St. George ATV "Rendezvous"

I accompanied Charley up to the ATV gathering in St. George this weekend. Hundreds of ATVers from all over several states gathered to commiserate and ride the many red-rock trails around here.

Of course it didn't hurt that there was no snow and shirt-sleeve weather.

We arrived late in the day really just to see the vendors and to "network" a bit with the riders. Unfortunately, when we arrived it was basically deserted. Everyone had finished riding for the day and was out getting cleaned up for an awards ceremony and dinner.

We spoke with the vendors and gathered all the maps we could (which wasn't many). If you frequent these types of things you may already understand how vendors work. I sort of expected people who were really interested in expanding the sport and providing "value added" to those who attend.

Unfortunately, what I experienced were salespeople who were salivating over a captive market. Eight dollars for a 25 cent chin-strap buckle - get real! I actually didn't see any of the local vendors there that I knew, and did catch one vendor who persisted in lies (which exaggerated the value of his product).

Always do right... this will gratify some and astonish the rest.”
Mark Twain

A BLM lady was there with color brochures and pushing the use of flags ... no mention about all the trails which have been closed, or why. Her handouts seemed quite a bit heavy on all the things we COULDN'T do and almost nothing on what we could do.

I was able to disseminate the blog address to a few people before we headed to St. George for dinner at Cracker Barrel - moderately priced, substantial food... clumsy waiters who dropped and broke a whole rack of plates and glasses.

Note to organizers: Think "value added" - trail map handouts and not letting anyone exhibit unless they bring at least one really good deal with them!