Kids finding peace in Zion National Park


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ZION NATIONAL PARK — There's something about feeling small that kind of resets an individual.

“I think it’s amazing and beautiful in how it was put together,” said Destiny Ruiz, a first-time visitor to Zion National Park.

In fact, Ruiz’s trip to Zion was her first to any national park: “It feels like I’m free from all the cars and beeping sounds,” she said.

Ruiz is part of Concrete to Canyons, a group that takes children from inner-city Las Vegas and brings them to Zion to show them how different things are away from the city.

“I grew up in a big city myself,” said Zion park ranger Eleanor Hodak. “I’m from Chicago and I didn’t see the stars until I started working for the park service.”


We took these kids and showed them the Milky Way and Mars and a whole new world opened up to them.

–Eleanor Hodak, Zion National Park ranger


The children not only got to see the stars, but the sun as well.

They witnessed this week’s eclipse and they couldn’t believe the things that were happening just above their heads away from the city lights.

“We took these kids and showed them the Milky Way and Mars and a whole new world opened up to them,” Hodak said.

That new world also included viewing wildlife, setting up tents and just enjoying nature — the things the kids thought only existed in books.

“They’ve been in awe about all that is around them,” said Miss McNeely, one of the group’s teachers.

“It’s pretty cool seeing all the animals, big horn sheep, seeing the rivers,” said Desmon Hill, a Las Vegas resident.

Samaya Allen, also a Las Vegas, resident agreed.

“It’s like a place where you can come and just think and be free and just be happy,” she said. “Yeah, I’m going to try to get my mom to take me camping again."

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