Vegas Rally 2010

David and I spent the last weekend of February in Las Vegas for the annual High Rollers Weekend. I think this is the 10th year running. Dave and I went together for the first several rallies but because we started to multiply and replenish the earth, I eventually stopped going. It wasn't so much fun following a train of scooters in a car (and then later a minivan) with kids. It just wasn't the same. This year I decided to beg family (thank you Tom and Willa) to take our brood for the weekend so I could go again.

Living in Las Vegas as a resident and visiting Las Vegas as a tourist are two polar experiences. While living there, I basically ignored the strip. It wasn't anything too exciting. Occasionally my friends and I would go down there to eat or something but usually not. Slot machines were a bore. I didn't even really notice the filth of the strip while I lived in Vegas as a tween/teen. LDS youth in Vegas lived for Saturday night dances and Macayo's chips and salsa. The church did a great job steering their youth away from the strip.

When I first started going to Vegas for scooter rallies, Vegas seemed as harmless to me as when I lived there. Maybe my vision wasn't so good, or maybe I walked only looking straight ahead, but I never noticed the news stands full of porn or the pole dancers and girls in cages. I looked without seeing at what Vegas offered to the passer by. I only see what I want to see and I didn't want to see any of that junk.

This year was different. Although I really enjoyed the rally, I was more sensitive to the seediness around me. I like that word---seedy. Las Vegas is seedy. It is built on a foundation of allurement and addiction. The phrase "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" is as old a lie as "one time won't hurt" or "no one will ever find out". Really the phrase should be "what happens in Vegas will haunt you and hurt those you love" or "what happens in Vegas might make you broke, rob you of dignity, and give you a disease". I was not impressed by The Fremont Street Experience.

Anyways...enough about that.

The best part of going to the Vegas rally was riding our scooters OUT of Vegas. We took two extended rides. The first was out to the Lake Mead area and the second was out to Red Rock Canyon. I have extremely fond memories of scrambling over red rock with my brothers back when we lived in Vegas. It was gorgeous out there. One of Las Vegas' virtues is Red Rock Canyon.



Here are some of the scooters that were entered into a competition. David was really impressed by a couple Vespa GS's and Lambrettas that were there.


Our long time friends Kent and Mandy came just for the afternoon while en route to California for a cruise. They are part of the original group of us that started these annual treks to Vegas. They look the way Dave and I did 6 years ago when we brought our kids.


Here we have Nick, Sean, Lee, Spencer and Dave.


Dave and his Stella GB


Me and my Vespa GL


This was after riding through the Lake Mead park area on a cool, rainy Saturday. You have (from left to right) Jon, Taylor, Michelle Jean's husband, Jake, Dave and I.


Here is Lee, a friend and a loyal manager of our shop.


Me and Dave- waiting to pay to get into the Red Rock scenic loop.


More or our group. This is Cameron, Taylor, Candice, Spencer, Jake, Lee, me and Dave. Everyone except Candice and Spencer work at The Scooter Lounge. This is why we had to close the shop for the rally--no one was going to be at the store.





I love my scooter. Someday Dave will do a total restoration on her for me.

Someday.