# What To Do in Mesquite?



## CalifasGirl (Dec 10, 2007)

I did a search for things to do in Mesquite. So far it looks like a good spot for national parks: Bryce, Zion, Valley of Fire, Grand Canyon. We've already visited the South Rim. North Rim is closest to Vegas, right? We'll probably check out St. George as well. Other things to add to our list of things to see? 

We're staying there 12/23-30. Vegas a day before that, so we're trying to decide on either Spamalot, Penn & Teller, or maybe something else.


----------



## DaveNV (Dec 10, 2007)

North Rim is closed at this time of year.  You'd get there after passing through St. George from Mesquite.  Christmas Week is a tough time of year, since the weather around there can be very changeable.  In the mountains it can start sunny but dump several inches of snow without any warning.  If you'll be driving around, check the elevation of the areas you'll be visiting, since it'll give you an idea of where snow is likely to fall.  Plan ahead and be smart about where you go.

Have a good trip.

Dave


----------



## Fern Modena (Dec 10, 2007)

There's a new Walmart SuperCenter in Mesquite.  And a couple of movie theatres.  And lots of golf.  There is a Spa at CasaBlanca, and beautiful, lush grounds.  Other than that, the best thing would be I-15 (as in going out of town).  

I don't think its especially close to the North Rim, and I don't know that its accessible this time of year...good idea would be to Google for more info.

I see you are from Torrance.  Expect it to be like Torrance was in the early 1960's, before the mall (remember The Wooden Shoe?), but colder.

Fern


----------



## Rose Pink (Dec 10, 2007)

If you like skiing, Brian Head is near Cedar City, Utah. I believe there is also skiing near Las Vegas if they have snow. I'd recommend "Christmas Carol on the Air" at the Utah Shakespearean Festival but the last performance is on the 22nd. I am so excited--I get to go see it tonight! The productions there are as good as any I saw on Broadway.

Don't forget Kolob Canyon which is part of Zion NP but has a different entrance. The entrance is just off I-15 between Cedar City and St. George.

You may be able to find some Christmas home tours but I don't know where to look. I think Las Vegas has a large outdoor, drive through Christmas lights production.

Okay, I just notice that nothing I posted is in Mesquite.  We rarely stop there and then usually only to get a bite to eat or fill up with gas.  You can gamble in Mesquite, golf, and do the spa thing.


----------



## philemer (Dec 10, 2007)

Golf, gamble. Golf some more & then gamble.


----------



## Fern Modena (Dec 10, 2007)

Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort reports all their lifts are open and operating.  They are located at 12000 feet, out in Kyle Canyon on Mt. Charleston.  

The Christmas lights in the park are at Sunset Park.  You drive through, and it  has several million lights in various displays.  Ethel M's also has a very large walk-thru display in their gardens.

Fern


----------



## CalifasGirl (Dec 10, 2007)

*North Rim closed? South Rim It Is.*

Well, I thought we'd see something different from the South Rim. For some reason, I thought the Hualapai Reservation was on the North Rim. After doing some research, I found out it's the west side of the South Rim, so I guess we're still OK. We want to walk on the Skywalk.:whoopie: 

Movie theaters and spa sounds good. We don't golf or ski, and the boyfriend HATES Wal-Mart due to their policies on not providing healthcare for their employees. I'm sad to miss the Shakespeare festival. We both love theater.

It's great to find some more things to do. National parks are always good for us to visit. We don't gamble much. We're more outdoorsy people than card sharks or slot jockeys.

Hi, Fern, I didn't live in Torrance until the '80s so I don't know about the Wooden Shoe. Is that a restaurant? There's a couple of breakfast joints that are still hot like Eat at Joe's and The Original Pancake House. The former owners now own a restaurant called Redondo Beach Cafe. (I had to Google for it.)


----------



## icroyals (Dec 12, 2007)

CalifasGirl said:


> Vegas a day before that, so we're trying to decide on either Spamalot, Penn & Teller, or maybe something else.



Make sure to check schedules for any Vegas shows. Many are dark at this time of year.


----------



## bogey21 (Dec 12, 2007)

If you are not a big time gambler and like to play a little bit, both the Eureka and Virgin River Casinos have $2 Black Jack tables.

GEORGE


----------



## CalifasGirl (Dec 14, 2007)

*Going to Penn & Teller*



icroyals said:


> Make sure to check schedules for any Vegas shows. Many are dark at this time of year.


We decided on Penn & Teller, so I bought tickets through Goldstar. I'm a little worried since there were so many cancelled dates. Hopefully, we do get to see them.

I'll remember to check out the Eureka and Virgin River Casinos. Thanks for all your help!


----------



## John Cummings (Dec 16, 2007)

CalifasGirl said:


> We decided on Penn & Teller, so I bought tickets through Goldstar. I'm a little worried since there were so many cancelled dates. Hopefully, we do get to see them.
> 
> I'll remember to check out the Eureka and Virgin River Casinos. Thanks for all your help!



I hope that you won't be too disappointed with Penn and Teller. We went to their show a few years ago at the Rio in Las Vegas. It was absolutely the most boring and worst show we have been to and that includes a lot of shows. We knew who they were, having seen them on TV many times but their show was a real dud.

We have played at the Eureka in Mesquite. It was OK but pretty small. Food services were pretty poor. That was a few years ago so it may be different now.


----------



## bogey21 (Dec 16, 2007)

John Cummings said:


> We have played at the Eureka in Mesquite. It was OK but pretty small. Food services were pretty poor. That was a few years ago so it may be different now.



What you say is true, but.....Black Jack is enjoyable at both the eureka and Virgin River for two reasons.  One, the $2 minimum if you aren't a serious gambler, and two, it is low key.  Usually there is a lot of conversation at the table between dealer and players.

GEORGE


----------



## CalifasGirl (Jan 17, 2008)

*visited Zion and Pipe Spring National Monument*



John Cummings said:


> I hope that you won't be too disappointed with Penn and Teller. We went to their show a few years ago at the Rio in Las Vegas. It was absolutely the most boring and worst show we have been to and that includes a lot of shows. We knew who they were, having seen them on TV many times but their show was a real dud.
> 
> We have played at the Eureka in Mesquite. It was OK but pretty small. Food services were pretty poor. That was a few years ago so it may be different now.


Penn & Teller was OK. It wasn't boring for us, but it was definitely rather a relaxed pace. The last act was a head scratcher.

North Rim was indeed closed. We only made it to Zion Park, which was interesting during the winter. We got to drive through the park, which was nice. We also made it to Pipe Spring National Monument rather late in the day. We did not make it in time for the tour, so we'll try it again later.

We went to St. George a couple times for day trips, Las Vegas a couple of times, although we didn't make it to any state parks. We tried the buffets at Virgin River, Oasis Casino, and Casa Blanca in that order. We liked the buffets in that order.   We didn't visit Eureka, but if it's worse than Casa Blanca... :annoyed: 

My boyfriend was interested in driving through the polygamous communities of Colorado City and Hildale, so we drove through. I have never seen such huge houses. Mormon families are so big, the houses are HUGE.


----------



## DaveNV (Jan 18, 2008)

CalifasGirl said:


> My boyfriend was interested in driving through the polygamous communities of Colorado City and Hildale, so we drove through. I have never seen such huge houses. Mormon families are so big, the houses are HUGE.




Glad to hear you had a nice time on your trip.  Winter in that part of Utah can be pretty challenging.  Would you go back in Spring or Fall?  (My favorite time of year there.  Summer in St. George gets a bit toasty.)

I quoted your text above only to make the point that the religious sects that live in those communities use the name "Mormon" when referring to themselves, but they have no connection whatsover with the traditional Mormon Church.  Conventional Mormons stopped practicing polygamy in the 1890's.

Dave


----------



## Rose Pink (Jan 18, 2008)

jeepguynw said:


> I quoted your text above only to make the point that the religious sects that live in those communities use the name "Mormon" when referring to themselves, but they have no connection whatsover with the traditional Mormon Church. Conventional Mormons stopped practicing polygamy in the 1890's.
> 
> Dave


 
And "conventional" Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) do not all have large families, either.   I've lived among the Mormons all my life (Idaho, Arizona, Utah) and they are normal people.  Let's drop the stereotypes.


----------



## John Cummings (Jan 18, 2008)

Rose Pink said:


> And "conventional" Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) do not all have large families, either.   I've lived among the Mormons all my life (Idaho, Arizona, Utah) and they are normal people.  Let's drop the stereotypes.



I agree 100%.


----------



## DaveNV (Jan 18, 2008)

Rose Pink said:


> I've lived among the Mormons all my life (Idaho, Arizona, Utah) and they are normal people.




Thank you.  I haven't been called "normal" in a long time.  LOL!  :hysterical: 

Dave


----------



## Rose Pink (Jan 19, 2008)

jeepguynw said:


> Thank you. I haven't been called "normal" in a long time. LOL! :hysterical:
> 
> Dave


 
Well, Dave, maybe *you* are an exception.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 19, 2008)

There was a girl in my one of my grade school classes who was quite normal. Her name was "Abby".


----------



## CalifasGirl (Jan 22, 2008)

*FLDS*



jeepguynw said:


> Glad to hear you had a nice time on your trip. Winter in that part of Utah can be pretty challenging. Would you go back in Spring or Fall? (My favorite time of year there. Summer in St. George gets a bit toasty.)
> 
> I quoted your text above only to make the point that the religious sects that live in those communities use the name "Mormon" when referring to themselves, but they have no connection whatsover with the traditional Mormon Church. Conventional Mormons stopped practicing polygamy in the 1890's.
> 
> Dave


Oh, I have several Mormon friends. I was just mentioning the FLDS because my boyfriend was very interested in seeing it after reading _Under the Banner of Heaven_, that's all. Most of my Mormon friends actually do have big families, but so do many of the Catholics that I know, too! (My family is Catholic.) I was just impressed with the HUGE houses in Utah. I never see houses that big in California. I can't imagine getting a 7-bedroom house in California when they're selling houses like that for almost nothing in Utah. A house in Compton, CA sells for $400,000. The houses in my neighborhood are worth about $1 million, and they definitely don't have that many bedrooms!

I hope to go back in the spring sometime. I'll probably stay in St. George next time to be closer to the parks so that we won't have to drive so much. Hopefully, we can visit North Rim then.


----------



## DaveNV (Jan 22, 2008)

CalifasGirl said:


> I hope to go back in the spring sometime. I'll probably stay in St. George next time to be closer to the parks so that we won't have to drive so much. Hopefully, we can visit North Rim then.



That's a great time to see St. George, and the Parks.  I can't get enough of the place.  (Heading there again this coming May.)

Dave


----------



## CalifasGirl (Jan 31, 2008)

*may*

I'd love to see the parks in May, but how are the crowds? I'd think it would be extremely crowded in the summer time.


----------



## John Cummings (Jan 31, 2008)

CalifasGirl said:


> I'd love to see the parks in May, but how are the crowds? I'd think it would be extremely crowded in the summer time.



I don't think the parks in Utah will be that crowded as they are not near any large population base.


----------



## Rose Pink (Jan 31, 2008)

DH and I sometimes go to Zion's the last part of April/first part of May.  Crowds are not bad.  Weather is nice.


----------



## Rose Pink (Jan 31, 2008)

John Cummings said:


> I don't think the parks in Utah will be that crowded as they are not near any large population base.


 
Depends.  People from all over the world come to Utah's parks.  It is not uncommon to hear French and German spoken.  We've had Germans and  Phillipino's on our jeep adventures.  I went to Arches NP one summer and it was so crowded, it felt like Disneyland.  Swarms of people everywhere and no place to park so that one could get out and walk.  Sooooo glad they instituted a bus system in Zion NP.


----------



## DaveNV (Feb 1, 2008)

Someone told me that in Germany, Moab is considered a major US destination, and must-do for Germans traveling here.  I'm told the travel agencies there have posters on the walls of their offices that advertise the wonders of Moab and its parks.  Having been there more than once, I totally agree.

Dave


----------

