On Saturday, October 8, 2016 John, Jon, and I hit the road for St. George at 5:45AM! Jonathan likes to take the route through Yosemite NP and as it takes a little longer, it is imperative that we leave a little early so we can finish in daylight. So armed with bagels and coffee for an in-car breakfast, we are off. Traffic is a little heavier than usual due to it being Columbus Day weekend but we make good time and by lunchtime we have reached Tonopah, NV.
We arrive in St. George around 7PM MDT, check to see that everything is in working order (both Direct TV and the internet are on the fritz) and then head over to the Club for some so-so dinner.
As we will do five times during Jon’s stay, we play tennis the next morning. Poor Jon has tennis elbow but plays valiantly through the pain. I am playing horribly through all of our sessions and only start to improve at the very end of our stay.
Jonathan and I have such fun grocery shopping and cooking. We get the ingredients for his favorite “mom” meal, meatballs and gravy over noodles with green beans.
The days fly by and Jon plays golf on his non-tennis days and arranges music, takes naps, and continues to shop and cook with us. We bring some better wines along to share. One of our older Zinfandels gets a big thumbs up from all of us.
We are also trying to find new places to eat. The dining scene in St. George is pretty grim but there must be restaurants other than Mongolian BBQ and Mad Pita to eat! We try Jalapeño’s, Dickey’s BBQ, and strike gold at Irmita’s. There are daily specials and the Tuesday mulitas are delicious and economical.
One day we decide to take a hike in Zion NP. Since October is a pretty popular time, we search out less well-known spots to hike. Our choice is off the Hop Kiln Trail along the Kolob Terrace Rd. We decide to go off-trail to find what another hiker has named Hoodoo City. We have great fun exploring and are careful to leave a cairn so we won’t get lost coming back. Plus there are no other adventurers on our hike.
Our next stop is at the Lava Point Overlook. The view of Wildcat Canyon and The main Zion Canyon peaks are phenomenal.
Our culinary point of view this week is international. In addition to the Mexican chicken fajitas above, we also make –
We all have a great time and are so happy that Jonathan loves this place as much as we do. It is nice to think that there might be generations of Pilats enjoying St. George and the wonderful nearby parks in the future.
