We were down in Mesquite to close the house for the Summer and decided to drive over to Searchlight and see what the fuss was about.  The first picture was taken where we parked...at least 3 mile from the event.  We arrived in the event area just as Palin was finishing, so much of the crowd was exiting, having been there 2-6 hours.  We met people from Alabama, Florida, New York, Michigan and even western Canada.  The local TV news estimated the crowd at 8K, but I'm sure it was 12-15K.  The weather was 60 degree and blustery.  Anyway, quite an event 70 miles out in the desert from Las Vegas.
 
Robert Ballard