On our way from Bryce Canyon National Park to Zion National Park, we stopped to hike the Hooddoo Trail and Arches Trail at Red Canyon, drive through Zion East and hike the Canyon Overlook Trailhead, and play in the sand dunes at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.
When we went sand sledding at Inglenook Fen Ten Mile Dunes Natural Preserve in Fort Bragg, we had a blast sledding down the dunes on snow discs. I totally wanted to do that again at Coral Pink Sand Dunes but because this road trip started with a flight, we weren’t able to do that. So instead, I was on a mission all day to find some cardboard to use as sleds.
Brian and the kids were skeptical. They didn’t think I would be successful but I made it happen. When we drove into Orderville on Highway 89, I found White Mountain Trading Post, a gas station, convenience store, Subway restaurant, and gift shop. While Brian gassed up the car, I headed inside and asked the workers for their trash. Lol! Seriously, I told them that I was looking for cardboard to use as sleds and the staff was AWESOME. They just happened to unbox new picnic tables for their campground that morning and took me dumpster diving to snag some huge pieces.
Luckily, the trash was taken out the day prior and the cardboard was still clean!
I was so happy… but the best part of Orderville was further up the road.
The Rock Stop
The Rock Stop is a cool rock shop that is inside a giant faux rock made out of plaster, paper, chicken wire, fiberglass with a big dinosaur on top!
When we drove by this odd building and saw a replica of the Flintstone’s car out front, Brian knew we had to stop. I love kitschy roadside attractions like this! As funky and eclectic as The Rock Stop is on the outside, with dinosaur statues, an old fire truck, and giant chunks of beautiful glass and stone, it was impressive on the inside. While Brian and Natalie got soft serve ice cream cones, I browsed the shop. They have local stone, fossils, jewelry, rough rock, gifts, snacks, and lavender products.
The Rock Stop building didn’t always house a rock shop. It was originally built to be a dinosaur museum called Dinosaur Land with giant models of dinosaurs built by artist and professor Elbert Porter and his family. In 1977, the sculptures were moved to the Dinosaur Natural History Museum in Vernal Utah and in the 1980s, the building became a rock shop and was later renamed The Rock Stop.
Orderville Mine Rock Shop
Across the street from The Rock Stop is another mining themed rock shop. The Orderville Mine Rock Shop catches your eye from the road with a rainbow row of gorgeous colored glass. It has a clearly organized selection of rough rock, agates, obsidian, jasper, quartz, fossils, gemstone beads, polished stones, rock jewelry, gifts, and more.
We had a lot of fun wandering through the Orderville Mine Rock Shop rock piles and taking pictures of the miner statue, metal dinosaur statues, and rainbow glass chunks.
The History Of Orderville
Orderville is a small community of 600 people located in southern Utah. The town is named Orderville because it was established under Mormon leader Brigham Young’s United Order in 1870.
Settlers living under the United Order equally shared their resources. They ate in a common dining hall, wore uniform clothing, and lived in identical houses. An elected board supervised all social and economic activity, residents were assigned jobs, and all belongings were deeded to the Order. The community thrived for 10 years but faltered when polygamy was declared a felony in 1882. By 1885, Orderville abandoned strict communalism.
Know Before You Go
- White Mountain Trading Post is located at 4490 State Street, Orderville, Utah 84758. The trading post sells mementos from Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and the Grand Canyon, Native American-made products and accessories, jewelry, pottery, wild animal taxidermy, gifts, t-shirts, posters, mugs, patches, license plates, and more. They also have a pressed penny machine!
- The Rock Stop is located at 385 West State Street, Orderville, Utah 84758 in a giant faux rock! This eclectic rock shop sells gifts, jewelry, coffee, and soft serve ice cream.
- The Orderville Mine Rock Shop is located on US Highway 89 in Orderville, Utah 84758. The mining themes shop has a huge selection of rocks, glass, gifts, jewelry, and giant dinosaur statues.
