Manti Pioneer Gardens 🌼 Multi-cache

Once a vacant lot that for decades had been full of weeds, this area is now a beautiful park, honoring the early settlers of the Sanpete Valley. The Pioneer Heritage Park & Gardens sit just below the Manti LDS temple. It was finished and dedicated in the summer of 2012, more than 30 years after it was envisioned.

A community effort, the Gardens were built with the help of donations and time from many in the local 

community. Once it was completed, this is what President Shannon Miller of the Central Utah Pioneer Heritage Association (the group that organized the effort) had to say: "We have a group of people that understand what beauty is and why we should appreciate it," Miller said. "And because of that, people have come out and helped and our garden is complete."

The property is just west of the temple and is part of the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area, which runs along Highway 89 in Central and Southern Utah. The 2.5 acre gardens include a reflecting pool (see photo) for the temple, an amphitheater, and benches to meditate. The gardens are also near the Manti Cemetery, where many early pioneers are buried. While you walk about the park, you can view numerous plaques that talk about the history and sacrifice of the early settlers here that helped make Manti and Sanpete what it is today. To watch an aerial video of the temple grounds and gardens, see Manti Temple Grounds.

Manti Temple & Miracle Pageant

Perched atop a rising knoll, known as "Temple Hill," the magnificent Manti Utah Temple dominates the Sanpete Valley of central Utah. Located just off Highway 89, approaching travelers can glimpse the distinctive towers from miles and miles away. To learn more about the temple, its history and construction, see this linked article: History of the Manti Temple.

Thousands used to flock to the spacious temple grounds each summer (generally in June) to watch the popular Mormon Miracle Pageant (see photo of a scene from the pageant), which was a religious pageant that shows an overview of history thru the Latter-Day Saint aka Mormon Faith's view, culminating with a representation of the Mormon settlement of the Sanpete Valley. The 2019 performance was the final year of the pagaent, which was canceled after a 53-year run. To find out more about the pageant and its final performance, see: Mormon Miracle Pageant.

Geocache Explanation:

The geocache is NOT at the given coordinates. However, you can start at the coordinates (it is one of the stages, after all). To find the cache, all you have to do is visit each large, rectangular monument in the Gardens. There are 4, labeled after 4 different Pioneer Values: Faith, Education, Cooperation & Industry, represented as F, E, C & I. I've pointed out where each monument is, but not which one is which. Visit each one, figure out which text belongs with each monument, and then you'll know where to find the final cache.

Below is the final location, with the 4 missing coordinates; remember, each letter represents the monument and its corresponding coordinate that you'll need to visit to find the answer (for example, F = Faith, & so on):

N 39° 16.4 _  _ '
                   F E
W 111° 38.0 _  _ '
                     C  I 

Note that the quotations below are numbered. The numbers at the beginning of the quotes are the missing coordinates, but you need to figure out which of the four Pioneer Value Monuments the quote belongs to. By visiting each monument and reading what it says, you'll be able to figure out which quote belongs to which monument, and then you'll know which number belongs with which value. Best of luck, and here are the quotations from each monument:

2. "Determined pioneers walked across the Great Plains and then settled in a dry desert with conditions that seemed unrelenting. The life they had chosen was not an easy one."

1. "The pioneers were a culturally diverse group, gathered together from many nations. Yankees, Southerners, British and Scandinavians made up the majority of the people. Though their backgrounds varied, a universal value held by the early settlers was ________ ."

9. "Mormon converts migrated to the west seeking a place to gather as a people and find refuge from religious persecution. They faced many challenges as they established settlements in Central Utah."

4. "Greeted by the barren and unforgiving wilderness of Central Utah, the pioneers, moved to action...were able to till the bring life-giving water to the arid land, find ways to work together for protection and survival, and establish a new home." 

For example, if you thought the answers were 2 = Faith, 1 = Education, 9 = Cooperation, and 4 = Industry, then you'd plug those numbers into the puzzle and get the following:

N 39° 16.4 2  1 '
                   F E
W 111° 38.0 9  4 '
                     C  I 

Which would give you: N 39° 16.421 W 111° 38.094, and then off you'd go ... anyway, best of luck figuring out which is which!

While trying to figure out the puzzle, I hope you have fun visiting the gardens and enjoying the scenery. Also, I hope that you learn something new on your visit!

Puzzle Check: When you think you've solved the puzzle, check here: Geochecker Link

Geocache and listing maintained by josephaw.