Mr. Protocol
01-15-2008, 10:02 PM
The first Segway I ever saw in the wild was at the Quartzsite Pow-wow, about three years ago or so. I decided then and there that Quartzsite was the perfect place to ride a Segway. For the months of January and February, the town of Quartzsite, AZ, right over the border from Blythe, CA, has a set of interlocking swap meets and gem-and-mineral shows which combine to form about the biggest swap meet ever. The town, which has a population of about 2,000 the other ten months of the year, swells to about 200,000, all in RVs. It's a sight to behold.
Well, this year I finally got the opportunity. Took the 180 with me and glided the Tyson Wells and Desert Gardens swap meets. The first is (mainly) a general swap meet, with a few very large gem and mineral dealers; the second is a pure gem-and-mineral extravaganza.
I had a great time. I was afraid the Segway might object to the loose gravel, but it just plowed right through and never came close to dumping me. And since it takes about two days from 10AM to 5PM to plow through all three swap meets in town right now (The Main Event being the third), riding the Segway about half the time really, really helped.
Interestingly, reaction to the Segway was uniformly positive. In two days' gliding I heard not one negative remark.
If anyone's thinking about coming to Quartzsite, bring the Segway. You won't be sorry.
Our next stop was Sedona, AZ, to sort of browse through the red rock country and to watch sunrises and sunsets over Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, the Coffeepot, the Colorado Rim, and so forth. I was planning on leaving the Segway in the trunk, but development has caused so much sprawl, and has resulted in the construction of so many miles of navigable sidewalks, that I decided to give it a try while my SO was otherwise occupied. Again, it was great. Gliding from one end of Sedona West to the junction of 89A and 179, I burned up a couple of hours and most of a charge. There's one long, featureless hill there that just has to be done on a Segway. Nobody in their right minds would walk it, downhill or up.
And the scenery is gorgeous. AZ is one of the states with EPAMD legislation, so if you're coming to Sedona to ride jeeps, visit ruins, watch sunsets or bag vortexes, bring the Segway! Your feet will thank you. And it sure beats driving. This place is turning into a New Age traffic jam.
Well, this year I finally got the opportunity. Took the 180 with me and glided the Tyson Wells and Desert Gardens swap meets. The first is (mainly) a general swap meet, with a few very large gem and mineral dealers; the second is a pure gem-and-mineral extravaganza.
I had a great time. I was afraid the Segway might object to the loose gravel, but it just plowed right through and never came close to dumping me. And since it takes about two days from 10AM to 5PM to plow through all three swap meets in town right now (The Main Event being the third), riding the Segway about half the time really, really helped.
Interestingly, reaction to the Segway was uniformly positive. In two days' gliding I heard not one negative remark.
If anyone's thinking about coming to Quartzsite, bring the Segway. You won't be sorry.
Our next stop was Sedona, AZ, to sort of browse through the red rock country and to watch sunrises and sunsets over Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, the Coffeepot, the Colorado Rim, and so forth. I was planning on leaving the Segway in the trunk, but development has caused so much sprawl, and has resulted in the construction of so many miles of navigable sidewalks, that I decided to give it a try while my SO was otherwise occupied. Again, it was great. Gliding from one end of Sedona West to the junction of 89A and 179, I burned up a couple of hours and most of a charge. There's one long, featureless hill there that just has to be done on a Segway. Nobody in their right minds would walk it, downhill or up.
And the scenery is gorgeous. AZ is one of the states with EPAMD legislation, so if you're coming to Sedona to ride jeeps, visit ruins, watch sunsets or bag vortexes, bring the Segway! Your feet will thank you. And it sure beats driving. This place is turning into a New Age traffic jam.