The Rooster
November 2019
THE ROOSTER A monthly update from the Inland Empire Offroad Association
What’s New The sand season is underway! We have already been to Dumont, the big Camp RZR weekend is this weekend, and Veterans Day and Thanksgiving are right around the corner.
Thanksgiving Dinner
Dumont October 10-12 By Jim Kastle I left the river shortly before 9:00 AM and decided on breakfast in Searchlight. While enjoying my omelette, I got a text from John that he and Anna were on their way. A quick mental calculation showed we’d arrive in Baker about the same time. Sure enough, as I walked into the Country Store in Baker, John and Anna arrived. We headed to Dumont and took our time setting up camp. There were more other camps than we expected but it WAS Columbus Day/ or for you Californians, Indigenous Peoples Day, Weekend. After a while John suggested we go for a ride. With just the two cars we took it relatively easy, but covered nearly all of Dumont.
We will once again be having our traditional pot luck dinner for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 28 in camp at Wash 6.
Ride Green? Not to be outdone by Honda, Kawasaki has jumped in to the sport side by side market as well with the Teryx KRX 1000. The fully tubular frame sounds impressive, but it still has a belt drive…
1
The Rooster
November 2019 PJ, Melissa and the kids, and Barry and his new bride, Ann, were going to arrive later. We had a campfire while waiting for our kids, grandkids, and friends . I got a text that PJ and family were on their way, but there was a lot of traffic on the pass due to the fires near I 5 and people using I 15 instead. We then got a text from Barry that he had to work late, and would be very late. PJ arrived shortly before midnight with tales of terrible traffic on the pass. We soon got a text from Barry Saying he was sorry but he wasn’t gonna’ be able to make it as he was still over an hour from John’s, where he had to pick up the fifth wheel.
Upcoming Events • November 6-12: Veterans Day at Glamis, Wash 6. Ray and Janice and Mike will be here for mot of this trip. • November 21-December 2: Thanksgiving at Glamis, Wash 6. We’ll have our pot luck Thanksgiving dinner on 11/28. • December 26 (or earlier) January 2nd: Christmas / New Years at Glamis, Wash 6
November, 2019 S
M
T
W
T
F
Saturday morning the three cars, with Marshall riding with PJ, took a good ride all over Dumont. Marshall loved it, except for a problem with his helmet and goggles. While on the ride we heard someone on the radio, and soon realized it was Barry, who listened to Ann who said when they got to John’s, “We’ve come this far, I don’t want to go home. Let’s sleep here and go to Dumont in the morning.” We all REALLY like Ann!
S
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
December, 2019 S
M
T
W
T
F
S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
0
0
0
0
Back at camp Allie took her Ace for a very successful ride. P.J. and I were relieved, as the Ace did not live up to our expectations at Coral Pink, and we feared it was not capable enough. This ride removed our fears. Then Barry led us on a great buggy ride, again with Marshall riding with PJ. He really likes riding with dad. Saturday night we had our traditional loosely coordinated carne asada dinner. It turned out great, as it always seems to. We
2
The Rooster
November 2019
finished the evening with a campfire. Barry did such a great job of leading Saturday, we put him in charge of the Sunday morning morning ride as well. Marshall was still asleep when we left, so Allie went for her first ever fast buggy ride. She did great. On this ride I was following Barry, and some side by sides joined in. As we always do in such situations, Barry picked up the pace in a blatant attempt to break their belts. We were really moving when I felt a BIG bump, followed by a loud pop and a sudden stop. I guess I wasn’t following well, and was a bit to the right of Barry’s path. He climbed a smooth spot in an 8 foot tall dune, and I took a steeper path . P.J., who was following me, said he could have driven under my car. The loud pop was three of my tires debeading All three broke the bead on the left side. Both left side tires lost the outside bead, and the right rear lost the inner bead. With each tire still having a seated bead we were able to relatively easily reseat them using two highlift jacks and my CO2 bottle. Nothing else was damaged, other than my pride. I did sense a major balance issue due to the sand we weren’t able to remove, but I’ll take care of that at home. We took an easy ride back to camp Barry and Ann packed up and left, fearing those who left Friday would return, causing another massive traffic jam. P.J. led Allie on another ACE ride, and I followed them. She really did well and loves driving it. We then all packed up, and within minutes of each other were ready to head to the Mad Greek in Baker for our usual end of the trip feast. En route to Baker John lost a trailer tire (well, at least the tread.) With John and P.J. working together, and me watching for cars, the majority of which didn’t move over AT ALL!, the tire was soon changed. Dinner and the company were both great. We had a ball and plan to end the season with another Dumont trip shortly after Easter. Watch the newsletter for the date.
3
The Rooster
November 2019
8th Annual Mona Bacon Memorial Spook Poker Run and Hot Dog Weenie Roast October 17-21, 2019 Mike again hosted the annual Mona Bacon Memorial Spook Run and Hot Dog Weenie Roast, a trip that has become a must do for many of us. Nancy and I arrived Thursday around 2:00 PM and found Mike and Pat, and Kris and Doug set up in the usual spot on the old Salton City Golf Course. I’m not sure if it was before or after Hello that we decided to go to the Alamo restaurant for dinner, which we ended up doing every night but Saturday when the weenie roast took place. We set up and then took a short ride before dinner. Pat and Mike told us her brother and sister-in-law from Michigan would be arriving Friday, along with Dana and Daniel. We had a campfire, and I continued my tradition of working on my Tribal relations with a visit to the Red Earth Casino, which became a nightly event, largely due to a free play promotion that offered increasing free play on each successive visit. Friday Dave Huggard, Bill and Stephanie (Pat’s brother and sister-in-law) Dana and Daniel, and Don and Shirley all arrived. Bill and Stephanie have four wheelers they ride near home and in the Adirondacks, so off roading is not new to them. But riding in the open desert is, and they adapted very quickly, and loved it! Pat had towed out AJ’s 900, which she and Mike used, allowing Bill and Stephanie to use the 1000. Rarely has
4
The Rooster
November 2019
anybody fit in with IEOR so perfectly and quickly as Bill and Stephanie. P.J., Melissa, Allie and Marshall arrived Friday evening with the sand rail still in the trailer from Dumont, and Allie’s ACE. The sand rail remained parked outside the trailer with paddle tires and with all the things loaded on it. We again had a campfire and Don joined in my Tribal Relations Program. Mike led one or two rides a day, and the details of each specific ride escape me, but we covered the entire area from the Borrego Salton Seaway to Highway 78, Highway 86 to the border of Anza Borrego State Park. The rides are at a mellow pace, which lessens the amount of dust, and pretty much eliminates any damage to the vehicles. The views are tremendous, and I’m continually amazed by the “Off Road Training Area” and the fact it is supported by the State of California. It’s the best use of our Off Highway Vehicle Funds to develop an area I’m aware of. For those of you who say “Wait a minute, you don’t pay into that fund!” I did for years, and it appears I’m going to have to in the future as other states are no longer recognizing out of state registrations, and I fully expect California to join the trend. In fact, I’m shocked they aren’t leading the way! On the Poker Run Saturday we made two stops on the trails, one at the Pumpkin Patch, and the other at Little People, and pulled cards, and then stopped at the Blu Inn for a third card and lunch. P.J. and family and Dave Huggard who didn’t go on the Poker Run, met us for lunch, a feat made easier by the radios. We filled one of the largest tables, and the waitress, who has been serving us for years, does an amazing job of staying on top of everything with a smile on her face. I don’t know why, but their food always tastes great, although the selection is limited. Back in camp Allie drove her ACE, and had a ball. She is really getting into it, and again it performed great, much better than at Coral Pink.
A tradition at the MBMSPRAHDWR is a closest-to-the-pin contest; after all, we ARE on a golf course. I have never played golf without a windmill and carpet on the course, but I managed to win the contest. After the golfing Mike and Pat roasted hot dogs for everyone, and people provided great side dishes. As is typical of Inland Empire meals, there was plenty of good food for everyone. Then it was time for the prizes for the golf and the Poker Run. Mike puts a lot of effort into coming up with personalized prizes, and has become very proficient at casting things in resin, and in using his lathe to produce a variety of items, especially ball point pens made from wood gathered in the dunes. He even used sand cast in resin to make very special pens, but those are in limited supply as turning them on the lathe quickly destroyed the tooling. I was rewarded for my golf skills (read LUCK) with a beautiful bowl of various desert woods cast in resin and then finished on Mike’s lathe. I’m still excited about it. Mike also gave prizes for the poker hands, and most of those included his hand cast and turned ball point pens, and a few 5
The Rooster
November 2019 included bowls similar to mine. He had to spend hours and hours collecting, mixing, casting, and turning on the lathe. THANK YOU MIKE! The day ended with a campfire and Don and my Indian Affairs project. Sunday we went for another ride, Allie drove her ACE, and then most headed home. Saying goodbye is always hard, but saying goodbye to Bill and Stephanie was especially hard as it will probably be a while until we see them again, but I’m almost certain we will. They are too good a fit, and had too much fun to not be back. Dinner was again at the Alamo. We had our last campfire and casino visit.
Monday the rest of us headed home looking forward to more trips to the area. Watch the website for dates and details. I am really hoping the MBMSPRAHDWR tradition will continue next year, but sometime it will have to end, as it puts a huge burden on Mike.
This month we’d like to thank Jim Kastle for writing about the Dumont and Salton City trips and Mike Bacon for hosting another great weekend at Salton City. 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. 6