History is Alive in St. George’s McQuarrie Memorial Pioneer Museum

Though St. George is primarily known for its lush landscapes, famous parks, and for its charming surroundings, it has also been blessed with a deep and profound history.  One of the places where this history is not only remembered, but, in fact, celebrated is the McQuarrie Memorial Pioneer Museum.

A Museum’s Own History

The museum was established in 1938, after Hortense McQuarrie Odlum , former wife of well-known industrialist Floyd Odlum and granddaughter of one of St. George’s mayors, took in a suggestion to set up a museum.  The museum was originally intended to hold precious family relics and heirlooms, particularly from the pioneering era of Utah.  Currently, the McQuarrie Memorial Pioneer Museum is being supported and sustained by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, an organization whose purpose is to maintain and preserve the history and legacy of the original pioneers of Utah.

*** Looking for lodging near the McQuarrie Memorial Pioneer Museum?  Check out St. George Vacation Rentals now – they’re great! ***

Everyday Legacy

As mentioned, the McQuarrie Memorial Pioneer Museum specializes in holding relics of pioneers.  Though the museum was initially made to store only the most precious and priceless of family heirlooms, it has expanded its collection to encompass everyday items from the life of the early settlers of Utah.  This means that the museum contains and showcases anything from books, clothes, silverware, instruments, and other types of artifacts.  The museum also presents lists of the histories of pioneers and their families, as well as up to 500 pioneer pictures.

Take a Trip through the Past

Looking back into the past and tracing our roots is a very important undertaking to perform as history will give us a sense of who our forefathers were and why we’ve become who we are today.  Even if you don’t have personal connections to the pioneers of St. George, Utah, the McQuarrie Memorial Pioneer Museum offers us a glimpse into the lives of people who have gone ahead of us, a glimpse that might deepen our appreciation for what we have in our present day lives.  It is truly by looking to the past that we can decide for our future.

Visiting the museum is free of charge, meaning that there is no reason for you not to go if you find yourself in St. George.  Although McQuarrie Memorial Pioneer Museum is closed on Wednesdays, Sundays, holidays, and for the whole month of December, it is open during the rest of the year.  Private tours for you and your family can be organized by simply calling and arranging with the museum personnel in advance.

St. George Utah McQuarrie Memorial Pioneer Museum is a Utah Attraction

St. George’s Dixie Convention Center:  A Modern Mix of Business and Pleasure

Business meetings and conventions can often become boring, mundane events that we simply force ourselves to trudge through.  However, the right location might turn a tedious work appointment into a memorable, fun-filled experience, and the Dixie Convention Center, located in St. George, might just be the best location for you.

A Center of Business and Prosperity

The Dixie Convention Center boasts of a wide array of modern and up to date facilities and amenities that will suit your specific needs.  If you need a venue for formal business conferences, then the Dixie Convention Center can provide you with a variety of function rooms, board rooms, and luxury suites that are sure to meet your requirements.  You could also take your engagements outdoors to a beautiful courtyard or to its garden rooms, giving your appointments that special, personal touch. Indoors or outdoors, the friendly staff will attend to your every need and provide you with top of the line service.  Finally, the Dixie Convention Center maintains an exhibition hall that can host up to 6,000 people, making it perfect for conventions, concerts, and any other special event.

*** Coming to St. George for an event at the Dixie Convention Center?  Make sure you book the best St. George Vacation Rentals.  This is the way to go for St. George lodging.  Hotels are boring.  ***

Events For Everyone

The Dixie Convention Center also proudly holds numerous annual events and functions that cater to a lot of individuals and groups.  The Jubilee of Trees, which takes place every November, is an affair everyone can enjoy as gorgeous Christmas trees, wreaths, and other Christmas-themed ornaments are showcased; all for the noble, fund-raising cause of the Dixie Regional Medical Center.  For all of the ladies out there, the What Women Want Expo will be sure to provide just exactly that, what you want.  Boasted as the biggest consumer expo in Southern Utah, you can indulge yourself in luxuries ranging from the latest in fashion, beautiful jewelry, and products to improve your home.

St. George’s Finest

The fun and enjoyment also extend outside the center as it is just one of many attractions that St. George has to offer.  It is located near many quality restaurants and establishments that will be sure to whet your appetite.  St. George is also home to many beautiful, picturesque spectacles of nature, the sight of which will surely endow you with a deeper and more meaningful appreciation for the world around us.

Whether it is for business or for pleasure, at the end of your visit at the Dixie Convention Center, you will undoubtedly find it, along with the rest of St. George, nothing short of impressive.

If you’re driving north to St. George on I-15, you know you’re almost in Southern Utah once you hit the amazing stretch of beautiful road through the Virgin River Gorge.

The 500 million year old Virgin River Gorge is located in the far northwestern corner of Arizona, between Nevada and Utah.

If you’ve never driven this stretch of blacktop, you’re in for a wonderful experience.

The drive on I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge features some of the most stunning displays of both engineering and scenery.  Some people say the Virgin River Gorge drive is among the most beautiful in the roughly 47,000 mile U.S. interstate highway system.  Check-out the Virgin River Gorge Video below if you’ve never experienced the drive in person.

Despite the daunting terrain, federal authorities decided to create a direct path through the Virgin River Gorge.  This decision shortened the route on I-15 between Las Vegas and St. George, Utah by 12 miles of driving distance over the older and more treacherous U.S. Highway 91.

The course of the Virgin River was re-channeled twelve different times during construction of the Gorge road.  Construction finished in 1973 at a cost of over one million dollars per mile.  You guessed it; the cost was the most per mile at the time of completion.

In 1988, the Arizona Magazine proclaimed that construction of I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge, “Somehow enhanced, rather than distracted from Nature’s handiwork.”

We agree.  Skip Vegas Californians.  Continue driving another 100 miles and stay at St. George Vacation Rentals.  See what the desert landscape looks like at its best.

There are parts of our planet so stark, so bizarre in their topography, that it’s easy to imagine they’re alien landscapes.

That’s the case with Big Water, Utah, which is relatively close to St. George Vacation Rentals.

No wonder film director Andrew Stanton choose Southern Utah to film the new movie John Carter.  The vast dusty wasteland surrounded by ancient-looking rust-colored cliffs is a perfect place to bring Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ book to life.

Check out the John Carter movie trailer, and see for yourself the beautiful, unique scenery of Southern Utah.

Director Stanton’s production-design team chose the Utah high-desert spot to represent a barren stretch of the planet Barsoom.  Barsoom, which readers of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ original John Carter fiction novels know, is what Martians call Mars.  Barsoom may not be as well known as Tatooine or Pandora, but for fans of Burroughs, it’s the Planet Zero of space fantasy.

The Big Water, Utah location of John Carter gave the movie the right look matching the book’s description.

“I wanted a visceral feel I had when I watched the first 20 minutes of Star Wars,” Stanton was quoted as saying in Wired Magazine.

The movie’s leading man is Taylor Kitsch, who is best know for his role as Tim Riggins on TV’s Friday Night Lights.

Big Water UT is located on I-89 just before Lake Powell.  It’s due East of St. George, and is roughly 137 miles of easy highway driving away.

Big Water made news in the 1980s as a polygamous colony of the Joseph clan. It also made news in 1986, when the mayor Alex Joseph and the city council left the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party. This made Joseph the first Libertarian mayor in the history of the US.

Wow, you need to watch this amazing video from The Piano Guys filmed just outside of St. George, Utah.  Not only is the music spectacular, unique, and inspirational, the scenery is just as amazing.

The video was filmed just south of Washington City and Sand Hollow Resort and just north-west of the new St. George Airport.  The location is called Sand Mountain.  The view is of beautiful red ridges and red sand a la Snow Canyon State Park which is one of the many reasons the St. George area is so naturally beautiful.

The video is a cover of the Coldplay song Paradise. But, I believe the Piano Guys way outdid Coldplay and Coldplay may be doing covers for them in the future.  The Piano Guys did an African spin on the song and call it Peponi -  Swahili for paradise.

The Piano Guys are Jon Schmidt (piano), and Steve Sharp Nelson (cello), Paul Anderson (guy who put it all together), and Al Van Der Beek (composer).

Tuacahn Amphitheatre
1100 Tuacahn Drive
Ivins, Utah 84738
Tickets: (800) 746-9882

St. George Vacation Rentals has been informed that the new season shows will be Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Hairspray’.  The 2011 season with ‘Grease’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’ was spectacular.  2011 was by far the best season for Tuacahn yet.  I can’t wait to see how the theatre plans to outdo the previous season.  ‘The Little Mermaid’ received raving reviews and the special effects were second-to-none and an amazing visual treat.

Tuacahn has not officially announced the schedule yet but we were able to get the inside scoop.  The official show times, prices, and announcement are coming soon.

Win 4 tickets to a Tuacahn 2012 show! All those who “like us” on Facebook from now until March 1, 2012 will be eligible to win the tickets.  Simply hit the Facebook ‘like’ button at the bottom right of this page.  Our Facebook page has information on discounts to our vacation rental condos, fun activities in St. George, and information on possible 2012 Tuacahn discount tickets.

It’s true.  In the St. George neighborhood of Bloomington, you can actually park your car right in front of a neighborhood building lot and walk 20 feet and see amazing ancient petroglyphs up close.  So close you can actually touch them.  However, please don’t come in contact with the ancient petroglyphs as human skin oil will degrade the old Indian art.

The Utah park is called Bloomington Petroglyph Park.  In the middle of a 0.5 acre lot, a huge boulder appears to have been split in two.  In the middle are really cool images carved into the rock by Anasazi Indians that were most likely the ancestors of the current Navajo tribe in Utah.  In fact, the park is right on Navajo Drive in Bloomington.

Apparently the boulder and ancient art was discovered during the development of the St. George neighborhood.  The building lot was either purchased or donated to the state of Utah, who turned it into a mini-State park.

The carved images left behind on the rocks most likely either tell a story, or leave trail directions.  You can recognize some images as humans, horses, and perhaps deer.

Bloomington Petroglyph Park is located on the northeast corner of Geronimo Road and Navajo Drive in the St. George Bloomington neighborhood.  Directions to the park from St. George vacation rentals are below.  Bloomington is the meeting place of southern Utah’s Great Basin and the Mojave Desert.

Site Name: Bloomington Petroglyph Park
Country: United States Region: The Southwest Type: Rock Art
Nearest Town: St. George, UT
GPS directions Latitude: 37.052830N  Longitude: 113.6154W
View Larger Map

Bear Grylls from the Discovery Channel explores the Colorado Plateau which covers Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.  He calls it the wildest and most beautiful terrain in the United States.   See the link below for a video of Bear Grylls in an episode of Man vs. Wild.

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/man-vs-wild-hoodoo-voodoo.html

Hoodos are the colorful spires reaching as high as 10 stories.  Each totem pole looking terracotta colored structure is dangerously unstable and unique.

The lowest rock level formed around 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period.  The sea deposited sediments through a huge seaway from the ocean.

The beautiful rock layer forming the hoodoos are about 45 million years old during the Tertiary period.  They are called the Claron Formation.   Rivers deposited limestone sediments with plenty of iron in a lake that covered most of Western Utah.

The cracking of the rock happens by a weather process called frost wedging.  As the snow melts during the day it flows into the cracks in the rock.  At night as temperatures fall below zero degrees the water freezes and expends 10% causing the opening to open up slightly further and further every time the process occurs.

The other weather process involves rainwater.  The slightly acidic rainwater dissolves the limestone and begins to round the edges of the limestone.

Ironman
Saturday May 5, 2012
2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run

Can you do it? Can you be known as an ironman? No, not like Robert Downey Jr. in the movie but a real ironman.  Great movie though.  In order to do so, you must complete the grueling course in under 17 hours.  Yes, that’s correct, can you imagine running, biking, and swimming for 17 hours?  Crazy!

The city of St. George, Utah is proud to host such great athletes again in May.

The 2.4 mile swim will be held at Utah’s newest state park – the beautiful Sand Hollow Reservoir in San Hollow, Hurricane.  Sand Hollow is perhaps the top new resort in the St. George are because of it’s natural amenities like Sand Hollow Lake, San Hollow dunes, and plenty of hiking and biking trails.

The 112 mile bike will continue from the Sand Hollow Resort through Washington City by Green Springs Golf Course then into Snow Canyon by the beautiful Entrada Resort Golf Club.  The bike loop continues past Kayenta and Gunlock until finally reaching downtown St. George.

And if that’s wasn’t enough for you why not throw a full marathon around downtown St. George the red hills area on top of that.  That’s 26.2 miles, I get tired just driving that far in my car.

Sounds like you’ll need a nice place to relax after that brutal exhibit of superhuman ability.  You should stay at the Las Palmas Resort in Green Valley and enjoy 6 pools, 4 jacuzzis, massages, and full kitchens.

Ironman Triathlon Lodging St. George Utah in May.

St. George Area Parade of Homes – Details

The schedule for the St. George UT area Parade of Homes has been released:
Dates: February 17 – 26, 2012
Times:  10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Prices: $12.50.  Access to every house once during the 10 day period.
Purchase Location:  Lin’s Market or the Center Court at Red Cliffs Mall
What: 25 beautiful homes in the Washington County, Utah area

What is so great about Saint George Utah’s Parade of Homes?

26 of the best built homes in Southern Utah surrounded  some of the most unique landscapes and amazing views.  Come see the most innovative home designs including a completely automated home, green design, home theaters and infinity pools and spas.

Saint George Parade of Homes Location

The homes will be scattered all around the greater St. George area.  In close proximity to the Green Valley Resort and the St. George Vacation Condo Rentals.

More Information

St. George Area Parade of Homes website

St. George Area Attractions

The parade of homes is just one of several attractions that attract many visitors to Southern Utah each year.  Stay tuned for additional blogs on other attraction like:  Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, The St. George Marathon, The World Senior Games, Sand Hollow, Tuacahn Theater, St. George Area golf, and St. George weather.