We got into St George at midnight and it was well after 2am before we got to sleep. Some of the kids managed to get some sleep on the drive down but Jodie didn’t as she was sitting in the passenger seat eagerly spotting Deer for me. Driving through Zion’s Canyon was quite eerie last night; as soon as you enter the park all the roads are painted a terracotta color. You have to drive down tight windy roads with hair pin bends, so the drive was quite arduous.
Jodie and Courtney found it a little off-putting driving through a tunnel cut into the mountain that was well over 2miles long. So needless to say we had a bit of a sleep in. Jodie was first up quite early; it must be the seminary teacher in her. Most of the motels we stay at have breakfast included and I think Jodie wants to take full advantage. I then awoke and went upstairs to join her. We were planning to drive to the South rim of the Grand Canyon today, stopping off in Vegas for lunch on the way and dinner on the way back. It would mean well over 10hrs driving time. So we had a chat over breakfast, looking out at the St George temple, when we decided or you could even say, felt prompted, to have a family day at the St George Temple, which Tamzyn loved.
St George is a fascinating place, an oasis in the middle of steep, red rock canyons and arid desert plains. In summer it is unusually hot, commonly between 35-40 degrees Celsius, but it is a very dry heat so we just found it pleasant. The St George Temple was the first Temple built in Utah. President Brigham Young, who used St George as his winter home to avoid the harsh cold Salt Lake winters, commissioned it. It was completed in 1817 and is modeled on the Nauvoo Temple.
Jodie and I drove the two blocks and attended the 11:20am session, many of the kids were still asleep in their beds. Whilst at the Temple, the kids woke up, fed themselves and had a couple of hours swimming in the motel pool. We then came back, collected all the children, had a bite to eat for lunch and went back to the Temple so that Courtney and Thomas and I could do baptisms.
Jodie and the girls took this time to visit the Visitor’s Centre and take photos in the gardens. The people in the baptistery were very kind and accommodating and really provided for us, especially Thomas and Courtney, a lovely experience. One of the couples there, Bro and Sis Cole, actually served their missions in the Australia, Brisbane Mission Office and remembered me well, so we enjoyed reminiscing about life in Brisbane.
Both Thomas and Courtney learnt some new and unique things about Church History, the St George Temple and about how the constitution of America was indeed a document inspired by God. It was great to do this work with them, I really felt the spirit and I know they did too, Which was an answer to the prompting that Jodie and I felt earlier when we decided not to drive to the grand canyon via Las Vegas. To me it was like Heavenly Father saying, “Jim, you don’t need to do that. Take your kids to the Temple, they’ll have a much better and long-lasting experience.” And I think they really did although I haven’t pressed them about their experiences, as I don’t want to weird them out. But I could tell by the way the family was interacting and how happy the kids seemed that they had indeed had a spiritual experience.
We joined Jodie and the little girls in the Visitor’s Centre were one of the Brothers, Bro Tanner shared he had served his mission in Brisbane in 1958. He and his wife loved having us as he shared many mission experiences. All the children received a little shard of the mortar used to construct the St George Temple, which is a lovely keepsake. The Temple is actually the geographical center point for the city of St George. We then headed back to the Motel and rested or about 30mins before heading to a place called Tuacahn.
This is a remarkable outdoor theatre where professional musicals are staged. It is set deep into the canyon in Ivins, which is on the outskirts of St George. We had dinner before the show; a nice buffet then watched the musical Hairspray, a really well staged production with performers recruited from all over the USA. Because it’s summer here, the show doesn’t actually start till 8:45pm so for the first half of the show the backdrop behind the stage is this magnificent red and ochre canyon. The second half of the show, it is dark, but at the end of the final number, the sky is lit up with fireworks. A really fun night that topped of a great day.
The only low-light, it was close to midnight when we got back to St George, the temple does be lit up magnificently at night so we raced back to the Motel to get cameras and tripods, drove the few blocks to the Temple, turned the corner at the Temple and the lights shut off because it hit midnight. I drove the family to the Motel to sleep while I went to Walmart to get groceries for tomorrow and fuel up. While it was sad that my family didn’t get to see the Grand Canyon, I think they’ll remember their day in St George for different reasons and feelings, long after their memories of the Grand Canyon had they seen it would last. Enjoy the pics. Tomorrow we plan to attend a local ward and drive through Zion’s National Park on the way out to Page which is on the shore of Lake Powell.
Jodie and Courtney found it a little off-putting driving through a tunnel cut into the mountain that was well over 2miles long. So needless to say we had a bit of a sleep in. Jodie was first up quite early; it must be the seminary teacher in her. Most of the motels we stay at have breakfast included and I think Jodie wants to take full advantage. I then awoke and went upstairs to join her. We were planning to drive to the South rim of the Grand Canyon today, stopping off in Vegas for lunch on the way and dinner on the way back. It would mean well over 10hrs driving time. So we had a chat over breakfast, looking out at the St George temple, when we decided or you could even say, felt prompted, to have a family day at the St George Temple, which Tamzyn loved.
St George is a fascinating place, an oasis in the middle of steep, red rock canyons and arid desert plains. In summer it is unusually hot, commonly between 35-40 degrees Celsius, but it is a very dry heat so we just found it pleasant. The St George Temple was the first Temple built in Utah. President Brigham Young, who used St George as his winter home to avoid the harsh cold Salt Lake winters, commissioned it. It was completed in 1817 and is modeled on the Nauvoo Temple.
Jodie and I drove the two blocks and attended the 11:20am session, many of the kids were still asleep in their beds. Whilst at the Temple, the kids woke up, fed themselves and had a couple of hours swimming in the motel pool. We then came back, collected all the children, had a bite to eat for lunch and went back to the Temple so that Courtney and Thomas and I could do baptisms.
Jodie and the girls took this time to visit the Visitor’s Centre and take photos in the gardens. The people in the baptistery were very kind and accommodating and really provided for us, especially Thomas and Courtney, a lovely experience. One of the couples there, Bro and Sis Cole, actually served their missions in the Australia, Brisbane Mission Office and remembered me well, so we enjoyed reminiscing about life in Brisbane.
Both Thomas and Courtney learnt some new and unique things about Church History, the St George Temple and about how the constitution of America was indeed a document inspired by God. It was great to do this work with them, I really felt the spirit and I know they did too, Which was an answer to the prompting that Jodie and I felt earlier when we decided not to drive to the grand canyon via Las Vegas. To me it was like Heavenly Father saying, “Jim, you don’t need to do that. Take your kids to the Temple, they’ll have a much better and long-lasting experience.” And I think they really did although I haven’t pressed them about their experiences, as I don’t want to weird them out. But I could tell by the way the family was interacting and how happy the kids seemed that they had indeed had a spiritual experience.
We joined Jodie and the little girls in the Visitor’s Centre were one of the Brothers, Bro Tanner shared he had served his mission in Brisbane in 1958. He and his wife loved having us as he shared many mission experiences. All the children received a little shard of the mortar used to construct the St George Temple, which is a lovely keepsake. The Temple is actually the geographical center point for the city of St George. We then headed back to the Motel and rested or about 30mins before heading to a place called Tuacahn.
This is a remarkable outdoor theatre where professional musicals are staged. It is set deep into the canyon in Ivins, which is on the outskirts of St George. We had dinner before the show; a nice buffet then watched the musical Hairspray, a really well staged production with performers recruited from all over the USA. Because it’s summer here, the show doesn’t actually start till 8:45pm so for the first half of the show the backdrop behind the stage is this magnificent red and ochre canyon. The second half of the show, it is dark, but at the end of the final number, the sky is lit up with fireworks. A really fun night that topped of a great day.
The only low-light, it was close to midnight when we got back to St George, the temple does be lit up magnificently at night so we raced back to the Motel to get cameras and tripods, drove the few blocks to the Temple, turned the corner at the Temple and the lights shut off because it hit midnight. I drove the family to the Motel to sleep while I went to Walmart to get groceries for tomorrow and fuel up. While it was sad that my family didn’t get to see the Grand Canyon, I think they’ll remember their day in St George for different reasons and feelings, long after their memories of the Grand Canyon had they seen it would last. Enjoy the pics. Tomorrow we plan to attend a local ward and drive through Zion’s National Park on the way out to Page which is on the shore of Lake Powell.
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