Skip to Content

Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.

Map of the world

Ode to Evel Knievel

My 5 year-old told me Evel Knievel died. He and his dad, (yes, my husband) were watching videos of Eve's stunts at the time. Hearing of his death prompted them to turn to the Web to watch Eve's antics.

This summer we went to our 2nd Evel Knievel Days in Butte, Montana. Evel is from there, and the town has taken that to heart. Good for Butte that someone with some pizazz is from there. Some celebrities sort of fade away, and whatever festival occurred when they were alive peter out. Not so for Evel Knievel Days. I expect next year's crowd could even get bigger.

There are some events that take a person by surprise. This was one of them. Okay, so my kids got all wired up on Monster Energy, that new drink that debuted sometime in June or July. They were gulping it down, one can after another since one booth was handing it out free, and the weather was hotter than the blazes. My husband finally read the label's warning against giving it to kids, particularly young ones. It's LOADED with caffeine. I've nixed Mountain Dew awhile back for the same reason. My son was a jabbering nut case (not really, this is an exaggeration, but it did seem he was talking faster than usual, and he's a talker.)

But, back to Evel Knieval Days. (see previous post) This is much more of a high brow event than I expected. I thought it would be a tough- talking crowd, and dicey with the family fare aspect. Nope. Not so. Bring the gang. Grandma and Grandpa included. Of course, I only went during the day, so I can't vouch for the night crowd. I expect it's fairly tame, although with a bit more drinking--not Monster Energy drink, but beer.

This summer we did see Evel. He pulled up in his chauffeured car to address the crowd waiting for one of the dare devil stunts to happen. One of the things I liked was the flash. He was not a big guy, but he sure had a presence that still has a huge following. The daredevils out there are not diminishing.

This summer my son asked if he could be a daredevil. He's still asking. Just last Wednesday when I picked him up at his school bus stopped, the first thing he said when he got in the car was, "Can I be a daredevil when I grow up."

My response? "Maybe."

Thanks, Evel.

Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Festivals and Events, Stories, News

Search Travel Deals

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

Gadling Features



Categories

Travel Video

Discover San Francisco by bus on the award winning MUNI line 33

Featured Galleries (view all)

Top 10 Luxury Hotels in the United States
Top Ten Strangest Hotel Guest Requests
Paris Air Show 2009
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial
Work and play in Queensland, Australia: Fruit Picking
One week in Chicago: Attractions
One week in Chicago: Food
Ardeonaig, Loch Tay, Scotland
Bay of Plenty

Sponsored Links