NOTE: Since pictures are becoming plentiful, I will be making a collage (see below). You can click on a collage to view more detail of photo.
Well after a bit of a rough night in our Econo Hotel, we both woke up at 4:30am and decided it was time to leave this place and head on into Utah but, not after stopping at McD's for Johnny's breakfast and to charge me up at Starbucks.
Phew...we got thru that...now into Primm, NV where we need to charge the car. Well, my friend Sabrina would just be so proud of me for taking the chance to gamble at the first Casino we entered into Nevada. Primm Valley Casino and Resort. After we plugged in Tessie, we walked into the Casino. I looked at a machine and I swear, it was calling my name. I sat down, not even knowing how much the machine was. I slipped in a $20 and started playing by hitting "MAX" Bet. Well, suddenly these bells, chimes, music was coming from the machine. John came over and asked, "How I was doing"? I told him I have no idea; I just did a MAX bet, and the machine keeps spinning for me. So, I just sat there watching. Wow!!! It finally stopped so I hit MAX bet again. Not so exciting...so I chickened out and cashed out. Much to my surprise it was a 1 cent machine and won I $70.90.
Across the Highway is the Worlds Largest Solar Thermal Energy Facility. This place is very impressive. Picture does not do justice. There are 377 megawatt net solar complex using mirrors to focus the power of the sun on solar receivers atop power towers. .Look it up on the internet.
Ok...Tessie's charged time to move on into Las Vegas.
No Sabrina I'm not stopping in Vegas. HA!!
My boss would appreciate my photo of the new Raiders Stadium!!
Geez I never knew we had to drive into Arizona from Nevada to get to Utah. Lesson learned :-))
Ok we are now in St George, Utah. Here is a little history I took from web. I was wondering why St. George is named DIXIE.
In 1854, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the LDS Church, or Mormon Church) established an Indian mission in Santa Clara, two miles northwest of present-day St. George. The church set up experimental farms in the St. George Valley in 1857-1858. In October 1861, church leaders called 309 families to establish the Cotton Mission. After the outbreak of the Civil War that same year, LDS Church President Brigham Young felt it necessary to grow cotton, if possible. Many of these families assigned to settle the area hailed from the South and possessed the necessary skills to grow cotton and establish a community. Paying homage to the nickname of their former home, these settlers called the region “Utah’s Dixie.”
St. George, Utah was named in honor of Mormon apostle George A. Smith, also known as the “Potato Saint” because he urged early settlers to eat raw, unpeeled potatoes to cure scurvy. Smith did not participate in the town’s settlement, but personally selected many of the pioneers that originally settled the area. The first years in St. George proved difficult for early residents due to challenges such as flooding, lack of culinary water and scorching summer heat. A cotton factory erected soon after the settlers’ arrival produced off and on for approximately 50 years, but overall, cotton proved an unsuccessful venture. The area also produced silk as early as 1874, but its production did not contribute significantly to the area’s economic prosperity. Other early pioneer endeavors included the production of molasses, dried fruit and even wine.
We have checked into our hotel. Very nice location in the Historic section of St. George. The hotel is very nice also. NO MORE ECONO LODGING!!!
We were going to go to Zion Nat'l Park but we heard that the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway was closed due to severe damage to road from bad weather in March. This is the road we were hoping to drive. So, we decided to go on the other side of Zion to Kolob Canyons, check it out and get the scoop of the Zion Nat'l Parks roads. Kolob is a much quieter section of the canyon, not so touristic. We drove up 5 miles, took a lot of pictures along the way and took in the sites. The canyons are part of the Colorado Plateau region of the park and are noted for their colorful beauty and diverse landscape. We still have our coughs from our colds and really didn't feel like hiking.
Still have time in the day so now what...Oh let me call my friend Ginger who lives in St George for some ideas. She's currently out of town but, is a great distant tour guide. We went to Snow Canyon State Park. Beautiful!!!! I could not take enough pictures. The canyon is carved from the red and white Navajo sandstone in the Red Mountains. It was the perfect time of day where the sun was casting beautiful shadows on the Canyon. There are 360-degree views of just Canyons and Rim. We attempted to take a little hike, well it started hailing and then rain. We had to cut our hike short.
We made a pit stop to Ginger and Tom's house just to see the area. BEAUTIFUL!!!! Yes, that mountain range is a view they get to look at every day. Stunning!!!
Ginger gave us a few eatery recommendations, so we decided to try one tonight. The Painted Pony. EXCELLENT!!! Very pleasant staff, attentive, clean and the food was delicious. No room for dessert. Too much food. Reminded me a lot like Cafe Cruz. What a great place to end our day.
Winner, winner, aint that fun! Now you can upgrade out of Economic mode!
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