King Richard, the Boilers Park, Washington Utah

 There was another activity put on by Ashton and Associates in St. George that Mike and I went to on Tuesday, November 30. Luckily, I was feeling better. Finally!  I was actually feeling normal again. A bit weak, but basically normal. No more aches, etc.

The activity was a movie premier of "King Richard," about Richard Williams, Venus and Serena Williams' father and how he coached them to greatness. It stars Will Smith and was really good.  What was also good was the comfy seats in the "private" theater for just our group, popcorn, candy that I won in the drawing before the movie . . . and just a relaxing time together. 

We didn't shop (we prefer to "shop local" when we can) because I still don't organize myself enough to know what to do for gifts and procrastinate, etc.  But we did make a stop on the way home.  We saw the "The Boilers" park in Washington, Utah.  

Here's what I found on the internet:

There’s a new park in Washington Utah….but not really.  It’s actually been a “swimming hole” for locals for years known as the “Boilers”.  It’s located just north of I15 at approximately 200 W Buena Vista Blvd Washington Utah.  Washington City took an interest in the area and has been working on turning it into a city park since 2015.  The actual address now is 295 W Buena Vista Blvd Washington UT but it may not come up on Google Maps yet. It’s now officially named The Boilers-A Natural Spring and Conservation Park. 

The Boilers is a natural warm spring fed pond that was an important water source for Native Americans and the pioneers in Southern Utah.  Apparently there is “warm” water that boils up through the sand at the bottom of the pond.  I’ve never personally been in the pond but have heard stories from old timers who have fond memories of swimming in the pond during the winter.  The three artisan style warm springs stay at about 70 degrees, year round.  The area has been inaccessible and behind a chain link fence since the 1990s.  Over the years the pond was used less because several city pools were installed as town grew.  Eventually it became a spot for partiers to meet for late night drinking and drug use.

An interesting side note about the Boilers, it has been known as a dumping area for people’s aquarium fish. Because the Boilers has a warm-water spring that flows into it, the exotic fish thrive in the pond. Several years ago someone actually caught a 9 pound Pacu, a South American freshwater fish that’s related to the piranha, at the Boilers!  When he saw that it had sharp teeth, he snapped a few pictures then released it back into the pond.  He contacted the DWR and they told him what species of fish it was. Pacu, unlike piranha, have straight-edged, humanlike teeth and can grow very large in size.

I didn’t see any fish when I was at the pond last week, so I’m not sure there are any in it now.  There were people swimming in the water and sitting on the sandy beach too.  Other people were having a birthday party and there were also people enjoying the playground. There’s a variety of indigenous flowers and plants that you can read and learn about along the path to the park.

Amenities for park goers to enjoy at the Boilers include  a large pavilion, plenty of picnic tables & picnic areas, a playground, benches to sit on and there are also pickleball courts.   This park is a little off the beaten path which makes it feel kind of like a secret meeting place!  It’s perfect for picnics, birthday parties, friend and family gatherings and of course enjoying the boiler springs.

However, Mike and I DID see fish in the pond and they looked like overgrown goldfish. He saw one trout, too, he said. Following are some of the photos I took while there.  I very much enjoyed the signage on the flora, too. 

Mike's inspecting the play area. Above.  I took a walk around the bike path around the perimeter. There's even a bike bath that goes under the freeway!  It's lit and everything. Cool.

The sign on this plant says Chocolate flower! There were cute little butterflies all over it.

Here's the bike path under the freeway. Who knew?!

This would be so cooling to wade safely in. The curbing is concrete, and sand is in it. It's kind of like a boat ramp and slopes down into the water.

Here is the exit point for the spring-fed pond.