Evel days ...

One thing you've gotta say about Butte -- over the last few years the town has gotten pretty good at staging summertime events designed to separate the imprudent visitor from his hard-earned money. Easily the most egregious of these is "Evel Knieviel Days," which is still going strong despite the fact that the event's namesake died a year and a half ago.

Designed mostly to seduce unwary motorcyclists on their way to the big rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, Evel Knievel Days includes a handful of activities and a street fair heavily supported by army recruiters and chewing tobacco makers. The street food is surprisingly awful, but the town makes up for it by taking full advantage of the fact that it has no open container law. And that, really, is the underlying attraction for all of Butte's events in the first place.

Anyhow, Evel Days is going on this weekend. I'm not attending, so here's a representative shot from the 2007 shindig.