The High Roller is a somewhat tame little ride that gets most of its thrill from being over 900 feet up in the air while the Big Shot is a standard high-velocity ascension drop ride that also gains added thrills from being perched on top of the world's largest car antenna. It's the largest structure on the west coast, taller than the Space Needle, and it's got two rides on top of it, if that doesn't take your breath away, the view will.

Since the wind was blowing heartily, we weren't able to sample the reportedly intense sensations of the Big Shot and the High Roller was down for repairs, so our adventure was limited to the high-speed journey to the top of the tower inside of a very funky futuristic elevator. With the requisite trinkets purchased, it was time to head back down to earth with an eye towards Arizona and parts beyond.

We spent far too little time in Vegas--that was evident as we pulled away sometime late in the afternoon with sippers full of fresh and fruity beverages and road maps to insure our safe arrival at the next park. We were pondering a stop-over at the Grand Canyon on the way over, but time would tell if we could manage a tight schedule with such flights of whimsy happening. There was no way of telling if the Texas Troika was even going to work. Christine popped one of my tapes into the deck and we harmonized across Hoover Dam and on into Arizona where we encountered a lot of dust, demon truckers and scorpions. Our next park wouldn't be till we got into Texas.