is a resort town with a population close to zero. Over 200 people
work there and it is a wonderful resort area, but it is not a town. The local
population live in the towns of Mount Carmel, Orderville, Glendale and Alton.
History of the Thunderbird and Mount Carmel Junction
Mount Carmel Junction - The History
Fern and Jack Morrison
Fern Hanson was born in Bear River City on November 18, 1907 at her parent's
home, a two room log cabin heated with a small wood stove. Fern's grandfather
was born in Denmark and married his wife when she was only fifteen years old.
The couple worked as custodians for a school, farmed, raised cattle and thirteen
children! As immigrants from Denmark, they were not treated well, and they were
poor which did not add to the situation.
Fern went to school in Bear River City until the 8th grade. She remembers
helping raise her brothers and sisters since her father often had to work away
from home and her mother was pregnant and sick for years, with her 8 younger
siblings. Among other chores, Fern remembers milking the cow, building a fire
and getting the other kids up every morning.
The Hanson's moved to Soldier Summit when Fern was a teen, where her father
began to work for the railroad. The family enjoyed the extra income, but they
were still considered a poor family. Before long, they found themselves moving
to Springville, where Fern was delighted to attend high school and model for
the JC Penny stores. Fern had often dreamed of being a model and having her own
dress shop.
One day, Fern was coerced into accepting a blind date. After that first date
she was asked what she thought of the man. She smiled and then let out a mighty
laugh as she now tells the story. "I was plumb disgusted with him," she
said. Yet, it seemed everywhere she went after that date, the man was there.
Despite her initial reaction, Fern, however, quickly grew to love him and, after
a short three month courtship, Jack and Fern were married on October 22, 1926
. Their idea of a fun date was to drive to the lake where the bootleggers were
and make the bootleggers think they were the "feds."
Jack Morrison was born near St. Louis. His mother died when he was 8 years
old and he too grew up poor, working in the coal mines in Billings, Wyoming.
Like most young men, Jack was drafted into the service during World War I.
After they married, Jack worked as an engineer and moving often was part of
his job. Soon they became a family of four and moving about became more difficult.
It was time to try and settle down.
In 1930, the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel was completed. The land on the east side
of the tunnel was added to Zion National Park in 1931 making the park the size
it is today. Jack went to see the land on the east side of Zion, but the path
was not an easy one. Jack had to tie a Cedar tree to the back of his Model-T-Ford
to safely come down off the hill. After a short visit, Jack came home to Fern
and said: "I think I know where the road from Zion is going to come down.
I'd like to use my homestead rights and file on that land."
The Homestead
Although they were blocked from using the property for five years, due to someone
who filed grazing rights on it, things eventually worked out. In 1931, one year
after the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel was complete, the couple homesteaded the area
now known as Mount Carmel Junction. The land was harsh and riddled with gullies,
quicksand, layers of sand and was prone to violent flash floods. Jack set to
work damming strategic locations so that when the washes flooded, the water would
pour down from the mountains carrying vast amounts of silt to aid in filling
the holes, gullies and washes and help to build the land. To make ends meet,
Jack had to work on the railroad, leaving his wife and children for long periods
of time. Fern, who was known for her baking skills, built a lean-to and sold
pies to the truck drivers. In 1940, Jack and Fern built the Thunderbird Restaurant.
Great Losses and Determination
Jack and Fern's two oldest children, Jackie and Joyce, drowned on July 27th,
1942 in the Virgin River behind the present day East Zion Riverside RV Park.
The couple did have two more children, Marie, age two and Betty age 5.
During WWII times were tight and Jack sold off sections of land as well as
going to work as an electrical engineer on the Hoover Dam while it was being
built and he was an engineer on the Union Pacific Railroad in Ogden, Utah. Throughout
those years, Fern took care of the business and their two remaining children.
Unfortunately, Jack, who mined the coal mines in his earlier life, died of cancer
in 1961. Her two daughters were grown and married at this time. A few years later
Fern almost lost her five young grand children to quicksand. The land was still
dangerous and there was much work to do.
With the loss of her husband, Fern could have easily given up. But she did
not - Fern was strong willed and a hard working woman with a keen business sense.
And though Fern still had a long way to go she was up to the task. She built
the first hotel rooms in 1969. These are the single story units farthest from
the restaurant. Fern still continued to build her little Southern Utah "empire," doing
what few women of her time would have dared to do. She was a dreamer, a builder,
an employer and a success.
The East Zion Thunderbird Lodge
Before Fern died she built more Best Western units, remodeled her gas station,
restaurant and gift shop. The lodge seen today is what she built in her life
time. The land today is beautiful and manicured with hardly a trace of the days
of the past. Fern was determined to keep memories of Jack intact. She kept the
original buildings and built around them. Part of the rock walled hardware store
(which burned down in the winter of 2005) at the north end of town was the original
gas station. The beautiful East Zion Riverside Lodge
(vacation home) was built not only around the original cabin where Fern gave
birth to her children but also two Zion Canyon cabins. Parts of
the original restaurant also still exists in the big beautiful new southwestern
style building.
Today two of Jack and Fern's grandchildren, Ed Myers and Tanya Milligan,
have purchased the Thunderbird. These two people cherish the legacy that Fern
left behind. They, along with their families, continue to operate it today.
The Thunderbird stands as a monument to Jack's foresight and Fern's
courage and determination.
~Since 1931~
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