Las Vegas

This week finds me hangin’ near Las Vegas again for the annual Mid American Antique Motorcycle Auction at South Point Casino. And once again we started the week shooting Nortons and Triumphs just south and east of Vegas near the little town of Nelson. The place actually goes by the name Eldorado Canyon and more information and photos can be found at: http://eldoradocanyonminetours.com/

Does anyone wonder why I love it here? Old trucks, older buildings, great vistas and very mellow people.

Today’s victims included a Norton Atlas and a very nice black 750 Commando. Nearby is one of my favorite shots from the day’s work – love those old Internationals.

The International is a new acquisition, and made a nice background for this pristine and recently restored 750 Commando.

The place is simply amazing, everyplace you turn there’s another old building or another old truck. Later this week they have a group coming from Discovery Channel to re-enact the 10 most famous shoot outs in US history – think OK Corral. At first I thought it might be fun to be here when they start shooting – until I heard that they plan to use live ammo. Maybe that’s a good day to hang out at the Casino instead.

And if you don’t like old tucks or old buildings, there are some pretty amazing rock formations.

It’s that time of year, time to fly to Vegas for the annual antique motorcycle auction at South Point Resort on the south end of The Strip. Last year I discovered the little desert town of Nelson, kind of a restored mining site. This year I discovered Red Rock Canyon. It’s really just west of The Strip, very accessible from almost anywhere in Vegas, yet still retains that remote feeling like you’re the first one to see the canyon and the views.

This is just one of the great views visible from the little parking lot on Highway 159. This is only about 10 or 12 miles from The Strip.

Highway 159 loops west and then south, and on the northern part of that route is the Road to Red Rock Canyon. This area is administered by the Bureau of Land Management, so you have to pay as you go in, but it’s definitely worth the fee. The views and the rock formations are other-worldly. All those clichés about breathtaking and awesome definitely apply here. The question of course is whether or not we can sneak a motorcycle into the foreground of a rock formation and click the shutter thirty or forty times before the ranger puts on the cuffs.

Though Red Rock Canyon gets all the press, Highway 159 has some pretty incredible views as well. The mountains are rugged as hell with very little vegetation and some interesting bands of color that run horizontally top to bottom.

All in all it promised to be an interesting week – especially if it would just warm up above the freezing point and quit snowing.

South Point Casino in Las Vegas is home to the annual MidAmerica Vintage Motorcycle Auction, the reason for my visit, mentioned in last week's blog. Every January all the old bike nuts come here to buy, to sell, and to tell a few lies.



I flew in on Monday, before the auction started, to work with Randy Baxter of Baxter Cycle fame, on the 2011 Classic Triumph Calendar. We try to change-up the calendar every few years, so the backgrounds aren't all corn stalks from Iowa, or canal views and golf courses from Florida.

The MidAmerica Vintage Motorcycle Auction is the biggest auction of it's kind in the country.

One of the locals directed us to the little town of Nelson, south of 'Vegas and a little south of Hoover Dam. Nelson isn't much more than a collection of trailers and small houses. Just down the road though is a restored mine site, kind of a refurbished ghost town. There's the general store, the barn and a collection of buildings in various states of disrepair. Scattered between the buildings is an extensive collection of old Jeeps, school buses, Chevy pickup trucks and mining equipment.



To discover this little town, run by a husband and wife team who gave us carte blanche to use the buildings and backdrops, was like being turned loose in the proverbial candy store with a pocket full of quarters. If the mining site wasn't enough, the Colorado River is only a few miles away, and the views of the desert and the river are simply to die for.

Just down the road from Nelson is this eclectic collection of buildings, cars, trucks and stuff. Lots of stuff.

Needless to say, we spent most of our time in Nelson and along the river, rolling bikes into and out of Randy's pickup truck, and then moving them this way and that until we were sure the perfect photo of the T100 or TR6 was contained on the memory card in my digital camera.

We parked this 1963 T-bird in a wash with the Colorado River as a backdrop.

As shown nearby, we did spend one night downtown. Freemont Avenue, with its canopy of lights, seemed the ideal place to photograph old motorcycles. The street has turned into a walking mall of sorts, complete with street musicians, open-air bars and lots of cops. All of who said, "no, you can't roll a motorcycle out here without getting permission." Luckily the folks who run the Plaza, on the west end of Freemont, were a little more open minded. We parked the little 250 Triumph under the canopy of lights at the Plaza, and aimed the lens at the lights of Freemont.


The MidAmerican Auction is a win-win deal for me, partly because I don't gamble (being self-employed is gamble enough). It's hard to beat great weather and endless photo ops. I'm thinking this little jaunt to Nevada could easily become a yearly event for me.

The 1969 TR 25W shines bright with the lights of the Plaza reflected in the paint, and the lights of Freemont in the background.

And for anyone who wonders, we do have some 2010 Classic Triumph calendars left.

Early one morning we parked this 1964 TR6SR in front of anther old mine building.

Since returning from Ohio just before Christmas, the Minnesota weather has turned cold, cold, cold. It's been fifteen degrees below zero for three nights in a row here in Minnesota, forcing me to escape to warmer climes, all in the name of work.


Las Vegas is home to an antique motorcycle auction held in January of every year, and this year I’ve decided to attend. The idea is to take some of the bikes, slated for the auction, outside for photos. Photos that will likely find their way into the Classic Triumph calendar for 2011. The fact that it actually stays above freezing at night here is just a secondary benefit.


My plane hit the ground about 2:00 PM yesterday, and after the typical delays waiting for luggage, I grabbed a brand new Malibu from National and headed for Boulder City. The Rocky City is just a hop, skip and a jump from Hoover Dam. My idea was to ask the locals how I could park a Triumph motorcycle in such a way as to get the dam as the background.

Hoover Dam, built over 4 years starting in 1931, and a perfect backdrop for an old Triumph motorcycle.

But no one told me about the bridge. The new bridge they are building that sails right over the dam. As one of the locals explained, "there used to be some side roads that had good views of the dam, but now it's all fenced off for construction."

Probably costing ten times as much money as the dam itself, the new bridge will skate right over the dam and the river below.

I had to settle for a drive over the dam on the old highway, and a series of tourist photos. And though I'm sure the motorcycle photos I take this week will be dramatic and award winning, there won't be any with the famous Hoover Dam in the background.

Right where it says "Danger Keep Off Wall," that's where the motorcycle should have been placed for the perfect calendar picture.