Vacation...the word rolls off the tongue nicely. I took the ride up through the northwest corner of Arizona and into Mesquite, Nevada Sunday night. I arrived about 9:30pm without an incident (except for the fuel issue...) There are no gas stations anywhere once you leave Kingman. I had to make the trip to Bagdad, Arizona (again) which is 10 miles off the main road and 10 miles back (no other way around) and paid $3.62 a gallon at the gas station/quickie mart/visitors bureau. Bagdad is a copper mining dot on the map located truly in the middle of nowhere. Nice school though. But I digress (don't I always?). So after gassing up I made the trek through the desert over the new highway above the Hoover Dam (can't see much but much faster route--you can still exit and go down to the dam), through Las Vegas (kept my money in my wallet), and into Mesquite. I was staying at a timeshare exchange called Great Destinations at the Oasis Resort and Casino. I had to check in across the street at the Casablanca because the Oasis closed their casino and office at 8pm. I rolled into the deserted parking lot and found the building I was staying in...(a little leery at the accommodations), but the room was beautiful.
Monday was a golf in Utah day...(by now you know the bucket list--50 rounds in 50 states) so I was checking Utah off the list with a round at the Sand Hollow Resort in Hurricane, Utah... (about an hour northeast of Mesquite). I had an online tee time of 7:30 am and I left at 6am (plenty of time) to get there and warm up before the round. I crossed the border into Utah and the electric time sign said 7:48 am.I looked at my watch and it said 6:48am. Damn time zone change! I had crossed into Mountain Standard Time. So now I was late! I got to the course at 8:10 and told the starter of my dilemma and he laughed and said it happened all the time. Luckily it was a Monday and there weren't too many people out to play. I joined two other guys and played a round at a spectacular golf course again in the middle of nowhere (there is a ton of "nowhere" here in the West). I can see why they call the "wide open spaces". The course was cut through the high plains with plenty of purple sage and red rock and breathtaking views of the mountains... (didn't see any polygamists walking around--they were further north from where I was).
Tuesday was a 54 hole golf-a-thon at Falcon Ridge right here in Mesquite. A course located literally around the corner from where I was staying. I had set up a morning and afternoon round. I finished the first round about 10:30 and my second tee time wasn't until 1pm. I asked the pro shop if I could go out earlier and he said the magic words "you'll have to play alone" (bonus!). So off I went playing a two ball tournament and I had 54 holes completed by 2:30 in the afternoon...Needless to say my nap at around 5pm took me through the night into Wednesday. Wednesday was a lazy day exploring the immediate area and planning my trip to the North Rim and Uncle Jim's Trail. That's on the docket for today...
Before I go and try not to fall into the Grand Canyon, I want to wish my sister a very Happy Birthday (being the gentleman I am I will not reveal her age). My sister is not just my sister. She's my friend, my confidante, my reality check... (let's face it, that's a full time job in itself). She has the most beautiful nieces an Uncle could wish for and I love them to death. She has the sort of life I would envy if I were the "marrying kind" (and we all know I'm not). So Happy Birthday, Sheryl. Love you!
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