Up at 5am! I know that I'm known for cracking the early-morning whip, but there are only so many hours in the day - and so many interesting things to do (besides, our internal clocks were still calibrated for 8am anyway). A quick breakfast and a quick walk around a bit of Las Vegas and we were off, bound northwards for Utah.
I ask Dad about how he feels this morning. Well, apparently its all Tom Kyte's fault!
As we exited the city, Dad and George got their first ever views of real desert - endless flats, dotted with sagebrush, buttressed by jagged brown peaks, devoid of trees and water, seemingly.
Dry washes, deeply eroded gullies, strange rock outcroppings and formations - all combine to create a landscape eerily alien to anyone who comes from more moist climates. Dad was impressed, and I was glad. I wanted this to be a journey of learning and wonder, and it wouldn't do to have him indifferent to his surroundings. Even more impressive for them was their first real canyon - the Virgin River Gorge, which the interstate passes through on its way to St. George, Utah. I just love it when the people around me are enthusiastic; makes it so worth it!
Dad (and George) are both big golf fans, so I had planned to make the first half-day a golf day for them. In the pleasant city of St. George Utah, there are 8 interesting golf courses. We picked the Dixie Red Hills golf course, and quaint nine-holer tucked underneath brilliantly red sandstone cliffs.
The weather was a bit cloudy, but nice and warm. We had a fun time, although my short game and putting was sufficiently bad to keep me in multi-bogey territory most of the time. George warmed up quickly, and was soon playing well. The final scores? I don't remember the details, but I do know that George had the best score, followed by Dad, then me.
