The road trip adventures continue with this ongoing series of programs about the people and places of the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area (MPNHA). “Discovery Road” features a 1977 Mercury Cougar with a fancy red and white exterior and a plush red velvet interior!
Hosted by series creator James Nelson, this show travels along U.S. Highway 89, All-American Road State Route 12, and Scenic Byway State Route 24. As the sporty car drives along these roads, viewers will “discover” the things that make the MPNHA worth driving to themselves.
“The MPNHA wants to tell a story and Discovery Road is one of the best ways we can do that. It takes people on a heritage journey just like they used to do with Sunday afternoon car rides,” said MPNHA Executive Director Monte Bona.
Using music, storytellers and the characters in the communities along the way, Discovery Road presents Utah’s history, scenery and culture in an entertaining, unique and educational manner. Discovery Road is viewed on the MPNHA website, the Utah Education Network, community platform stations and on cable stations in many states.
The Mormon Pioneer Heritage Area (MPNHA) is a federally designated area of central and southern Utah running along the beautiful and historic U. S. Highway 89 — including the All-American Road Utah State Route 12, and Capitol Reef Scenic Byway Utah State Route 24, which both intersect with U.S. 89 and together form the MPNHA’s Boulder Loop.
The area includes the counties of Sanpete, Sevier, Piute, Wayne, Garfield and Kane. The Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance is the local coordinating entity of the MPNHA and receives annual funding from the National Park Service. Its purpose is to preserve, tell and interpret the stories, history and heritage of the area, and to promote its culture and value.
Sangre De Christo National Heritage Area Discovery Road Episode - Saving History
Discovery Road - Road Trip
Another intriguing segment of this episode comes forward when Discovery Road follows a professional still photographer on assignment to get some good pictures. Despite worldwide experience covering a myriad of big events the cameraman still finds his best images along Heritage Highway 89. Discovery Road introduces viewers to George Frey who has taken hundreds of thousands of photographs around the world but those images from Utah and the heritage area are among his favorites.
The Basin Drive-In in Mt. Pleasant, Utah is one of the few outdoor movie theaters still open and operating in the country. The open-air shows are popular with locals and a big attraction for people from surrounding communities and the region. The fourth generation of one family has kept the silver screen going with good service, entertainment and a snack bar that always has something good to eat!
Discovery Road - The Untold
Discovery Road - The Collectors
historic collections and fun things people just seem to gather
and save! The program opens with World War II relics including
a telegram sent to a Utah family of a missing airman. Then a
rare glimpse of the late Utah Governor J. Bracken Lee with his
personal collection of baseballs.
A visit to Brent Ashworth’s rare books and artifacts store reveals some stunning items for the Discovery Road audience. Ashworth shows a Pony Express
bible used by a rider out west in 1860. A handgun and holster
that once belonged to Butch Cassidy comes with a story about
the outlaw possibly living out his years as an adding machine
salesman in Spokane, Washington. Ashworth then shows a rare
photograph of a soldier from the Battle of Bunker Hill that
might have known people from the 1600s.
The program makes a stop in Moroni, Utah where a man shows wagons once used
by pioneers and trailblazers from around the country for
hauling grain, bales of hay, wool and delivering milk to homes
and neighborhoods. The historic Peteetneet school in Payson,
Utah is where a retired educator has been operating his
miniature train collection for over two decades. Teacher Doug
Lamb discusses his lifelong passion for model trains, planes, and
automobiles.
Discovery Road - Horse Power
The show opens with a visit to the Cleone Peterson Eccles Equestrian Center in Mt. Pleasant, Utah. The top-notch facility and indoor arena plus 200 horse stalls accommodate numerous events throughout the year and serves as a training ground for Wasatch Academy students.
A stop at Burns Saddlery in Salina, Utah reveals one of the most historic horse-related companies in the country. Boots, hats, belts and saddles are just a few of the quality products the business has been making for well over a century. Discovery Road then visits Kanab, Utah for the opening of new horse and hiking trail. The trail is connected to an amazing story of two ranching brothers who succeeded against tough odds to make their ranch work years ago.
The role of horses in the western movies is then explored through the experience of one man in Kanab who worked with Hollywood to find the best horses for the silver screen. Denny Judd reminisces about working with movie star Dean Martin and others, years ago. The Discovery Road closing segment is a simple tribute to a Kane County man who spent the last years of his life, giving horse and wagon rides to people. Horse Power is the latest episode in the award-winning Discovery Road series.
Discovery Road - Becoming Bryce
Discovery Road toured the structure which is now the oldest operating Mormon church in the state of Utah.
Our next story is about murals that seem to be making a comeback along the historic corridor. Muralist Patti Lewis has transformed the look and feel of Kanab, Utah with her colorful, western-themed art on stores, shops and gas stations. Discovery Road then visits Grass Valley Mercantile in Koosharem, Utah. It’s a century-old hardware store that serves as a community gathering place and popular tourist stop. The store has aisles of supplies and adventure for everyone. Our last stop is at a gas station that no longer pumps gasoline. Ole’s Place is a historic museum that gives tourists a chance to fill up on gas station history.
Discovery Road -- Hello Neighbor
Discovery Road -- Crossing Time
The amazing story of the Zion Park Tunnel is then told using historic black and white photographs and film of the construction and 1930 dedication ceremony. Discovery Road then takes a ride through the portal that changed how people visit area national parks. The program concludes with a fascinating story about the first official tourists to visit Zion National Park. The tourists’ saga starts with a scrapbook discovered on eBay by a Manti, Utah woman and concludes with a book she and her husband wrote about six University of Utah girls who were selected to showcase the opening days of Zion National Park nearly a century ago.
Discovery Road - A Good Road Story
Discovery Road - Honor, Valor & Heritage
Discovery Road - The Lost Tomahawk
Discovery Road - Saints of Gold
Discovery Road A Gift for the Road
Discovery Road - "The Unknown"
In “The Unknown,” Discovery Road, the educational TV series produced by the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area (MPNHA), tells their story.
The soldiers stayed three years in what became known as Camp Floyd, “observing” the Mormons but during that time left a lasting mark on the town of Fairfield, Utah County, and the surrounding area. While there was no conflict, soldiers died and were buried during those years. Since the Army did not have any cemeteries, they were buried by their comrades in arms in a makeshift cemetery on camp property.
While records were kept of the dead and the fact they were buried in the camp cemetery, no records were made of which graves held the remains of specific soldiers. Today, the landscape is spotted with scores of graves carrying nothing more than the word “Unknown” on their headstones.
“The Unknown” then shifts gears to focus on David and Ann Bona, 1853 Mormon emigrants from Swansea, Wales, who, a er nine years in Spanish Fork, Utah, le for California, never to return.
In this episode, their descendants Charlene Heaton and Renè Bona Clarke, who are cousins, follow the route of the family, along the way encountering the story of stagecoach driver Charlie Parkhurst, a woman who disguised herself as a man to pursue the life she wanted.
Discovery Road - Paradise on the Prairie
Discovery Road - Sheep Count - The Story of Sheep in Central Utah
Discovery Road Road Stops & Stop Signs
Discovery Road Precious Jewels in any Language
Discovery Road The Snow College Story
Discovery Road Wasatch Academy
Discovery Road Butch Cassidy, Wales & Outlaw Ways
Discovery Road Garfield County
Discovery Road - The Mormon Trail - Black Experience
Discovery Road - Kanab Movie Makers
Discovery Road - Maude Adams
Discovery Road - Native Americans and Sacred Water
Discovery Road - Passing Along Utah's Heritage
Discovery Road - Scandinavian Days
Discovery Road - Music is the Reason
Discovery Road - The Disabled
Discovery Road - Stories from Highway 89
Discovery Road - Don't Let Them Be Forgotten
Discovery Road - The Apostle and the Outlaw
Discovery Road - The Forgotten Ones
Discovery Road - Kane County
Discovery Road - ANHA Tour
Discovery Road - Blackhawk War
Discovery Road - The Dreams I Left Behind
Discovery Road - Kanab International Show
Discovery Road - Manti Temple
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