Hikers climb fence into Zion National Park in protest of gov't shutdown

A heavy metal gate with a large "do not enter" sign was not enough to stop James Milligan from visiting Zion National Park on Saturday. "I wanted to go hiking today, and so I thought I'd invite some friends to come join me," Milligan said before leading about a dozen protesters over the fence and into Zion. "The way I see it this is our park over here and no one has a right to shut us out of it." The group met about 8 a.m. just outside the park's entrance, energetic about their plan despite the chill that persisted in the shadow of the red rock cliffs. The parking lot and entrance to the park looked more like a ghost town than one of Utah's largest tourist destinations, and the gate at the end of the pedestrian bridge into the park remained locked. They called the excursion "Occupy Zion," an act of civil disobedience in protest of the federal government shutdown that closed the park Tuesday...more