Feature Article

Party at the Wagon Wheel!

All in All this party was well worth the ten bucks to get in, plus you got free beer and a t-shirt. Thanks Kirk for a killer party. Big props to all who showed up to skate and get drunk. Like I always say “Viva Las Vegas Baby!”
Viva Las Vegas Part 2
The Wagon Wheels’ revenge.
words & video: the Walrus

Video Clip:

Brian Henson Calls me the first week of August to let me know about a big party at the wagon wheel (a.k.a. kirk’s). Turns out the party is August 16th, the same week I was going up anyway. I drop a line to my bro Kyle Mitchell , and he rounds up the I.E. Boys to make a little skate trip out of it. Now I just have to explain to the old lady how our “romantic getaway” might have a few minor changes to it. I drop the bomb on thursday night, and after noting I would kick down some gambling money, she is cool with it and gives me the thumbs up. I wake up Friday morning with a gnarly hangover and the itch to skate. As my better half gets herself ready for buffet haven, i manage to make my way down to the casino bar for a bloody mary and two Excedrin. The cell phone rings, it’s Kyle informing me he and the boys are in Henderson. They tried to skate the new park there, put it was closed with a lot of security. Denied! I dropped them some info on some empty pools in and around the strip. Around 6pm I get the call, they are waiting for me at thier hotel. So off I go to my brother-in-laws house to drop off the old lady and pick up my nephew Michael and his friend Chuy. After that it’s off to The Holiday Motel to get the boys. As I pull up to the hotel I see these guys skating the parking lot curbs. The I.E. Boys are ready to roll, Kyle Mitchell, Mike Hamerla, Chris (Red Dog), and Dirty Dave.

I had called Kirk earlier in the week to set up a session before the party started and got the OK. When we pull up Brian (Manimal) is already there cleaning the bowl. After a few sweeps she’s ready to ride. Brian Immediately starts to kill it with inverts and frontside lip sides. The boys hit it and try to get use to the big trannies. I managed to get some runs in, and Michael get some shallow end grinds. Around 8:30pm more heads start to roll in and the session gets hot. Red Dog throws up some sick Frontside Rocks in the deep, and Dirty Dave kills the shallow with huge back side 50/50s. He did this from 7pm till 12pm, that’s a lot of skating!

Kyle manages a few frontside disasters and a sick tail slide in the deep. Mike Hamerla just killed that whole bowl. Roll in the deep to back side smith in the shallow, to tail taps in the deep, to fakie melons. That was all in one run. He did this all night! Maui Boy Should up and was killing it going mach 10 on every run. That guy was flying!! Some crazy Guy name dave did a tribute to science and skate the bowl butt naked. That was pretty funny considering there was alot of hot chicks there. Paul Smith came out And brought My homeboy Vegas Joe with him. Joe was rusty after doing 5 months in Vegas Jail. By the end of the night the rust was gone and huge frontside grinds over the box were going down! It was good to see Joe ripping again. There was two sick bands that played some killer punk. And there was kegs a flowin all night. Did I mention the motocross track behind the bowl. We also got a little rain for a few seconds and a killer lightning show. All in All this party was well worth the ten bucks to get in, plus you got free beer and a t-shirt. Thanks Kirk for a killer party. Big props to all who showed up to skate and get drunk. Like I always say “Viva Las Vegas Baby!”