Utah Adventure 1: St. George

Interstate 15 enroute to Utah (Click on picture for larger view)

While discussing side trips one may take while visiting Las Vegas, my cousin (actually, my brother-in-law’s brother-in-law) suggested St. George, Utah.

Also known as Utah’s Dixie because of the cotton plantations that sprang up when Mormon settlers needed an economic base, St. George is one of the fastest-growing U.S. metropolitan areas, with a population of nearly 73,000.

When I did research on the city before deciding, two things convinced me – first, St. George is the home of the Dinosaur Discovery Site, where preserved dinosaur footprints were discovered in 2000 by Dr. Sheldon Johnson, who was leveling ground for farming. Second, St. George is the perfect jumping-off point for a day visit to Zion National Park.

I decided to do it, and the morning after arriving in Las Vegas, I hopped into my rented car and headed north on Interstate 15. The drive from downtown Las Vegas is a little more than two hours, but it’s not a tedious drive. During the first half, the beauty of the Nevada desert unfolds all around you.

Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza

I made a short stop at the Moapa Paiute Indian Travel Plaza to adjust my side-view mirror, it was the first place I could pull over safely, but it also gave me a chance to take a few tourist pictures.

Entering the Virgin River Canyon

Then, after you hit the town of Mesquite, everything changes as you drive through the Virgin River Canyon. Traffic slows considerably from the 75 mph limit on Interstate 15. It’s something you’d really want to do anyway, so you can take in the beauty of the canyon.

Next comes the Utah Port of Entry, where trucks and container semis must stop to be weighed. It’s one of the ways the Utah Dept. of Transportation monitors commercial vehicles, and reroutes them if necessary.

St. George is bounded by some fabulous geology, the most noticeable of which are the red buffs to the north, the Mojave Desert to the south, and Zion National Park to the east.

I checked in at the Claridge Inn at a pretty reasonable rate. The room was Spartan but clean, with great television channel coverage, and free wireless Internet. And the Black Bear Diner (one of my favorites) was just around the corner. Perfect!

Coming up: The Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm