Natural shrines abound in the Mountain West

"Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground," said God to Moses in Exodus 3:5 on "the mountain of God, even to Horeb" (Exodus 3:1).

Today Christians primarily tend to associate sacred places with churches, temples, cathedrals, cemeteries or burial sites. But non-buildings and non-burial sites — particularly mountains — can be holy, sacred places, too.

While modern Christianity has tended to move away from the "holy ground" focus found in the Book of Exodus, Native Americans, like the Navajos and Utes, lead the way today in a strong belief of some mountains and natural formations being sacred. They believe they are divinely tied to the homeland and should deeply respect it.

"All of our sacred songs and prayers are here within our four sacred mountains (Blanca Peak in Colorado, Mount Taylor in New Mexico, the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona and Hesperus Peak in Colorado)," Mae Tso, a Navajo elder, stated on www.xpressweb.com/zionpark.

Tso also stated: "The teachings of our ancestors are here in our songs and prayers. These songs and prayers are part of the ceremonies; they are our teaching and our way of life. This is our religion. This is what connects us to the land. Here, we have always made our offerings to the spiritual beings. Here we are known by the spiritual beings. If we are relocated to the new lands, we would not be known, we could not do our ceremonies. This is our religion, our way of life. If you cut out a person's heart and take it away, the person would die. Our Creator placed us here on this land; we are part of Mother Earth's heart. If you take us away to another land, we will not survive."

Navajo Mountain (10,388-foot elevation) in San Juan County is another sacred Native American monolith, where access is restricted by outsiders. This high, rounded hump straddles the Utah-Arizona border, but it is almost completely in the Beehive State.

A mammoth mound of rock and sand as big as Mount Nebo, Navajo Mountain the area's most prominent landmark, rising almost 7,000 feet above Lake Powell in the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Navajo Mountain is so remote that's it's off the "radar screen" for most hikers and outdoor lovers.

Leo Manheimer, chapter president of the Navajo Mountain Chapter House, once told the Deseret News that it is very sacred to the tribe. "It's the highest point in the Navajo Nation boundaries," he said.

His advance permission, plus a backcountry permit and a compelling argument to backcountry office workers were required for three Deseret News staffers to visit the top of Navajo Mountain in September of 2003.