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The Humble Beginnings to One of the Most Prominent Legacies By Jennifer Sperry
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haring eight miles with Zion National Park's border is the breathtaking location of Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort (ZPR). It is no surprise Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort was named one of the top six adventure resorts in the U.S. News World Report. ZPR is filled with many opportunities on the property and direct access to popular Zion hikes like Observation Point, Cable Mountain, and Orderville Gulch. Canyoneering, horseback riding, ATV tours, bungee trampoline, miniature golf, paintball, shotgun range, stargazing tours, tennis and volleyball, virtual reality rides, yoga, jeep adventures, ziplining all await for the adventurous guests. While familyfriendly dining activities in the restaurant, browsing the gift shop, swimming in the pool, or hot tubs are available at the resort for a relaxing experience in the beautiful surrounding area. ZPR was a dream created by Ray and Ruth Lewis with their daughter Rose Neeleman and her husband, Gary. The resort has grown to be a family legacy with Rose, Gary, their children, and their prosperity making it well known around the world.
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| VIEW ON MAGAZINE |May/June 2021
Ray Lewis had always dreamed of owning a ranch, like the one he was born on in the Uinta Mountains. At the time, his large family with nine children lived in a small town in northeastern Utah. But felt he needed to move them to southern California to follow his entrepreneurial passion to pursue new business opportunities. He prospered in California with the start of a catering business he ran with his family; however, Ray's heart still desired to someday return to Utah. In 1957, Ray's oldest daughter, Rose, married Gary Neeleman. The couple soon moved to Brazil so Gary could work as a foreign correspondent with the world news agency United Press International. In the warm month of August 1962, the Neeleman's brought their three children back to the U.S. to spend two weeks with their grandparents, Ray and Ruth, in California. While visiting, Gary had been thumbing through the LA Times when he noticed a classified ad offering 4,000 acres of deeded land and 4,500 acres of BLM Land in Utah. The ad described the ranch as "…high desert property, covered with Ponderosa Pine, Utah Juniper, Pinion Pine and Manzanita."
