Beth and I went skiing at Brian Head yesterday. It's a nice resort with a lot of intermediate terrain... good for an enjoyable day of cruising on the snow. The resort itself is nice and simple... nothing like Tahoe, but that's not a bad thing. The parking at Brian Head is great - ten feet from the snow! And the lift ticket prices are still in the 30s, not the 60s.

Their website was a little misleading about the closeness of the resort to St. George, UT. Unless, of course, you consider 67 miles as close. I guess it's all in perspective. It took about two and a half hours to drive there - and it was a beautiful drive. Between North Las Vegas and Mesquite, there are mini Grand Canyon type revines and gulleys around the highway, some of them very deep. Past Mesquite you drive through the Virgin River Gorge. There the road winds and twists through steep rock cliffs as it follows the river some ten miles through the mountains. It was really neat.

On our way home last night we stopped in Mesquite and ate dinner at the Casa Blanca Hotel and Resort/Spa. Good ol' fashioned, cheap Vegas style buffet... something you can't find on the strip anymore. Last night's special was prime rib for only $9.99. Gotta love it. And, we didn't over do it. Beth and I have thought about driving out to Mesquite in the past because the Casa Blanca offers specials like a two night stay with two spa treatments for $129. Not a bad deal. It would be a nice, inexpensive getaway without going far - it's about an hours drive from Las Vegas.