St George UT temple (1819)

Even into the 60s St. George was largely a little Mormon town. The influx of money and retirees from Vegas and SoCal has changed things a bit! And the new non-Mormon contingent also supports those casinos in Mesquite, right at the line--

My first explorations around St. George were in 2003 and even then it still felt a fair amount like a small town, the population explosion in southwest Utah seems to have been very rapid.

Ya shoulda seen it in the late 60s! ;) There were still lots of orchards around--there may still be a few--and fruit stands along old US 91 coming into town from the west. The rapid (and non-Mormon) growth goes back a few decades.

When I first visited there, Snow Canyon was still relatively remote. It's now beginning to feel surrounded. The growth around Cedar City and Parowan, and around Mesquite in the other direction, makes it look like the 15 is going to become an urban corridor. On this last trip, the drive from Cedar City to St. George at rush hour already felt like being in an urban corridor.

But old US 91, which parallels I-15, is now a nice country drive! Back when it was the main route it was hellish. The I-15 bypass thru the Virgin River canyon finally opened ca. 1973, IIRC. I remember it was before I graduated college in 1975, so it's been a while. Next time you're that way you might want to try 91 if you haven't already.

And I misread--I was thinking of 91 as an alternate route from SG to Mesquite.

I've driven I-15 past St. George three times, in 1999, 2007, and 2013, and I stopped there for food each time. I was, in fact, surprised this last visit at how much busier everything seemed. Mesquite, on the other hand, looked like it was falling into decay ... at least from the highway.