Our first stop was the St George Tabernacle, which was built between 1863 and 1876, shortly after the establishment of St. George, Utah. It was built under the direction of Brigham Young who told Elder Erastus Snow, the local leader in St. George, he wanted a "commodius well-furnished meetinghouse, one large enough to comfortably seat at least 2,000 persons, and that will not only be useful, but also an ornament to your city." This was truly the case and today this stately building, which sits at the heart of St George, is still used for concerts, assemblies and talks.
While the sun was shining we hurried to visit the Temple. Both the Tabernacle and the Temple are constructed from locally hewn red sandstone. However, the Temple has been plastered to give it the brilliant white colour we see today. Against the backdrop of the red mountains and deep blue sky, this resplendant landmark is a beacon to the people of St George and all those who vist and is visible long before you arrive at the city boundaries. The St. George LDS Temple dedicated and opened on 6th April 1877.
Although not the oldest of the LDS Temples, the St George Temple is currently the longest continually-operating temple. With a total of 18 sealing rooms (not all are in active use), the St. George Utah Temple has more sealing rooms than any other temple in the Church. Back in the early days if of the church there was a "honeymoon" trail from the east of saints wanting to be married in the Temple. Many faithful members of the church traveled the Old Arizona Road from southern Arizona to the temple to be married or participate in other rites of the church. The name "Honeymoon Trail" comes from this use.
The battlements that surround the St. George Utah Temple once functioned as chimneys for numerous narrow rooms that lodged traveling guests. The St. George Utah Temple was originally patterned after the Kirtland and Nauvoo Temples .
President Brigham Young, second president of the LDS church, spent much of his time travelling to the settlements between St George and Salt Lake City. As he grew in years he would often spend several months during the winter down in St George to escape the harsh climate of northern Utah. He spent the last few winters in St George, directing the building of the Temple before he passed away on 29th August 1877, just a few months after the dedication and opening of the Temple.
Subsequent to Young's death, the Brigham Young Winter Home passed through several ownerships before it was purchased by the LDS Church and opened to the public as a museum, with free guided tours. Owing to the numerous changes in ownership, many of the original pieces of furniture were lost. Some original pieces are still with the home, however, and in some cases replications have been introduced. The original piano was one of the pieces restored to the home.
Following the historical tour and a wonderful time catching up on the last three years, the explorers made their way over to Cafe Rio, an establishement I had heard much of but have never had opportunity to visit as it is unique to America. This was quite an experience. Here is how one proceeds. You line up to wait for the next available slot and then what follows is something akin to organised chaos!! First you order the style of dish, which can be one of a number of Mexican dishes, then its a choice of which beans you would like (none for me, thank you), followed by rice and a choice of sauce and or salad. It was blatently obvious that this was my first time at Cafe Rio and, when discovering I was from England three LOUD shouts arose from the kitchen staff, hailing my heritage. A perfect ending to a perfect day
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