August 2019 Newsletter by Paul Kastle

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August 2019

THE ROOSTER A monthly update from the Inland Empire Offroad Association

Coral Pink 2019

What’s New We had another great Coral Pink trip. Read all about it and check out lots of pictures in this newsletter and on the website.

Poker Run Mark your calendars for October 19th, when Mike Bacon will be hosting the 8th annual Mona Bacon Memorial Spook Poker Run and Hot Dog Weenie Roast.

Summer Time What are you up to for the summer? Share your trip plans or toy upgrades with us. Send your stories by e-mail to pkastle@msn.com.

We just got back from our 25th annual July Coral Pink trip, and once again we had a wonderful time. I just can’t explain enough how neat it is to be up there. I will once again try though, with another daily log of our trip activities accompanied by some of my favorite pictures from the trip. For more pictures and video, be sure to check out the website. -P.J.

Tuesday, July 9 We got up at 3:40 AM and finished our packing, and then we’re on the road by 4:30. The drive went great and after breakfast in Barstow we were on our way to Jean, where we arrived at 9:00. After a quick potty break we were on our way towards Vegas. After

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picking up some cheap diesel at Moapa we got to Mesquite right at noon. We parked the trailer, had lunch, and went to the pool. Then Kris and Doug and Mike and Pat arrived, and Jim and I went to the Eureka to cash in change, which gives me spending money for the trip. We had dinner at the Casablanca Cafe at 6:30, with all 10 of us together for the first great meal of the trip. Then we had ice cream and did some gambling before calling it a night.

Upcoming Events • August 16-18: Lake Havasu Weekend at Don and Shirley Ford’s • September 13-15: Sand Sports Super Show at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. This unofficial start of the season comes just in time to get ready for Dumont and Glamis.

Wednesday, July 10

August, 2019 S

September, 2019 S

We met for breakfast at 8:30, then packed up and got ready to hit the road. We met up and left at 10:30, and had a nice trip up through the gorge. There was construction that had it down to one lane, but it didn’t slow us down too much. We went through Hurricane and up the hill with no problem, then took the traditional break at Apple Valley. From there it was a quick trip to the dunes on an entirely paved road, which we were excited about. We got to the park about 2:00, then began the process of parking the trailers. It was easier than sometimes because we only had four rigs in the group site. Before long we had everything parked and we just spent the afternoon hanging out in the site. The group watched me unload the Ace which provided entertainment but went well. Mike and Pat went for a short dune ride, and I ran around the loop while Allie followed me in the Ace for her first time driving it. She had fun and I loved it too. Marshall rode his tricycle around and went for a walk with Kris. We had tacos for dinner thanks to Grandma Nancy, then just sat around camp and enjoyed the evening. We stayed up past 10:00 with quite a few people, then finally went in for the night. Thursday, July 11

I got up at 7:15 to take the dogs for a walk and Marshall went with me. We had decided to get pictures with our 25th 2

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anniversary trip t shirts, so I handed those out and got the camera ready. Allie was super slow to get up and ready, but finally we had all of us in our 25th anniversary shirts. For the ride we planned on a nice easy trip to see the dinosaur tracks, and all four of us rode in the RZR. (Thanks Don and Shirley!) Mike led us in from the West side, and we were able to get closer to them from that side than normal because the usually wet creek was pretty dry. We hiked and checked them out, and I flew the quadcopter. Then we headed up and around the tracks and back to camp. Once we got back everybody wound up heading to Kanab for something or other, and as we left camp it sprinkled a little bit. In town we got rain, and enjoyed the thrift shop, pawn shop, and Honey’s market. We got back about 5:30, just as the rain started at camp. We had a nice early evening of thunderstorms, with some heavy rain in the beginning. It was the first rain the area had since early May, and it was so nice to hang out and watch fall. I went to the Ranger station for ice, and learned that one of the long time rangers would be retiring on Monday, so for once we would outlast him. We also met the camp host, who has a RZR 1000 and told us of a fatality in a RZR in the dunes nine days ago. Apparently the owner of the ATV rental place in Mt Carmel flew off a dune and suffered fatal injuries, which is exceptionally rare for Coral Pink. The camp host was nice though and gave us information on how to get to the mail drop. We still had dinner outside, then watched a beautiful sunset as the clouds cleared. I went inside at 10, then headed to the nice showers. It was a great Coral Pink day, with a little of everything that makes it special. Friday, July 12 I got up just after 7 and took the dogs for a walk to the ranger station and overlook. We got back just before 8 and then Marshall got up. I sat outside on the computer while he played on his tricycle. Barry and Ann had said they might stop by, so we hung out and waited for them before the ride. They showed up before we were ready to head out, and it was great to see Barry back at Coral Pink, and for him to get to introduce Ann to it, despite her having grown up in Utah just a few hours away. Mike generously offered for them to take his RZR,

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and they had a ball. We took our first dune ride of the trip, going through the lower an upper dunes all the way to the corral. Then we set out in search of the lakes that we had once seen in the upper dunes back in 2005. We were excited to see some smaller wet spots in the sand, and then drove right to the location of the large lake that Shirley had waded in so many years ago. Normally this area is totally dry, but they had a very wet winter and it showed with the standing water. It made for beautiful pictures, and we all waded in it in honor of Shirley. Marshall got particularly into it, and wound up getting all of his clothes wet, but had a great

time splashing with Ann. Then we headed down the Disneyland trail to the lower section and circled around some. Barry was impressed with the RZR, and liked how it handled like a sandrail when he tried it in 2 wheel drive. Back at camp we sat around for a little bit, then we decided to head in to town for lunch at the Junction, which Barry had also introduced us to. We had already eaten in camp, but made the trip for fries and ice cream for dessert. We also mailed shirts to Walt, Don and Shirley as a care package from Utah. On our way back, we decided to stop at Moqui cave to see how much it had changed in 25 years. Basically we found they had added some dinosaur tracks, but it was the same tourist trap hole in the wall (literally) that we remembered from 25 years ago. The kids did enjoy the cave though, and picked out a couple of souvenirs. Then we went back to camp, where Allie drove her Ace up to the Ranger station. We chatted with the retiring Ranger and his wife, and gave them T-shirts from the trip as well. He genuinely appreciated them, and said the other guys would too. I bought a fleece jacket, because it was cool enough to use it in the mornings. Then Allie wanted to try riding in the sand, so I led her towards the big dune. Just past the campground exit, she got to experience her first 4

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mechanical failure, as her mechanic Dad had stripped a nut on the chain tensioner. We were able to get it up and running, but it had some trouble climbing hills in the sand, and we wound up having to tow her up the hill towards camp. It was a good introduction to duning, and despite the extra events Allie had fun, which was most important. We had a few sprinkles of rain, but nothing like the day before. Then we had dinner and everybody went in by about 9:30, making it an early night. The campground was nice and quiet, with only a couple other duners and the rest were tent campers, and there were even some open spaces. Saturday, July 13 I woke up to the sound of raindrops on the trailer at 5 AM, then I got up early and took the dogs out about 6:00 to get some sunrise pictures. It was still pretty cloudy but was beautiful anyway. Then I just sat around and played with pictures and video while waiting for everyone else to get up. Our ride plan for the day was to go to Mt Carmel Jct for lunch at The Thunderbird. We weren’t in any hurry to head out, so we left camp about 11:00. Mike led us to the Elephant Butte parking area, which had quite a few trailers parked from people out riding for the day. We took trail 20 towards the Virgin River and found the trail to be in much better shape than last year. We took a break and flew the drone from where we first reached the river. There was a decent amount of water in the river, but the crossings didn’t go above the RZR floorboards. I attached a GoPro to the lower A-arm and it went underwater for some of the crossings. It made for neat video. After 35 minutes of riding in the river bed and about 21 to 23 river crossings (depending on who’s counting) we made it to the Thunderbird. Unlike last year we were not covered in mud, and were soon seated by our nice waitress from last year who immediately brought a pitcher of ice tea. Jim, Mike and I all got the Road House burger, which has 1/2 pound of beef and ham with bacon and BBQ sauce. It was excellent, and we topped it oﬀ with pie. We even brought slices home for Melissa and Nancy. As we left the

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restaurant it started to rain a little bit, and we put on ponchos as we started back down the river trail. The rain soon stopped, and it got warm in the ponchos so we took them oďŹ&#x20AC; as we climbed out of the river bed. We stopped one time for photos and quick drone flight, then headed back to camp. We got there abut 5:30, then sat around and talked and watched videos from the ride. After dinner we watched as the clouds cleared up for a nice sunset. At 8:00 we decided to take Allie for another Ace ride. This time we raised the maximum speed and headed out to the trip, and it (and she) did great. We made it out of the state park to the trail that goes to the lower corral. There we turned around, took a break, and she made it all the way back up the trail to the campground dunes entrance with no problem. Allie, Dad, and Grandpa were all very happy. We were back in camp by 9, and everyone else had gone inside for the night. Sunday, July 14 I got up and took the dogs for a walk at 6:45, and the sky was a lot more clear than yesterday. When I got back I went through video from the drone from the day before, and picked out some of my favorite shots. I also watched the campers get up and start packing, since there were two Jeeps and a FJ cruiser with rooftop tents. It is a fascinating way to camp, but looks like a lot of work every day. For our ride we decided to check out the upper lake and overlook, so when we left camp we headed that way. The kids and Melissa rode with me. We had a nice ride through the dunes on the way there, and then the kids got to play in the water for a long time, which they loved. Then from there we went to the corral and then the cliďŹ&#x20AC; that overlooks camp. I wanted to fly the drone from there to get shots of the dunes and camp. It worked great and we got some nice shots. Then we headed back to camp with another nice ride through the

dunes. We were almost back to camp when the RZR started stumbling, and eventually died just outside of camp. We waited for it to cool a bit and took a short break. It fired up, but ran just well enough to get back to camp. Back at camp we had lunch, then worked on the RZR. Doug could smell raw fuel, so that ruled out the fuel pump that I thought it was, so we investigated the electrical connector that is a common issue on the 2014s, and it turned out to be exactly that. One 6

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of the four wires had broken at the connector, and I confirmed it with the multimeter. I was able to field fix it with a pin, which made continuity and got it to run fine. For a test run we went out with Allie and her Ace, since she wanted to ride to the big dune. We got stuck on the way, and I wound up having to tow her, but she did great. The kids played on the big dune for an hour or so, then we rode back to camp. We then cooked dinner and sat outside for quite a while, with most everybody staying up past 9 and some of us were still up at 10. It was a nice ending to another great day. Monday, July 15 I took the dogs out at 6:30, and Marshall got up to come with me. It was 60 degrees outside, making it the coolest morning of the trip so far. We watched the sunrise, then headed back to camp to get ready to go to town. Going in on Monday allows us to check on things at work, and we really enjoy shopping in Hurricane and St. George. We left camp at 8:20, and were at the McDonalds in Hurricane in under an hour. We checked in with work while the kids ate and played in the play area. I also ordered a wiring harness plug for the RZR since it was way cheaper online than the Polaris dealer. We then went to Pawn Shops, thrift stores, a kids consignment store and of course Target. At the dunes they went for a ride in the lower dunes, and at the far end Jim lost a radiator hose and they were able to quickly replace it with what they had with them. Then after the ride Jim went in to Hurricane to pick up another spare hosed do some other shopping, while Mike and Doug took care of business calls. Lunch for us was at Five Guys, and dinner was at Dairy Queen in Hurricane after we went to the antique stores. Then we headed back to camp, arriving at 7:00. We talked to the Ranger who had two hours left in his career as we got ice. Back at the campsite we hung around under the shade cover and talked all evening. I flew the drone just before sunset and got some great video of the lower dunes and the campground. Then since we all enjoyed watching it, we set up Melissa’s projector on the side of Kris and Doug’s motorhome to show videos on. It worked great, and almost everybody stayed up till 10 PM. Then we put the electronics away and headed to bed. Tuesday July 16 I got up and took the dogs out at 6:20, and watched the sunrise from up by the ranger station. It was 58 degrees, which was nice and cool. I even put a sweatshirt on when we got back to camp. Our morning plan was to cook omelets at 9:30, so we wanted to have the water started at least an hour before that. We had a nice morning in camp, and enjoyed the omelets with a bunch of diﬀerent ingredients and fresh air fryer cinnamon rolls from Mike and Pat. When we did ride about 11:00, we headed through the lower dunes and then over to the OHV trail at the base of the cliﬀs. We first dropped in to it and came across a fallen tree, so we had to back up and then climb out the way we came. I got stuck on my first shot, and backed into 7

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another dead tree on by second attempt. I made it out, but had cracked a turn signal light and the bed plastic with one of the tree branches. We went back into the trail further over, and followed it towards the old slot canyon trail. We took a break there and flew the drone. It appears the canyon was either filled in or is farther up the trail than we can get to now. We then went by the lower corral and back to camp. After lunch most everyone headed to town, and Jim and I decided to run inland find the plastic part that I broke online. We were able to find the light and fasteners at Napa, and ordered a bed half online so that it would be as good as new when Don got it back. We also stopped by the shooting range for about an hour. I got a note from work that they needed me to fix some things, so I dealt with that and we went back after ice cream at the junction. In camp Melissa cooked steaks for dinner and we put the kids to bed fairly early so that they would be ready to get up for breakfast at the Thunderbird the next morning. I got out my work laptop and worked for about an hour from the picnic tables, which sure beats working from my desk. Then I went inside about 10:00, and headed to the showers. Wednesday, July 17 The dogs woke me up about 6:20, so I took them for a walk through the campground. It was pretty empty, with only one other duner, one rental class C motorhome, and a few tent campers. I got outlay computer and worked on the trip writeup and pictures while watching the sun rise. We planned to head to breakfast at 8:30, so I had some time before I had to wake Melissa and the kids up. We all wore our 25th anniversary trip shirts to breakfast, except for Marshall who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to change out of his pajama shirt. We left camp at 8:30, and had a great breakfast with Carmen as our waitress. Jim talked to the guy at the desk and learned that the ATV rentals are closed until further notice, due to the death of the owner of the business a few weeks ago in a dune accident at Coral Pink. The waitress and camp host had told us about it, and it was a sad situation. We then shopped in the gift shop, then while everyone else headed back to camp we went towards Cedar City to do our usual day trip loop. I had some work to do for work, and we also checked out some Pawn shops and the Cal Ranch store. We saw on Facebook that we did the

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same thing with Allie 7 years ago on the same day. That means she was younger than than Marshall was this year. We then went down to Hurricane through Toquerville and Laverkin, which is a nice drive too. We stopped at the big Ace hardware in Hurricane, then grabbed dinner at Arby’s before heading backroad camp. In camp, they had gone for a dune ride in the lower dunes, and had found the plastic from where I hit the tree the day before, still stuck in the tree. We hung out in camp and I flew the drone a bit. Then we took Allie for another Ace ride, and she chose to go to the overlook and the Ranger Station. She liked getting drive and pick where to go. We chatted with Patrick the Ranger, who is in his first year at Coral Pink. Then we went back to camp and sat outside until about 10, discussing how much we love it up here. Thursday, July 18 I slept in today and didn’t take the dogs out until 7:00. Then we walked around the campground and saw that it was just us, the guy in the green buggy who had been there all week, a camper and a few tents. I organized pictures to get ready to deliver them to the Rangers on Friday. Jim left for his morning walk before 8, and I hung out and enjoyed a Coke. Since today was our last day of riding, we decided to go to the Peek a Boo slot canyon. So that Melissa and Marshall could see it without a long RZR ride, I figured out that I could trailer the RZR to the trailhead on highway 89 and meet them there. Allie and Grandma Nancy were headed to St George to spend the night like they did last year. It is the thing that Allie was looking forward to the most of the whole trip. We heard the trash truck come to empty the dumpsters, which we had been waiting for all trip. When the RZRs left camp at about 10:45, I hooked up the trailer and loaded the RZR on it, then we left camp about 11:30. While we were heading down Hancock road, we were talking about calling the RZRs on the radio when we saw someone standing in thread ahead of us waving. We thought it might be Doug, or we were about to become the victims of a carjacking. Then we heard them call on the radio, and said that Jim’s RZR wasn’t running. I said that’s fine, I happened to have a spare. We proceeded to quickly unload the RZR and then pushed Jim’s onto the trailer. It was a super quick vehicle change, and they were back on their way within

few minutes. We continued on to the meet up spot at the trailhead for the slot canyon. We could hear them on the radio, and only had to wait about 20 minutes for them to get to the trailhead. When they arrived we just left the truck and Jim’s RZR in the parking area and Jim, 9

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Melissa, Marshall and I rode in the four seater. We had a nice easy trip to the entrance to the canyon, then Mike, Pat, Jim Melissa, Marshall and I hiked in while Kris and Doug stayed at the RZRs. Melissa brought her good camera and had a ball taking great shots in the canyon. When we got back to the cars I flew the drone a long way up the canyon and got some great shots. Then we rode back to the trailhead and hopped in the truck. While they headed off on the trail, we went to Kanab for cokes with ice. We listened to them on the radio as we headed back from town, and we almost met them on Hancock road. We got to camp about 30 min ahead of them, meaning they made good time on the trip back through the dunes. Then we sat around and talked about the great ride and great trip. We unloaded Jim’s RZR and got it loaded on Jim’s trailer. Then I followed Mike and Doug for one last trip near camp, which was a nice end to the riding. After that I loaded Allie’s Ace back into the truck, which went fairly well for only the second time doing it. Then Jim, Melissa, Marshall and I ran into Kanab for one last dinner at the Junction. We were back in camp by 8:30, and spent the rest of the night transferring pictures and sitting outside enjoying the weather until after 10:00. Friday, July 19 I got up at 5:00 to check on the transfer of photos and videos to flash drives, then went back to sleep till 7:00. This is probably the worst day of the trip, because we have to pack up and go home. I took the dogs up to the new campground and looked around, then got back and started packing the outside stuff. Even with work to do it is still a beautiful place to hang out. I got all three flash drives done, so that we could give one to Mike and Pat, another to Doug and Kris, and leave one for the Rangers. We waited for quiet hours to end, but saw that one of the new arrivals went out for a RZR ride at 7:30 AM. Some people just don’t read. At 9 we started taking trailers to the day use area, and began the process of leaving camp. One by one the rigs made their way to the day use area, where we hooked up and waited for everybody. I dropped a flash drive of pictures off for the rangers, and Kris chatted with Terry, a long time park employee. We left the park a little before 11:00, making the quick and easy trip out to Cane Beds road. We stopped for drinks at Apple Valley, then continued on uneventfully to Mesquite, despite

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having the expected construction going on in the Virgin River gorge. We checked in just after noon Nevada time, and made plans for a 5:30 dinner at the cafe. Once Allie and Nancy showed up we got ready for the pool, where Marshall and Allie enjoyed the slide. Then we checked out Was Mart before dinner. At dinner we enjoyed one last meal for the trip with the 10 of us all together. Then we said our goodbyes, since Kris, Doug, Mike, and Pat would be leaving early in the morning. I gambled with my Dad until about 10, then went in for the night. Saturday, July 20 I got up about 6:15 to take the dogs for a walk before it got too hot. Since today was Melissa’s birthday I gave her her gift (some Disney stuﬀ) while we got the kids ready for breakfast. We met Grandma and Grandpa at the buﬀet at 8:30 and had a nice breakfast. Then we took the kids to the gift shop, where Grandpa bought them some toys using his points. Then we headed down to the trailer to pack up and head out. We left just before 11:00, running with Jim and Nancy to Moapa, where we stopped for fuel and said our goodbyes. Then we continued on through Vegas and towards home, stopping in Jean at the

world’s largest Chevron. This time I went inside and was really impressed with the stuﬀ in there, including a full size desert racing truck and a few planes. It is unlike any other gas station anywhere. We tried some White Castle burgers for lunch, then continued towards home. We made it home by 6:30, and completed the trip without any major issues. We had a great time, and already can’t wait for next year.

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Coral Pink Crossword 2019

Down Across

3. These hours are from 10:00 PM to 9:00 AM in the state park. 4. County in which the dunes and nearby town of Kanab are located. 6. Ice, firewood, and T-Shirts are items available for purchase at the ___ station. 10. Nearest national park to Coral Pink known for its long tunnel. 12. We have been going to Coral Pink in July for a quarter of a ____ now. 13. We meet up and spend the night at the CasaBlanca Resort in this Nevada town on the way to the dunes. 15. This is a violent and sudden electrostatic discharge, usually during a thunderstorm. 18. UTV manufacturer of all the OHVs planning to join in on this year's trip. 19. Nearby Kanab is known as Utah's little _____ because of its frequent use in video productions. 21. ____ Hollow is a nearby Utah state park with sand that is similar in color to Coral Pink. 22. Cane ____ road is a (now paved) shortcut to the dunes where you turn off of highway 89 after Colorado City.

1. Tree type whose name is shared by ___ Breaks National Monument and a city North of St. George on I15. 2. Peek-a-boo is an example of a Slot ___ that we can ride to from the dunes and explore, as long as it isn't too wet. 5. Prehistoric dinosaur ___ can be seen in the rock near the state park. 7. The thrift store in Kanab supports the ____, which we hope to not need. 8. Type of strong plastic bag used for cooking omelettes in boiling water. 9. Large lake on the Colorado River near Page Arizona that is a popular summer recreation destination. 11. A new ____ was recently added near the Ranger Station where the sites have water and electricity, but little shade. 14. Ho-made dessert that the Thunderbird Restaurant is known for. 16. We stay in this type of campsite, of which there is only one at Coral Pink. 17. The Vermillion ____ form the second step in the Grand Staircase of the Colorado Plateau, and are visible along Highway 89. 20. Coral Pink is the ____ trip of the year, and The ___ Friends Animal Sanctuary is located near the dunes.

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More Coral Pink Drone Pics Another addition for this year’s trip was my little DJI Mavic Air drone. It has all the capability of my older and larger dunes and more, and most importantly it is small enough to fit in a large pocket. It was great to have it on all of the rides, and to be able to fly it longer distances from us, sometimes almost a mile away.

This month we’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to so many great Coral Pink trips. Next month we’ll share what else has been going on over the summer, so please send something in. We enjoy having content to share, so if you have pictures, text, comments, jokes, or anything that you want to share, please send it to me at pkastle@msn.com. We will publish what content we have and a calendar of upcoming events in every month’s newsletter. -Paul, Melissa, Allie, and Marshall. 13