SASKATOONEXPRESS - October 6-12, 2014 - Page 15 Laughlin, Nevada Travel Offers much more than casinos

LAUGHLIN, Nevada — If you want a break from roulette wheels, you might want take a day off from Laughlin’s casino scene and spin another set of wheels: driv- ing an ATV through the desert. I found myself in a convoy of casino escapees raising a little hell — and dust — as we followed our leader, Joe Fitch, along wilderness trails seemingly a PETER million miles from WILSON the air-conditioned Riding an ATV through the desert is a thrilling day-trip experience that can be part of your itinerary on a visit Travel casinos of Laughlin. to the gaming city of Laughlin (Photo by Peter Wilson) No one could ac- cuse me of being an A neophyte like me should not be adven- frenetic Vegas scene, they also find it more ties and gaming resorts in Nevada. Laughlin adrenaline junkie. However, for someone turing out here without a guide. With Fitch affordable. It can also be 10 degrees warmer now has nine casino resorts. who used to wear seatbelts at drive-in at the head of our convoy, I felt very secure. than its cousin to the north during the winter Snowbirds have become a big part of movies, even I found myself hooked roar- He is a welder by trade, but branched out to months. the Laughlin success story. About 12,000 ing through the Mojave Desert aboard a rent out ATVs, along with operating London Visitors can thank Don Laughlin, a snowbirds, including many Canadians, have frisky ATV. Bridge Jet Boat Tours, which offers thrilling former owner of the 101 Club in Las Vegas, their winter homes here. Bullhead City and We were speeding through the blur of fast boat rides to visitors on the Colorado for the resort. Laughlin flew over the area in Laughlin cater to the demand with 21 RV the 27,660-acre Mount Nutt Wilderness River, a wide swath of blue water that sepa- his private plane in 1964 and saw potential parks — with 2,463 total sites — along with area in Mohave County, just east of Laugh- rates Laughlin Nevada and its next-door in the desolate sand that stretched out be- nine mobile home parks providing another lin, across the Arizona state line. Nutt community of Bullhead City in Arizona. low. There was the tiny dusty town of Bull- 538 spaces. Mountain, at 5,216 feet, tops out the wild The desert also has its own beauty, as I head City, and a barren stretch along the Activities on the Colorado River are terrain sprawled all around. It is a wild discovered on my ATV desert drive. The shores of the Colorado River called South another great attraction here. Several area land of mesas and canyons, an arid place sport is an example of the many activities Pointe, complete with a boarded-up motel at companies offer rentals of pontoon boats, that suits the likes of desert bighorn sheep, visitors to Laughlin can enjoy that are not the end of a dirt road. The region’s tourism jet boats, personal watercraft, kayaks and coyotes and diamondback rattlesnakes. Oh, related to the city’s vibrant gaming scene. potential for the visionary entrepreneur was canoes for visitors. and the occasional herd of 4x4 and ATV Thanks to the small city’s lineup of resorts the Davis Dam, then just 11 years old. If you prefer, sit back and relax while adventurers like me. and casinos, it’s often thought of as a Laughlin bought the boarded-up motel taking advantage of one of the several river Where we were making dust is not a mini-Vegas. That moniker is an injustice to and 6.5 acres of riverfront property for cruise tours available. Take a leisurely place you would bring the family sedan Laughlin. $250,000. In less than two years, the bar/ 90-minute trip along casino row to Davis to see the country. Not only is the terrain About 140 kilometres south of Las motel offered all-you-can-eat chicken din- Dam while enjoying the sights and listen to challenging, the summer climate in this Vegas, Laughlin is not just an alternative ners for 98 cents, slot play on 12 machines, a narrated history of the Laughlin area. If wilderness unit is harsh, with daytime destination to play the slots and watch a two live gaming tables and accommoda- you’re looking to add some more exhila- temperatures reaching well over 40 de- concentrated showboat of celebrity enter- tions in four of the motel’s eight rooms. ration to the journey, try the jet boat trip grees. By late fall through to early spring, tainment. It has also become a seasonal That same boarded-up motel evolved into through Topock Gorge to the foot of the however, temperatures moderate consider- home for snowbirds who enjoy the Nevada the lucrative 28-storey, 1,440-room River- famous London Bridge on Lake Havasu. ably, making life around here much more sun at a laid-back pace. Visitors not only side Resort Hotel and Casino that kick- For more information about Laughlin, comfortable. find the city more manageable than the started one of the fastest-growing communi- go to www.VisitLaughlin.com. P3s good for governments and taxpayers ublic-private-partner- Expand this concept 10 or who saw a need. In 1993, the Saskatoon transport astronauts to the International ships, or P3s as they are 100 fold and you have a tem- & District Soccer Association and Saska- Space Station. For $6.8 billion, private often called, are nothing plate for constructing bridges, toon Youth Soccer Inc. came together and companies will build and maintain the Pnew to the people of Saskatch- schools, airports or a football negotiated a long-term agreement with the fleet required to meet NASA’s needs, sav- ewan. While the term has been stadium. Which scenario is City for the land. With the help of the Sas- ing the public organization the $70 mil- in the news a lot recently and used depends on the needs and katoon Kinsmen, a venue that is home to lion per person for rides on the Russian is new to some people, the con- capabilities of the partners as more than 10,000 soccer players, and hosts Soyuz capsules. This agreement allows cept is as old as the province well as the required outcomes. a variety of events from soccer to religious private companies to do the same work itself. Prairieland Park is the old- gatherings, was built. that NASA has done for years at a price Throughout our history, est P3 of a significant size in P3s benefit the taxpayers of Saskatoon. tag 10 times less than the government-run when a community needed a Betty Saskatoon. This organization The facilities are built to meet the needs agency. curling rink, it was common Gibbon was formed in 1886 to create of the public without increasing taxes for Public-private-partnerships are the for the town to provide the Columnist and manage various venues to the capital cost or often for the ongoing much-needed solution to overburdened land, while a group of people host annual exhibitions. Built maintenance costs. governments and taxpayers. By providing came together to fundraise for on land donated by the City, To some, the idea of having the owner- economical results sooner and often less and/or build the facility. This was a public the construction was a larger commitment ship of a property or program lie outside costly in a competitive global environ- (town) private (the group) partnership. than the City was prepared to take on at of City administration is a risk. With ment, P3s will help us provide services Then, as now, the long-term ownership the time. In 1909, with a long-term lease well-drawn contracts, the financial risk in the 21st century just as they did in the and maintenance could be done a variety from the City, the entity proceeded to is less than it would be if the City were 19th and 20th centuries. of ways: the group could own the rink fundraise and build the park that we know solely responsible for the ongoing costs. (Prosperity Saskatoon is the initia- and lease the land, have the land donated and enjoy today. Nowhere has this concept been imple- tive of 13 local business groups work- so they own both, or the volunteers could The Saskatoon Soccer Centre (SaskTel mented in a more dramatic fashion than ing together as the Combined Business donate the rink to the town, but continue Sports Centre) is another well-used facility the recent announcement that NASA will Group. For more information, visit www. to maintain it for a small fee. built by a committed group of individuals be partnering with Boeing and SpaceX to prosperitysaskatoon.com.) JW11863.J06 James Canada Wide Clearance! % 550 Brand Road 0 purchase nancing up to 84 months Saskatoon Auto Mall on all 2014s!* * See dealer for the details THE ADVANTAGES:  150+ Point Inspection 306-374-6330 www.sherwoodchev.com  Manufacturer’s Warranty Toll Free 1-877-374-6330  24hr Roadside Assistance www.sherwoodchev.com If your buying somewhere else…your paying too much!  Exchange Privilege