We (Jason, Dave and I) decided to go to the Laughlin river run again this year and believe me, it's no Sturgis!!
I'm not talking about the wild women, the parties, the people in general. I'm talking about the Green, beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota compared to the desert of Nevada/Arizona. There wasn't a lot to see while in between places, but when we finally reached our destination, it was worth it, in it's own respect.
We stopped in Mesquite the first night, because of our late departure time, then woke the next day refreshed and ready to explore California/Nevada/Arizona on two wheels. We did have a
hundred dollar hiccup near Vegas when our trailer tire blew, but we got it taken care of and got another one just in case it happened again. It still amazes me, the whole supply and demand thing, how trailer tires, in say, Ephraim are $25 bucks but trailer tires in Vegas, after crossing the hot desert, are $100 bucks!!! Weird!!Anyway, we got to Needles, CA at about 10:30a.m. and checked into our hotel for BOTH nights. (Notice how both is caps...pay attention to that slight detail for later in the story.) We then set off
for Lake Havasu. We stopped at the boat docks just to "check out their boats". Can I just say that the people that were there that day had too much time on their hands and "too much bloody money"!! I could not believe how many boats were bigger than my house!! And fast!! They would rev their motors and the water would shake in fear!! (Not really, but it sounds nice.) It was an awesome sight to see, and an awesome life to live...if you can afford it!! We decided to eat and then spend some time at the London Bridge, that we couldn't find because of the "bridge" we had to keep going over while looking for it...Remember the old saying, "you can't find the forest 
for the trees"...well, we couldn't find the bridge for it was under us!! We finally figured it out and decided to walk down below, so we could really "check things out". It was beautiful. The details and construction was massive! I remember seeing it when I was little, but all I remember of it was the beach side, kind of where it ended. Anyway, it was a cool, memorable experience.We then continued our "quest" to Laughlin to take part in the
biker rally that was being held there on the "strip". As we parked our bikes and started to look around at all there was to see, I looked over at Dave and started to laugh!! His face was so shocked at what was surrounding us, I could tell that he was just trying to absorb the chaos that was bustin' out the seams!! We started walking through the vendors and I noticed Mike and "Angieland" of the Full Throttle bar in Sturgis over signing autographs, so of course, we went over and took advantage of the photo op. It was 
cool to see what kind of people that they really were. Mike was a little shy and got embarrassed easy. His "dreads" were falling out, and he actually was a nice guy just trying to make a buck. Angie was really short and vivacious. She looked over and laughed when she noticed that Mike was getting embarrassed. It was cute to see that they really knew each other, that they were "real" with their feelings for one another. It was a refreshing change from the "biker bar" persona. I found out that neither one of them drink or smoke. They just had this really great idea to sell beer to those "wild bikers" once a year who did. I think, other than it being beer, they hit the jackpot!!We headed back to the rooms at about 10p.m. and had an all right night UNTIL the 12 year old dance group that was "Camped out" directly above us decided to get up at 4:30a.m. and start practicing their "routines" for two and a half hours, until they finally packed up and left. I was not happy that the floors were that poorly insulated!! Every little (and big) step was heard...EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!
The next morning, we started off towards the Grand Canyon, south entrance. There was
NOTHING for four hours straight!! We found Saligman, birthplace of "Cars", and stopped to take some pictures and get some 
souvenirs. As we crossed the road to get some pictures of the mannequins hanging out of the "biker bar", we heard a lady, in a very burnt out sixties voice, ask us if we wanted to try her "breakfast dogs". We politely said no thanks, where she insisted that "they were better than mcdonalds any day man." So Jason said that we would have one. We thought that
she would just pull one out of her little umbrella cart and we would be on our way, but NOOOOOO....She fired up her camp stove, pulled out three sausage links, complete with casings,(eewwwww!!) and fried them up while we waited. It was hilarious!! She put a glove on the hand that was holding the hogie, while she shoved cheese inside it with her un-gloved hand!! Needless to say, I did not partake of the fruit that day...Jason ate both of ours and woke up sick the next day!!We FINALLY reached the Grand Canyon, walked out on a couple of ledges, snapped some
pictures, and headed on our way, BACK to the rally, per Dave's request.We finished walking the strip and headed back to the hotel for a well deserved "soak" in the hot tub.
This is where the story gets interesting...
We noticed that our key wasn't opening the door, so knowing that somehow we needed access to our swimming suits before the pool closed, I marched down to the lobby for our keys and some pool towels. I waited patiently for 20 minutes while 6 very stinky frenchmen and women argued with the hindu desk clerk about their reservations...sidebar, the frenchmen and women did NOT speak english, and the Clerk did NOT speak very good english....It was a long wait!!
I finally spoke up after he skipped right over me and started to deal with the OTHER people in line, by saying that we needed to "RECHECK IN" and get some towels. It was finally a success!!
We busted in, changed, soaked, and after a really long day, peacefully fell asleep....(this is where it gets good!!)
We got a call at three o clock IN THE MORNING!!! I was thinking that it was like a warning call that the building was on fire, or that our bikes were getting rained on or something.....NOPE!!!
Jason answered and tried to understand what was being said on the other end of the line..."sir, you are in that room unlawfully and I need to know how you will be paying!"
"what?"
"sir, I need you to give me your credit card information right now, or we will have to ask you to leave this instant!"
"Huh?" "I think we already paid for our room?!"
"sir, I have no record of you paying for your room for the second night. I need you to come down here and pay for your room immediately!"
"Give me the dang phone!!"
"Here, talk to my wife."
"We booked two separate nights!"
"oh, there it is."
Click
What the heck!! I got up and stood outside my door, contemplating going down there, half asleep, and giving her(notice I said "her") a piece of my mind, but I figured that she would be there in the morning, and I would just wait until then! I made a feeble attempt to fall back to sleep, when the "neighbors" above us decided it was time to get a move on. More stomping back and forth until they were all gathered and loaded!! No sleep!!
I went down to try to make sense of what just happened. Tired and sunburnt, I marched in and asked the "her" at the front desk if she was my three o clock wake up call. Now, you know when you can tell when somebody's lying? Stuttering her words, looking from side to side, trying desperately to "come up" with something on the fly...well that was her, to a "T"!! All I heard is blah, blah, blah...excuses, excuses, excuses!! Needless to say, we will NOT be staying there again, and our last night was finally refunded in full!! Not O.K.!!
We, (Dave) decided he needed one more taste of the rally before we left town, so we rode back in. We walked across the street, bought t-shirts, took a picture of Dave with a "pin up" girl, and headed for home!!
All in all, it was a fun experience. Good times, good food, good friends!! We arrived back in Ephraim Sunday night, went in to see Jim Monday from 3-10p.m.. Listened while he "argued with the angels", and went in the next morning for his last breath. He was such an inspiration to me and my family! He taught us how to use our brains and how not to sit idol and just assume that this is all the life we have left to live. He
helped me to see Jason's perspective during disagreements that I had had with him, and he gave such helpful, honest criticism that helped me to grow and become!! His wisdom and friendship will be missed!!Now, to love and move on. The graveside service is planned, although the weather is kind of bad, and all but one son will be able to make it here for the service. Jason's birthday is tomorrow, and Mckay's baptism is on saturday. Busy week, but we'll be surrounded with lots of family, both legit and not so legit(I've adopted the Green family, all but Marty!) I hope all goes well. Wish us luck.
