along the “edge” of the property. “I knew the rim holes would be something very unique, so I pushed hard for them,” said Wilkey.

No topsoil existed on the rock rim. It
either got blown away by the occasional stiff desert wind or washed away by the desert downpours. At more than 3,000 feet in elevation, Sand Hollow is classic high desert.

With the exception of small pockets of
sand tucked in the edge of the rim, the

entire sand tucked in the edge of the rim, the entire length of the rim required excavating rock. Some of the rock could be chipped and ripped with an excavator but approximately 100,000 cubic yards of it had to be blasted. No one knew how tough it would be or how long it would take to blast that much rock, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the construction schedule.

Sun’s project task was to excavate 272,000sufficient conditions to grow turf for the

golf course and allow for underground
golf course irrigation, an additional four
feet below finished grade needed to be
excavated on 22.2 acres and then backfilled with imported sand.

Sun Contracting Project Manager Jared
Russell called Chris Powell of Bonneville
Blueprint Supply, Inc. in Idaho Falls, Idaho to help equip them with GNSS