Vegas and GTS

I was in Las Vegas last week for GTS, the main trade show for the hobby game industry. This was the first time I've been able to go in 3-4 years, since it never seemed worth burning vacation days for when I was working at Flying Lab. We did the show lean and mean this year, with just Hal and I there to rep for Green Ronin. I wish Nicole could have come, but Kate isn't quite old enough to be left at home for four days alone.

GTS was handy for meetings and I had many throughout the week. Some of these may bear fruit and become interesting projects. The floor traffic was a little light. We actually brought too much stuff to give away to the retailers for once. The upside to that was the quality of conversion was better. In the years when GTS was overrun with swag hounds due to the Wizkids promo items, some retailers would only stop at our booth long enough to find out what was free and then drag their almost bursting bags to the next booth. The folks we talked to this year were actually interested in what we were up to and in letting us know what was working and not working for them. As you might imagine, that's a lot more useful. I was pleased to hear so much positive feedback about Dragon Age, particularly the stories about new gamers seeking it out in stores. Several folks told me about running Dragon Age for 8-10 year olds and that is awesome.

Overall, we did some good business and I'm glad we went. What really made the trip worthwhile was seeing old friends though. I got to touch base with many people I see but rarely and that's always nice. We were delighted to see Nabil, Simon, and Lisa from the Travelling Man stores in England for the first time in 6-7 years. Hal and I went out to dinner with them at Lotus of Siam, which served the best Thai food I've had. The next night we had dinner with John Kovalic at Bouchon and that was also terrific. Since John got off the convention express, I don't get to see him that often so it was great to catch up. The next day we walked down to Circus Circus for a 70s time warp, and then stopped in at the Peppermill for giant cocktails. The only thing that would have made it better was if John and I could have thrown down with a miniatures game. I guess I'm going to have to go to Madison for that.

Vegas remains equal parts amazing and horrifying. You've got billion dollar casinos where the rich go to play connected by bridges on which immigrants sell bottles of water out of coolers and homeless people beg for change. One guy had a sign that said, "Need money for beer." A group of drunken frat guys thought that was hilarious, so they start taking pictures and video. The sign holder's friends said, "Hey, you're going to be on YouTube." One of the frat guys replied, "I'm not giving you any money but you'll totally be on YouTube!" Viva Las Vegas?

So That's the Hualapai Legacy

Nicole and I are in Vegas for the Diamond/Alliance Open House. We had yesterday free, as our set-up took all of half and hour and we did that today. We're feeling rather done with Vegas, except for the fine dining. If we were super rich, it'd be another story, but we've pretty much done the stuff we are interested in and can afford. We decided to be spontanteous, so we rented a car and drove to the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon yesterday instead of hanging out town.

Our initial plan was to just go to the Hoover Dam, which is indeed quite impressive. The 500 hundred mile drive to the Grand Canyon seemed too much for a day trip, but then we heard that the West face was much closer. After touring the dam, we decided to continue into Arizona and check it out. Normally, Nicole and I do a lot of research before taking trips. Grand Canyon West is a case study in why that's a good idea.

So we drove over the Hoover Dam and into Arizona. Less than an hour later we turned off the highway and started following a local road through some depressing small towns. Signs told us it was only 39 miles to Grand Canyon West. "This is a lot better than driving 500 miles," I said.

The next turnoff was on to an unpaved gravel road. One car in front of us went about a hundred feet and then turned around. Having come this far, we decided to push on. The road snaked through the desert for 14 miles. Cars kicked up gravel and clouds of dust and I began to wonder if the rental car would take any damage we'd be liable for. Finally we reached pavement again and a sign informed us we were on Hualapai Indian land and parking there cost $20.

At last we reached Grand Canyon West, or rather the parking lot for Grand Canyon West. Here we discovered that the $20 parking fee was just the beginning. You couldn't just park and go see the canyon. You had to buy a $30 "Hualapai Legacy" package that would allow you on a bus that took you the final distance to the canyon. There were, of course, a bunch oo add-ons like helicopter rides and a hummer "off-road adventure." The big attraction was the Skywalk Glass Bridge, which lets you walk above the Grand Canyon. That was another $30. I said to hell with that, but Nik decided to go for it. Now I have been to tourist traps before but this one really earned the name. Once you've driven all that way, you either suck it up and pay or turn around and admit you have wasted your day.

The first stop on the bus was Eagle Point. The view is not that great unless you go out on the Skywalk. Nicole went out while I looked at sample Indian dwellings and the construction site for the resort that's coming soon. Nik found out that you aren't allowed to take pictures on the Skywalk. That's something else they want to charge you for.

The next stop was Guano Point and it had a much better view than Eagle Point. You could walk out onto the point and look down the canyon in either direction. There were no guard rails, so you to be careful. We climbed to the top of the point, away from the noise and the tour buses. Out there on the rocks, with muddy Colorado River far below and beautiful rock formations in every direction, I finally got what I wanted. I didn't think it would be such an ordeal or cost that much money, but at least Guano Point delivered the goods.

I would rarely recommend this when traveling, but if you are in Vegas and you want to see the Grand Canyon, you're better off just going on a charter bus than driving. Other than the Hoover Dam, there is nothing to see or do on the route so you won't be missing much in the way of the road trip experience.

The exhibit hall at the trade show opens in an hour, so I must dash. One more state and one more site checked off my list.