Day 5: Pipe Spring National Monument

If Las Vegas epitomizes the typical American city, then Kanab, located in Kane County, Utah, just above the Arizona/Utah state line is seemingly representative of a typical American town. The town, which is grid-planned, consists of a main street, providing the most basic of amenities such as restaurants, banks, gas stations, whilst residential homes dot the adjacent streets. Unsurprisingly, therefore, there is little in the form of entertainment, apart from one movie theater. Kanab does have something in common with Las Vegas, however, in that it appears to sustain its economy through tourism, as evidenced by the presence of multiple motels and souvenir shops. Yet what it offers is significantly different, in that it primarily functions as a base for tourists to make excursions into places such as Zion National Park and Pipe Springs National Monument. Religion appears to be the glue that holds this particular community together, as evidenced by the fully packed carpark outside the Mormon Church located on the main street. One gets the impression that not much really happens here, though surprisingly the most recent newspaper revealed that the Kane County Drug Task Force had completed a successful drug sting.

Ranger explaining how butter produced by butter churn (artefact on right hand side of photo) was pressed into blocks in Windsor Castle at Pipe Spring National Monument. 

Our visit to Pipe Spring National Monument also showed that the history of American West is more complex than Hollywood used to presume. Contrary to the overriding narrative of America’s expansion being driven by the belief in Manifest Destiny, Mormon settlers are said to have come to this area in order to escape religious persecution for their practice of polygamy. Indeed, one of the many purposes of Windsor Castle was revealed as being a hideout for Mormon wives, with the installation of the telegraph eventually allowing them to contact Lees Ferry, and thus escape long before the federal agents arrived. At the same time, the Mormons also participated in a much more common narrative of conflict with the resident Native American tribe, due to their effort to “civilize” them, and by destroying their food sources as a result of overgrazing. In addition, Pipe Spring revealed just how dire the issue of water conservation has become in the region, with it being claimed that within a few years the water supply will dry up. This inevitably raises question not only for the future sustainability of the site, but also for the Kaibab reservation that encompasses it.