Dinosaur Discovery Museum at Johnson Farm

This is a fascinating museum in St. George that has a lot of incredible stuff and is very informative.

There is a $6.00 per person fee.

Boring pictures of museum stuff, mostly dinosaur tracks. Just a warning.

Quick overview: Mr. Johnson was leveling his farm, as he was moving a large slab it fell over and he noticed a footprint. Instead of just continuing on with his day, he called in the experts. They found a lot more. He ended up donating the entire plot which has extremely well preserved dinosaur tracks, thousands of them are condensed into this area. They have since built this great little museum, and I highly recommend you stop and check it out.

I must say that is really awesome that he did that, instead of glossing over it and moving on with his plans. Now we have incredible ancient history to study.

I believe this is ‘the track’ that Mr. Johnson noticed.

One of the fascinating, and unique features of this museum is due to the way these tracks were created they have natural molds and casts of most of the prints. As you can see here. Basically the dinosaur left a footprint in the soft mud on the shores of extinct Lake Dixie. Then sediment filled in. So you have the actual track, and a cast of it.

A couple footprints.

They had 2 or 3 prints that said it was okay to touch. Which means a lot of people touched it. Try not to think about that and just feel something unique. Hand for scale. I forget what kind of dinosaur this was. I think it is the same as the one above, Eubrontes.

Grallator track. I ended up picking up a legal plaster replica of this here at the museum. I just love that it has the claws! I specify legal, because that is what you should do. Let the experts cast it so the original track is not damaged. So many tracks have been damaged due to amateurs illegally attempting to cast them. I would never attempt that, not just due to it being illegal, but also because I would be worried I would damage it. And I am happy to support such an awesome museum. I can’t wait to hang this puppy on my wall.

Big Slab. This one shows the difference between running and walking. Top set walking lower set, running the opposite direction. I believe the same species for both sets.

A track within a track. You can see the middle toe, and claw of the smaller track on the middle toe of the larger track.

Tyrannosaurus Rex track. Well, a replica anyway. this wasn’t found here it was found in New Mexico. Smaller than I expected.

Another rare thing they found here, some tracks left impressions of dinosaur skin. I didn’t know any of that existed before today.

Long set of tracks.

Left by this guy a Eubrontes.

From the front.

Track plus mud cracks.

T-Rex Skull replica.

Which one is the Velociraptor?

If you guessed the one on the right, you’d be wrong. The Jurassic Park raptors were based upon Utahraptors. (right) the Velociraptor (left) was closer to the size of a chicken.

Still one of my all time favorite movies, just an interesting fact.

This was absolutely amazing! Probably my favorite museum I have been to yet! So many interesting things and such a wealth of information. I highly recommend it. It was only $6.00 per person. Not to mention this is a new museum so it is bound to become even more amazing!

My only gripes would be: I didn’t like being compelled to watch the 8 minute video the moment I walked in. I would have watched it eventually, but my excited kid; DINOSAURS!!! brain wanted to explore first. 2nd, I think they could learn a lesson from the Utah Daughters of Pioneer Women Museum. They greeted us friendly, then said: “Most people prefer to just take it in at their own pace, and that is fine, but we are absolutely happy to offer a guided tour if you would like.” THANK YOU! The guy at this museum ran after us after we had made it a few feet in and proceeded to babble at us forever, without a break to allow us to ask if we could just take it in for a minute. Not only that, he then proceeded to spend another 5 minutes explaining a nearby aviation museum he also volunteers at. I appreciate letting us know about it, but come on dude. I appreciate it, I really do, and I get it, give me a moment to go on and on about a nerdy subject that interests me and I will, but I really prefer the other method. Give us the option of self guided vs. guided right off the bat. although, again, kid brain, I wanted to explore.Just let me explore! Meh, I guess it could have been worse.

Anyway, if you like history, dinosaurs, or if your kids like dinosaurs, this is definitely a must see place.

St. George Vacation Pt. 1.

I am going to start this one with a quick warning. This will probably be a stub article with mostly drive by photos. For the vacation posts, I have started putting the individual hikes on their own articles rather than having a big long article with multiple topics. So this will be the general overview, and there will be links to the specific adventures.

That said, Mah decided we needed to go to Tuacahn. So, she went ahead and got us tickets for all 3 shows currently running. So, vacation time in St George! On with the drive south.

Day 1: The Drive Down and first Tuacahn Show.

There is a fire near Deer Creek Reservoir. All of the smoke appears to just be flowing down Provo Canyon into the Provo Valley. Really gross. Both Drive By Photos (DBP) from the passenger seat as always. I wouldn’t try to take a picture while driving o.O.

Our first stretch break I got a picture of two hawks circling overhead.

Our next stop was in Scipio, where we found the worlds saddest petting zoo and shortest Ferris wheel.

After Scipio there are 3 or 4 significant mountain passes to have to climb over. Last time we did this trip on the way to Bryce Canyon, we ran into a snowstorm here on the 2nd one which made for a kind of scary moment. But in good weather they are practically nothing to worry about. (DBP).

Providence Light House. A random landlocked lighthouse in Cedar City. (DBP) I… really have no idea why it is here but it’s neat. Who would have thought, a lighthouse. In Utah.

After Cedar City you have this last canyon to climb down, and then you are almost there. (DBP).

Uh oh. There appears to be a fire down here too. (DBP).

Okay. St. George is weird. There are random houses and businesses built right under, into, and on top of cliffs! (DBP).

View of the fire from town.

At night. It is still going unfortunately, but the last report said it was 50% contained so hopefully they get it under control soon.

We had dinner with Mah and then went to see our first show at Tuacahn, Beauty And The Beast. The show was awesome, but the venue is what it’s all about!

I took this picture before the show started so as not to disturb anyone. Not to mention, you aren’t allowed to take pictures during the show so you don’t disrupt the show, and copyright issues. it is Disney after all!

But this is a really neat outdoor theatre. We had tickets to all 3 shows currently running. The one I was least interested in, When You Wish, turned out to be my favorite due to this unique stage. I will try to avoid spoilers, but lets just say being able to have an actual desert scene in the desert, and fantastic use of water that probably really could not be done anywhere else! I just wish it was used more in the other 2 show we watched.

I managed a good shot of the entrance without any people during intermission. I love the waterfall!

Pro-tip: They offer seat cushion rentals for 2 bucks. While I feel if you know the seats are that uncomfortable you should maybe replace them, I also am aware that it is an outside venue. But, they are absolutely worth it, because those seats are super uncomfortable.

Lastly, leaving this out of the way venue actually isn’t too bad. Whoever planned the roads and roundabouts really made for a surprisingly pleasant 500 cars leaving at once experience. That didn’t take too long.

Day 2: Snow Canyon State Park!

Palm tree and other tropical plants outside our room. Again, St. George is weird.

Cool Mustang statues in a roundabout.

Beautiful red cliffs (DBP).

Red and white cliffs (DBP).

Jenny’s Canyon. More details on this adventure here.

Sand Dunes trail from the Sand Dunes picnic Area. eh… it’s sand.

But there are some nice scenes to behold.

Pioneer Names Trail. Quick 1/2 mile trail to some old Pioneer graffiti.

View on the way out of the Visitor Center/Campground. Which is about halfway. (DBP).

The lava basalt crumbling down the sandstone.

Petrified Dunes. This trail is a little tougher, but I really recommend it!

After our adventure out on the open petrified dune we went back down to Upper Galoot picnic area to use the restrooms and refill our water bags, and I got another shot of the black rocks rolling down the red rocks.

Lava Fields Trail Head. I Really regret not doing this trail. It was another I had planned on, but it was just so hot today and I forgot why I wanted to do this trail, and was more interested in the Cinder Cone Trail. Looking back, I would have rather done this one. Well, next time.

Panoramic from the Lava Fields Trail Head.

The Cinder Cone. This is actually just north of the north park entrance. If you are a little more adventurous, this might be a good trail for you. Otherwise, pull over, take a picture, and go back into the park.

Whiterocks. (DBP).

So one thing you should know before going here is that there are no food options. It’s not too big of a deal being about a half hour from town, but that is quite a ways to go to recharge after a few hikes. If I had realized that I would have packed a lunch in with us. So, we decided to head back to town and get some lunch.

Unfortunately we didn’t make it back to the park. Before we knew it it was time to make it to our next show at Tuacahn.

I wondered if there were tarantulas down here earlier today and well, here is my answer. Crappy dark cell phone picture from a guy who was curious but didn’t want to get too close.

This post is running a bit long so I am going to go ahead and break it here. Stay tuned for day 3!

Snow Canyon State Park: The Cinder Cone Trail

I honestly don’t know what I was thinking when I decided to do this trail. It corkscrews around and then up an extinct volcano ending with a view of an extinct volcanic crater. It sounded absolutely fascinating… I just didn’t anticipate it being so steep. We did not complete this trail, but I will still include my short adventure.

Quick Details:

Length: 1.5 miles round trip.
Difficulty: DR5 very rocky and some long, rocky sections of up.
Elevation Gain: 500 ft.
Pets: No.
Restroom: No. The closest one is back in the park at the Upper Galoot Picnic Area.
Fee Area: Snow Canyon charges $6.00 per car day use area.
Special Note: You are in the desert with little to no protection. Be sure to pack plenty of water and protection from the sun. Also, this is sharp lava rock you are hiking over. Long pants and good shoes are strongly recommended.

The cinder cone.

Again the trail is very well marked.

The trail curves around the backside of this cone.

And offers a view of this smaller one.

I was hoping that with the trail curving around the back it would be an easier climb back here… but it almost looks more steep. I was not in the mood to climb this beast today. As interesting as it sounds, I just wasn’t up for it today.

Raptor over the cone.

Some of the trail you are really walking over sharp basalt lava.

Looking back towards Whiterocks.

Meh. I would have rather done the Lava Field Trail. But I did wuss out and not actually climb the cone in the heat, and it sounds like it is probably actually pretty cool up there. With it being an extinct volcano crater. It really did sound fascinating, I guess I was hoping the trail up on the back side would be a little less intimidating.

Failing to complete the trail I wont rate it, but what I did do was pretty nice. Be sure to wear good shoes, as the rocks are rather sharp and tough!

As for difficulty, we did turn around before the super tough part, but I am going to go with DR5. It is a pretty steep on a loose rock trail.

Dogs are not allowed on this trail.