Yeah, this article is about getting away from the world. And a little bit about how no matter how hard we try, the world has a way of pulling us back in or letting us know it’s still a factor even when you think you’ve escaped, but with a twist.

Fact is, you just can’t get away from it. And in life, the world has funny ways, beautiful ways and some serious ways of reminding us of just that.

And as it goes with all my golf trips, it’s a mixture of all those ways with more than enough evidence. And I’m just writing this at the end of Day 1 after the drive down from the day before. I could have just written there’s nothing you can do about the weather. And yes, that’s a political shot about “global warming.”

But Day 1 certainly wasn’t about global warming. It was golfing in a little over 40 degrees with spitting rain and a pretty fair breeze. In golf terminology, the weather sucked. And yes, we still played the round for the simplest of reasons: We drove more than 500 miles to do it.

But first, let’s go to the drive down where the world reminds us we’re very much a part of it. We did leave a little early, because we knew we’d hit some weather along the way. But even if the drive was a little crazy, Mother Nature took the time in both beauty and pains to show us just how big a factor in life she is. We were barely on the road much traveled (I’ve been taking this late February trip to Mesquite – the poor man’s Las Vegas – for almost all the 26 Februarys I’ve lived in the Junction) to our destination and hit rain mixed with snow before we hit the Utah State line. Thank goodness that portion of weather ended half-way to Green River.

So, the road trip began into the good, the bad and the ugly as they relate to the weather. The drive continued with sunshine for a while, then rain, then snow over the always concerning drive between Green River and Salina. Why is it concerning? Well, all the signs tell you it is, because there are no services for about 150 miles. Lots of reminders. So once again, all hands were on deck for that part of the drive for no reason, as it was, once again, uneventful between Green River and Salina.

But it wasn’t uneventful as far as from my new world point of view. As a matter of fact, when the sun was shining through, the ride was downright stunning in its beauty. Maybe it’s just because of where I’m at (finally) in life and my faith journey that this portion of the ride just looked different. And by different, I mean beautiful.

The San Rafael Swell looked especially swell this trip. The red rock, valleys and canyons of Eastern Utah were extraordinarily pleasing to the eye, and once up top and through the initial miles, heading south on Interstate 15, the fresh coating of snow brightened the beautiful landscape from the valley floor to the mountaintops. Is there anything as beautiful as a fresh snowfall under a bright sun? Well, perhaps one illuminated by moonlight, but not by much.

Yet, on the final portion of our southern journey it was as if seasons changed before our very eyes as we exited the Virgin River Gorge to budding green scenery to our left and right along the interstate, reminding us that new life on the course was going to greet us at tee times the next day. With spring golf and green fairways still a month or two away back home, what a wonderful reminder of why we made the trip.

Why am I writing this? And how does this show in any way how it’s impossible to escape the world?

To me, it’s a way to tell you why you shouldn’t want to escape the world. The beauty that God created to surround all of us on a daily basis shouldn’t be taken for granted or as simply background to the problems, toil or tragedy we face daily. Life will always be full of events, people and the unanticipated taking their toll. But aren’t these easier to make our way through if we also see beauty among the ugliness?

Frankly, I wish I had the vision (literally) to write this decades ago. But to be honest, I couldn’t see how.

And even though the weather didn’t cooperate in a beautiful way our first round (I’d write about the other rounds if deadline was a day or two later) of golf with a frigid temperature, overcast clouds and rain, there was still beauty to behold in a few golf shots and the course itself. But then, as only the world can do, it reared its head to bring back the other side of reality.

On the final hole with slippery cart paths, two of the boys had a cart go over a curb and flip. Sadly, the result was two shaken and achin’ players. One under watch with his aches and the other with a couple of broken ribs – on whom the aches are a given. So, there’s the world’s reminder it can be harsh, even among its beauty. There’s no escaping it.

More beautiful in the tragic event: men who have been friends for decades concerned for their compadres, freeing two buddies from the tipped over golf cart, going to the emergency room, providing safe and supportive (yes, us elders need physical assistance when we hurt ourselves) transit from the hospital to the pharmacy and back to the hotel, and just doing the stuff that needs doing when friends need it done.

In life you just learn in time (how and when is up to how much one pays attention to the planet) that when it’s time to do something a friend needs, you drop what you’re doing and do it.

I’m just saying beauty all depends on how you look at what the world gives.

In Truth and freedom. And a birdie here and there.

Craig Hall is owner and publisher of The Business Times. Reach him at 424-5133 or publisher@thebusinesstimes.com