Don Laughlin's Car Museum

 In 1980, a man purchased a new 1,100 cc Honda Gold Wing with a desire to ride the

open roads.

The Bike!

Over the following four years he managed to put over 30,000 miles on that sturdy Honda

and when he put the kickstand down, he may have said, “That is not enough miles for me.

I want to see the world.”

The Honda’s owner, Emilio Scotto, may have been guffawed at by his friends and family,

since the man had never even left his native country of Argentina.

“You barely rolled out of Buenos Aires,” it is rumored a neighbor may have sneered.

“Now, you want to roam the world?”

Scotto shook his head. “I don’t want to roam but fly on my Gold Wing through the

heavens touching down in as many lands as I am able.”

The neighbor looked at Scotto, believing he may have had one or two Aloja de Chauchas

too many.

Scotto quit his job in 1984, and with 300 bucks in his pocket, he took off on his

motorcycle for the trip of a lifetime.

Over the next decade, the intrepid motorcycle rider covered 485,000 miles, visited 232

countries - including islands, colonies, atolls, and other not-really-recognized countries. It

is estimated that Scotto touched down, his words not mine, on nearly 99 percent of the

landmasses on earth.

Scotto holds the Guinness World Record for the longest journey conducted by an

individual on a motorcycle.

He finally arrived back home in Argentina on April 2, 1995 and promptly received a

traffic ticket, possibly from a jealous traffic cop.

When he met up with family and friends, it is rumored he said, “My rear end hurts -

really hurts from sitting down for ten years on bumpy roads.”

It should be noted that even though Scotto left Argentina in 1985 with few pesos, he did

pick up numerous sponsors for his around-the-world journey as his story was shared

campfire to campfire, which made eating and putting gas in his motorcycle a bit more

affordable.

Now, what does one man following his passion of traveling around the world have to do

with this column?

It isn’t about Emilio Scotto or his motorcycle, but about a person’s desire to see more of

the world than they had ever hoped for before.

Traveling is a way to do that - to venture out and visit strange new lands, see strange new

people, experience strange new experiences, and sometimes just to be strange.

Then again, Scotto’s motorcycle is on display with his complete adventurous story at Don

Laughlin’s Car Museum, located within the Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino, in

Laughlin, Nevada.

The Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino

I’ve written about Laughlin in the past - the small gambling and entertainment mecca

which sits on the west side of the cooling blue waters of the Colorado River. A great

place for family and for those folks who don’t have a family.

John R Beyer next to a statue of Don Laughlin

The town works for both categories.

It had been a long time since I had visited the car museum located at the Riverside. In

fact, as I get older, my perspective of that long time may have been longer.

If recollection serves me well, the last time I visited, it was called the Don Laughlin’s

Horse and Buggy Museum.

This is no horse and buggy museum

Laureen, my lovely wife, couldn’t make the trip to Laughlin so my buddy, Paul, ventured

out with me.

Men love auto museums, and I am not being sexist, but generally I see men being guided

by their girlfriends or wives through the museums on a leash. This is because the men are

wearing drool buckets attached to their ears and terrible and ugly spillage could occur if

they stop suddenly in front of a bright shiny gorgeous automobile.

“It’s just a silly old Lamborghini Veneno,” the wife or girlfriend may say, while giving a

little tug on the leash attached to the drool bucket.

“But, it was created to celebrate Lamborghini’s fiftieth anniversary back in 2013.”

A snap on the leash. “And when is our anniversary?”

“I understand the museum has a gift shop.”

Who wouldn't drool?

According to the car museum’s website, ‘The exhibit is a rotating collection of antique,

classic, and unique autos assembled from private collections from all over the world.

Included among these are several owned by Don Laughlin himself, an avid auto

enthusiast and collector. Don Laughlin’s Classic Car Collection has something for

Everyone!’

An exclamation point - must be pretty darn exciting in that car museum, and I was there

to find out if it was true or not.

The actual exhibit is divided into two different floors of the casino. The first floor, along

Casino Drive, is open to the public for free. It’s a tease to tempt car aficionados to head to

the 3rd floor on the south tower to see the majority of the vehicles on display for the

small price of five bucks.

I had to cover Paul’s ticket.

As I entered the ground floor exhibit, I was met by a staff/security gentleman sitting

behind a desk.

“Do you like working here?” I asked.

He simply waved his hand in the direction of a shiny medium blue 1963 Corvette

Stingray sitting stunningly by the large glass front window.

I started shaking a bit.

Wandering along the roped paths leading to this vehicle and the next, it was hard to

explain the pounding in my chest.

A 1949 Harley Davidson, a 1966 Triumph, a 1967 Velocette standing proudly against

one wall.

A 1969 Mini-mini Indian, a 1950 Whizzer Sportsman, a 1981 Honda ATC 110 also

standing proudly against another wall.

Desert vehicles, sports cars, and the like were there. But enough gawking, it was time to

head to the 3rd floor main event.

Stepping off the elevator we found ourselves in a world of wonder.

Thirty-thousand square feet of vehicle viewing area greeted the visitor. Some of that

space is for a small gift shop, and to my relief Paul is frugal - now, if Laureen had been

there?

Car after car was just begging for us to stop, ponder, and wonder how such a mechanical

beast could be so beautiful.

I could feel the horsepower roaring up to the white ceilings - though, in reality none of

the vehicles were running and we learned that most only have a smidgen of fuel just in

case they have to be moved a bit, or started to ensure everything was in working order.

One notable exhibit was the bright red Skylane Hot Road which was rotating on a

pedestal so everyone could see the beauty of this automobile in a full 360 degree

exposure.

There was a 1934 Ford Tow Truck, a 1977 Lincoln convertible, a 1954 Kurtis, a 1932

Buick Coupe, and it went on and on.

Row after row of vintage cars and trucks in immaculate condition. It was almost too

much for a late morning jaunt.

I looked over at Paul, who was receiving a cup of water from another staff member while

being led to a chair.

“Happens all the time,” the staff member said.

Being a friend, I stayed by Paul for a few moments until he waved his right hand. “You

go ahead. I forgot to breathe while looking at the vehicles. I just need a little rest.”

I foraged ahead into another row of vehicles. All meticulously cared for by their owners

to the point of almost worship.

Suddenly my eyes were drawn to a 1937 bright red Cord, built by the Auburn

Automobile Company out of Connersville, Indiana.

It made me stop in my tracks. Curved like an artist created it out of a piece of clay and

then threw away the mold.

In 1937 this car sold for 3,000 dollars. A lot of money for its time, that today would

easily go for 150,000 dollars or more at auction.

Amelia Earhart owned one - and I had always wanted one.

“We’d have to sell one of our daughters,” Laureen would say.

That’s when I would start looking at grades, who picked up the doggie messes the most,

and so-on.

To this day, no Cord in my driveway.

The Don Laughlin Car Museum is a wonderful way to spend a few hours and just relax

amidst some truly awesome vehicles that would stand up to any artist.

If you doubt that, look closely at a work by Salador Dali. Enough said.

For more information: https://automotivemuseumguide.com/don-laughlins-car-museum/