"I'm hot and tired," Katie complained.

"Welcome to the desert," Lois said.

"I want to go back to South Dakota. We have harsh, cold winters there. How much longer until we reach Las Vegas?"

"I don't know. We passed the 15 mile marker a little while ago. I'd say maybe 14."

They heard the sound of a strained engine. They looked back and saw a big van, making its way down the road. They waved their arms and the van stopped for them. The man in the passenger's seat opened his door wide in a welcoming gesture. He had long, greasy hair. He wore flip flops, shorts, and a tie-dye shirt. His eyes looked a little glazed but friendly. The van itself was at least 30 years old and lucky to be holding together, much less moving. The floor of the van was so littered with trash, you couldn't see what the color of the carpet was.

"You chicks need a ride? Hop on in. We'll take you."

"No," Katie said immediately.

"Don't go anywhere," Lois ordered. "I need to talk to my friend for a second. Stay."

"Take your time," the 50-something year old man said.

"They're hippies," Katie whined, once they were a little ways away.

"They're hippies with wheels."

"What if they have drugs buried in the trash somewhere? The police will pull them over and we'll all be arrested."

"And taken to an air-conditioned jail with water. I fail to see the problem. If you want to keep walking, more power to you but I'm taking the flower power route and riding in the hippie van."

Katie sighed. "I guess it's our only option at this point." She walked back over with Lois and said, "We accept the ride."

"Groovy," the man replied.

Lois climbed in first and waded her way through the trash and then Katie climbed in. She didn't say anything but Katie obviously wasn't pleased to find there were no seatbelts where they were sitting.

"That's Star and Flower in the back. They're twin sisters." The 2 older women waved. "The dude driving is Dave and I'm Rock."

"No," Dave said. "You're Stone."

"I thought I was Rock. I knew it was some kind of mineral. Anyway, we're a band. Back in the 70s there used to be 10 of us, but now we're down to 4. We're going to keep on rocking when we're old, just like the Rolling Stones. Only death will stop us."

"That's lovely," Lois said nonchalantly, but Katie shifted uncomfortably and tried her best not to look scared.

"We have a gig in Las Vegas," Stone said. "Is that where you're going too?"

The girls nodded. It wasn't long before they came to Las Vegas or before they found themselves in a bad part of the city.

"This is where we're playing," Stone said, pointing to a bar. "You want to come see us play? We can take you wherever you want to go afterwards."

"No, thank you," Lois said. "We don't have the time but thanks for all your help."

"Yeah, thanks," Katie mumbled.

"No problem," Stone said. "Peace out."

Lois and Katie were left on the street.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Katie asked.

"I'm completely lost and it seems unlikely that taxis come through here very often. We just have to find the nicest looking place and ask to use the phone or at least ask for directions."

Katie nodded and scanned the street. "What about that place over there with the cats? It's a pretty nice looking place and I love their cat sign. Let's go get our picture taken in front of it."

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"The sign says Las Vegas Cathouse. Do you know what that means?"

"No," Katie said innocently, taking out her camera. "Come on. It'll be fun and we can remember the time we spent together."

"Yeah, because it's been such a blast. If it'll keep you quiet, I'll do it but I wouldn't display it in the family album. I guess we might as well ask to use a phone here. It looks like it's the only place with any class at all."

They went over to the sign and a woman in a long jacket was heading for the building.

"Can you take our picture?" Katie asked, handing her the camera.

The young woman frowned and looked confused.

"Just do what she says," Lois told her.

She snapped the picture and gave it back. Then she hurried toward the building.

"I hope the picture turned out," Katie said.

"Yep, it'll be one to show the grandkids."

They started for the building themselves.

"Now why didn't we think of dressing more like that? I bet she's not hot," Katie said. She was referring to the same woman who had taken their picture and who was now scantily clad. She was leaning against the building, taking a smoke before she started work.

"Why aren't we going through the front door?" Katie asked, as Lois led the way around the side of a building.

"I have a feeling it's for men only, unless you work there."

They found a side door.

"Excuse—" Lois stopped when she got a good look at the people behind the door.

There were 2 people in the small room. An elderly lady and a 6 foot, beefy man were counting a huge wad of cash. It was apparent that they weren't law-abiding citizens and they hadn't obtained the money legally. The gun that was lying on the table didn't take away from that insinuation.

"We need to use a phone or get some directions," Katie chimed in cheerfully, not recognizing the danger.

The man, who had looked surprised before, now said calmly in his deep voice, "There's a cab company just a couple of blocks to the right. They can take you wherever you want to go."

"Thank you," Lois said quickly, shutting the door. She pushed Katie forward. "Let's hurry up and get out of here. We didn't see a thing until we're farther away from here."

"See what?"

"Were you raised in a convent, but I suppose it's your naivety that got us out of that situation. Hurry up. Walk faster."

Before they got off the premises, it seemed cops came out of nowhere and surrounded the place. Sirens were blaring and lights were flashing. Men and women began fleeing from the building. The cops were only interested in grabbing the women. There weren't enough to grab everybody. Lois and Katie were pushed against a tree by a couple of cops. The tree trunks in Las Vegas, or at least this tree trunk, were not very soft. They were prickly. The cops checked for weapons. Lois knew nothing they could say or do was going to keep them from getting arrested.

Katie was livid and asked the cop, "What are you doing?" She looked over at Lois. "What's going on?"

"They think we're prostitutes."

There was a word Katie knew. She turned red from embarrassment and didn't say anything else.

Lois felt as the cold, steel cuffs were clamped onto her wrists. The cop pushed her toward the direction of the police cars. "And this day just keeps on getting better and better," Lois muttered.