Learning what a bogan is

Making new friends during a Red Rock Canyon rock climbing adventure

I learned a new word on my spring break trip to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area: bogan.

While at the Red Rock Campground, I became fast friends with three people — a Vietnamese Australian, a German from near Munich and a tree planter from Alaska. All three arrived at the Red Rock Campground one evening — none of us knowing the other — and we immediately made plans to go rock climbing in Red Rocks (one of the best climbing destinations in North America) the next day.

Nhung Luong, had just hitchhiked from Joshua Tree National Park in California, while Mark Magnusson had flown in from Germany to Las Vegas and hitchhiked out to the campground. Sarah, had flown in from Alaska to meet her dad who was in town for a medical convention and was dropped off at the campground.

Nhung, (she let us call her “Noon” because we couldn’t get her name right) spoke with a lovely Aussie accent and taught us Americans what a bogan is. It’s a person who acts like a working-class uncouth hick, often crass and annoying. (Why did she feel compelled to use the word around us I wonder?) I told her that in America we call them red necks. As an exchange, I taught her an new word: “Touron.” I told her it’s a cross between a moron and a tourist. I told her that we’re all tourons at one time or another, but it’s not good to make a habit of it.

Spring break at Red Rocks can be like an international convention of outdoor adventurers. I heard German, French, Spanish and English spoken with a British, Canadian and Australian accent. In the parking lots were license plates from all the Western states and many midwest and eastern states.

It was a treat learning about Australian culture (or the lack there of) from Nhung. At age 32, she was hitchhiking through North America.

“Don’t tell my mom,” she said with a sly grin, “She thinks I’m here with three other friends just being a tourist. She doesn’t know this is mainly just a solo climbing trip.”

Nhung got off the plane in Los Angeles and bummed a ride straight to Joshua Tree National Park. There she climbed with “a bunch of old dudes who I think have been climbing all their lives and were now in their 70s. One guy was missing teeth and needed a shave and bath,” she said. “But it was fun and we did some great climbs.”

Mark flew from Munich to Las Vegas, stayed in a hostel in the city one night, then hitchhiked out to the campground. He arrived within minutes of Nhung and the pair set up camp next to me. The first thing Mark wanted to know about was the traditional climbs. He proudly displayed an enormous rack of climbing gear he hauled from Germany with him. “I borrowed some of my friend’s gear to add to it,” he said.

I showed him my Red Rocks guidebook and they became instant friends.

Dinners became a communal pot luck affair with two or three stoves going at once and everyone contributing something in the pots.

One evening, I pulled out two boxes of dehydrated hash browns and a package of bacon. The eyes of both foreigners got big.

“Whoa! American bacon is so thick!” Nhung said.”Where can I find these potatoes?”

“We Americans go overboard on everything involving food,” I said. I explained that the spuds were available at Idaho grocery stores.

For those not familiar with Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, it’s a huge desert land just west of Las Vegas. The area features red and white sandstone rocks and mountains, some a few thousand feet off the valley floor. Some of the canyons are a delight to hike and will surprise you with small streams and pools of water. The water disappears after it leaves the side canyons. There are 19 marked trails throughout the area and offer incredible sights, such as ancient rock art, cool cacti, desert critters and birds (including burros and bighorn sheep) and reptiles. One day we kept running into giant lizards — a foot long and as wide as a sandwich — Godzilla’s baby brothers. Coyotes could often be heard yelping in the early morning hours.

Another popular activity around the one-way loop through the park is cycling. The 13-mile loop features several ups and downs attracted people from the city.

But, during spring break, about 90 percent of the people in the Red Rock Campground are there to rock climb. It’s proximity to an international airport helps to attract people from around the world. Solo climbers head for the campground to make quick friends and find partners.