Conclusion

Abstract

We drive to Zion National Park in Utah. This is where you come for the Zion experience. We are directed to the drive-in area at the edge of the Park. A gigantic cinema screen starts to flicker, amplifiers hiss into life. We watch a drama documentary of park life. We see vistas of the terrain, close-ups of rare fauna, studies of wildlife. We do not have to leave the car. There is no risk of bad weather disturbing our enjoyment of the park. We are free from the nuisance of being with other people. When the movie is over we drive out to the freeway which takes us home. We have had enough of Nature for today. Ten years ago all of this would have seemed like science fiction. But in 1991 the World Odyssey group announced a plan to ‘extend’ the wilderness experience of Zion Park by building the cinema screen. A spokesperson commented:

There’s a market for this. The one and a half million people who visit Zion each year won’t have to sweat or get their heart rate above wheel-chair level. Whole busloads can come to Springdale, have the Zion experience and be in Las Vegas that night.¹