January 2010 Rooster by Paul Kastle

Hi, it’s Allie again and I wanted to tell everyone about my latest trip to Glamis. I’m a little bigger than I was last time so I got to do more like riding in my new wagon and stuff. My favorite part of the trip was getting to hang out with all of my adoring fans. We went to Mama Jeanies and I got to show her my new trick of blowing bubbles, I’ve gotten really good at that. Daddy brought out my Jeep that he’s been working on. He can drive it without sitting in it, Daddy is magic! Mommy lets me sit in my Jeep, but not while Daddy’s driving. Someday I’ll get to drive it all by myself. Grandpa John and Grandma Anna got me a wagon for Christmas it’s all pretty and shiny and Grandpa John pulled me so I could ride in it. I had fun and got to do a little duning my way. Mommy and Daddy needed to get some stuff for the spaghetti dinner so we went into Yuma one day. We had fun shopping, I love shopping, and we ate Chinese food for lunch. New Years Eve Daddy, Grandpa Jim, and Walt went on a special mission to Brawly to mail a package to our friend Brandy cause he couldn’t come to the dunes because he had to have surgery to be turned into a part cyborg. I hope he feels more human soon. Mommy also says she felt much better this New Years than she did last year. I wanted to tell everyone Happy New Year last year but that just resulted in Mommy hanging over the toilet. It’s so (Continued on page 2)

back weekends for the rest of us.  This newsletter is delayed slightly They will arrive on Thursday Februso that we could cover some of the ary 11th and stay through Monday fun from the big New Years trip. the 22nd, so make your plans to join Feel free to send in your own stories in on this big trip. and we’ll get them in future editions.  We would like to welcome our newest members. George Henry has a  We have the MLK Dune cleanup turbo Shortstar car and joined the weekend trip just around the corner, group at New Years after coming on January 15th-18th. out with Steve Sturn, who also re Don and Shirley will once again cently joined and is Gene Sherman’s spend a week at the dunes for Presistepfather and has a Subaru buggy. dents Day, allowing for back to

The Rooster

much easier to just spit up on people myself now. Another neat thing about this trip was the little people. I thought everyone at the dunes was old like January 13th: Mommy and Daddy but I Annual Election Meeting got to meet Breauna, at the Denny’s in Redlands, 7PM Hannah, and Trevor, they were almost as small as January 15-18th: me! I turned 15 weeks MLK dune cleanup when we were out at the Glamis trip, Wash 6. dunes, that’s pretty old. I’m about ready for my first buggy, I heard Daddy got his when he was 13, February 10th: and Aunt Brianna is getting her drivers permit, she’s 15 too! Maybe I’m Club Meeting at the missing something here but I think I’m ready to drive.

Denny’s in Redlands, 7PM

February 11-22nd: Presidents Week at Glamis, Wash 6. Many people have a three day weekend the first weekend, but make your plans to come back for the second weekend since Don and Shirley will stay all week.

Because I mentioned how much I liked the campfire in my last article all my friends really stepped it up a notch and brought out Christmas trees to put on the fire. They were soo pretty and I really liked watching the sparks fly up in the air. After the second time we went to Mama Jeanies for pizza we went down to the flats for icecream with Grandpa John, Grandma Anna, Aunt Brianna, Uncle Scott, Sandie, Janece, and Walt. I started to cry so Daddy let me taste his icecream. I liked it so I yelled for some more and he gave it to me! That was a fun game, he’s a smart daddy. I really had a great trip. I grew out of my shoes, found my feet, tasted icecream, started squealing, and most of all got to spend time with my adoring fans. I can’t wait till next time! Until then keep your naps regular and your diapers changed. Allie Kastle

The Rooster

Matthew Cole Jeannie Le Blanc Walt Fisher

1/9 1/14 1/14

Dominic Elliott Paul Kastle Heather Beard Susan Martine

1/20 1/22 1/25 1/28

THE REASON YOU DON'T GO OFFROADING BY YOUR SELF by Shirley Ford Last Saturday Dec. 19th. My two grandchildren Troy 23 and Tynnete 24, came to see us for a pre-Christmas dinner. I thought it would be fun to take them little offroading in the Ranger in the desert. While riding I decided to go to the tower in the hills. You can see Lake Havasu and the river from there. It's a great view. I had went up the this steep hill, I thought I could make it fine. About 3/4's the way up the Ranger came to a stop, I didn't have enough power to make it on up the mountain. Then it started to slide. I was in shell rock. I told the grand kids to get out in case I started rolling over. WRONG. I started to slide sideways, fortunately I slide into a tree. A branch about 4" round, wedged between the back seat and front seat. Now there is no going forward or backwards. BIG TIME STUCK. Now here we are, up in the hills, stuck in a tree and we are alone. I called Don on my cell phone (never leave home without a phone) to come and get us unstuck. No answer, he was out side talking to someone. So I called Buick Bob Keirns to tell Don we need help. In the mean time I sent my Grandson down the mountain to help guide them to where we were. Some guys in 2 Rock Crawling Jeeps were coming towards us. I waved them down. They told me my grandson had waved them down and said I needed help. The one jeep went up to the top of hill and then they hook a wench on the Ranger and pulled her on up. Then they drove it back down for me. The one guy asked me If I learned a lesson from this experience. Yeah, I know, never go offroading by your self. Just as they got the Ranger down the mountain, up drove Don and Bob in my Tracker. Of course Bob knew the guys that helped me. They work at the race track with him. I got a lot of ribbing from Bob and Don. The only damage that was done, I have quite a few battle scars on my Ranger now. Nothing serious. The tree really saved us. Yep, you should only off road with another vehicle. You never know what can happen. We have been to the tower couple of times before with no problem. You have to admit, it made for an exciting day.

The Rooster

Note: Jim Sent this in for last month’s newsletter, but I didn’t get it in, so here is a look back at the first Glamis trip of the season. Return to Glamis, October 30-November 1 from Jim Kastle I arrived at Glamis about 7:30 P.M. wondering about the new road. The old one is clearly gated off, but the new one is just to the right of the old one. They set up a mini obstacle course to the place where they checked permits, and then the road kind of curved back near the old road and it was easy to find Wash 6 as they put a reflective sign at each wash. The road is very smooth, much smoother than the old wash road. It seems like a good sign that they were able to get the road approved and built so quickly. In my opinion, that’s a good use of our fee dollars. I found camp easily, and first saw Steve and Janice Tharp’s trailer. I parked and in looking around found Sean’s motorhome, Brandy’s truck and trailer; Don and Shirley’s motor home, truck and trailers; Steve and Sharon Porter’s motorhome and trailer; Todd’s motorhome and trailer; and what appeared to be the Hagens’ motorhome, but with an open trailer. It turns out that Chuck and Janece bought the Hagen’s old motorhome and they, especially Janece, are delighted! This is yet, another case of joining IEOR costing way too much! Two years ago Chuck came out as a guest of Doug Becker, and owned a neat Rhino, but no motorhome or buggy. Last year they bought a mega sand rail, this year a motorhome, and Chuck reports he almost bought an enclosed trailer before this trip. Todd also has been bitten by the IEOR bug, as he has a new enclosed trailer and a Honda V6 where his VW used to be. We may need to put some sort of legal disclaimer on our application! We had a good campfire and went to sleep. Walt arrived right after I went in. Saturday morning Justin arrived, just so he could take one ride. We left for on the first ride. Walt stayed in camp with plans of showing off his newly repainted yellow car in hopes of finding a buyer. Things went very well until we got to Sweet Marie’s, and I found my alternator had died. Not wanting to stop the ride, Don and Steve Por(Continued on page 5)

The Rooster (Continued from page 4)

ter offered to help me home while the others continued the ride. We jump started my car, and headed off down the road. Part way back to camp the alternator started alternating, so I cut into the dunes. Once in the middle of the dunes between Olds and Comp, the alternating stopped, and my voltage started dropping. We made a bee line back to camp and I got there on two cylinders with less than nine volts showing on my gauge. I had a spare alternator, so it was a quick fix. While staying around camp we saw Todd drive up very slowly. He had taken the car to pad 3 to have his engine guy do some minor trouble shooting. He was driving slowly because one side of his rack and pinion had ripped out of his frame. We got out the welder and it was quickly repaired. We went for an afternoon ride, minus Brandy and Sean who had gone out earlier. It was a rather uneventful, quick-paced ride. Just after leaving Olds on the way back to camp, Todd slowed down. Chuck said the other side of the rack broke. We welded the other side, and Todd has a plan to prevent future issues by adding tabs to make the mount double shear. Back in camp Don noticed a slight starboard list in Brandy’s parked car. Upon closer investigation, we found the right shock mount had broken. With only one ride left in the trip, it didn’t seem worth trying to repair it out there. The Porters, Fords, Brandy, Sean, Dave and his new wife, and I went for Mama Jeannie’s for the traditional pizza/burgers. I proudly mentioned to Jeannie that I was now a grandpa, and she replied that she knew and had a picture on her refrigerator. At dinner I mentioned that if I could get a ride to anywhere north, Nancy, who stayed at home with a cold, wouldn’t have to drive as far, or I wouldn’t have to drive the Dually back to Big Bear. Steve and Sharon offered a ride to the Spotlight 29 casino, taking a load off my mind, and making Nancy very relieved. Thank you very much! We returned to camp and had a great campfire with catering by Janece and Janice. Thanks ladies! Sunday morning we left for a ride, and almost immediately, my engine started running on only one bank of cylinders. It has done this occasionally in the past, and cleaning one particular electrical plug fixed it. Well this time it seemed to fix it, but only for a couple of minutes. It did this probably five times. The fifth time Don suggested it might be the other end of that wire, and Steve Porter mentioned if it was a stock computer, it would create a code telling us which cylinder was malfunctioning. Taking their advice, I checked the other end of the wire, at the computer, and that fixed the problem. Well almost, the problem began a few years ago when I dropped a gas can on my computer breaking one of the connectors. I wire tied it back in place and it worked fine. This summer when I replaced my engine, I figured the wire ties weren’t necessary. It turns out they are necessary. I sure appreciate everyone’s patience, and am sorry about the time lost. We got back to camp and most of us packed up. Chuck and Janece decided they needed more time in the motorhome and stayed behind. Steve and Sharon gave me a ride to the casino, and a very appreciative Nancy picked me up there. As Steve, Sharon, and I figured out on our ride, we have only two off weekends until we’re back to Glamis for the weekend before Thanksgiving, a trip that Don and Shirley will join us for, for their first ever Glamis Thanksgiving. Allison Kastle will also make her first ever Glamis Thanksgiving! I can’t wait!

The Rooster

The Hagens have two for sale ads this month: Karissa’s 2005 Honda 250 EX: 5 speed automatic clutch with reverse, stock engine and exhaust, plastic and seat in excellent condition, original owners manual, 4 knobby tires, Green Sticker good for 2010 $2,000

P.J. and Melissa have a Yamaha Golf Cart For Sale: 1996 G14 Gas golf cart with lift. Floor sits 24 inches above the ground. Stock motor, runs well. $2000 obo Contact P.J. Kastle: (951) 285-8459 pkastle@msn.com

Don and Shirley have their Fiberglass Dune Buggy For Sale: 1600cc dual port engine, street legal, beautiful paint job, must see to appreciate. $6500 Contact Don or Shirley Ford: (928) 680-0657 Home (928) 846-2304 Cell

Two child’s helmets for sale: Both were purchased at Chaparral, 3 years ago. Both are full face with visors. Exterior is in good shape, minor scratches. Inside is in perfect shape, foam intact, no tears. Black one is a child Small and the Yellow one is a child Medium. $50 each

Contact Pete Hagen at: (760) 451-0845 for more details

Walt has his Shortstar Sandrail For Sale: Megasand Transaxle, 18 inches of travel front and rear, 1.25 inch Chromoly tubing, Aluminum side panels and wing trunk, 3.5 Liter Shortstar with Turn Key computer, Tube Frame Suspension Seats, 1300 lbs complete $20,000 Call Walt: (909)641-3045

This month we would like to thank Jim Kastle and Shirley Ford for writing articles, and thank everybody who commented on Allison’s first article. Hopefully it is fun to see things from a fresh perspective. Speaking of fresh perspectives, we can always use articles, so if you’ve been on a trip or have anything to say, we are looking forward to hearing from you soon. - P.J. and Melissa Kastle

Inland Empire Offroad Association P.O. Box 132411 Big Bear Lake, CA 92315

Membership Application Please Print

Birthday

Name: _____________________________________

____________________

Spouse: _____________________________________

____________________

Child:

_____________________________________

____________________

Child:

_____________________________________

____________________

Child:

_____________________________________

____________________

Child:

_____________________________________

____________________

Address:____________________________________________ City:

_______________________________

Home Phone: ___________________________

State:______

Zip Code:____________

Cell Phone: _________________________

Email Address: _________________________________________________________________ Would you like your name and address put into our club directory? (The directory is given to club members only)

YES NO If you would like your business included in the directory please include the information below: Business Name: __________________________ Address: __________________________ City:

________________________________

State: _______

Zip Code: ___________

Business Phone: __________________________ As with any organization there are guidelines we operate within. Please read and abide by the following: 1. NO FIREWORKS ALLOWED WITHIN CAMP BOUNDRIES 2. DOGS MUST BE KEPT UNDER CONTROL AT ALL TIMES (BLM law) 3. ON A RIDE, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VEHICLE AHEAD OF YOU AND THE VEHICLE BEHIND YOU. If they stop, you stop and wait for the group to return to you. This prevents separation and in this manner we never leave a member in the dunes. Remember, it’s easier to find you if you stay still: “a moving target is harder to hit” 4. PLEASE OBSERVE THE “RIDE RATINGS” ON THE CLUB BOARD AND SELECT THOSE RIDES YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN. If you wish to lead a ride, put the time and type of ride you want to lead on the board and then stick to that time. No passing on rides (except #6 rides). You can always change your place in line at a break or if you are waved on by the driver ahead of you. 5. REMEMBER, WE ARE A GROUP OF FRIENDS who share a common interest in riding in the desert. Always keep in mind how your actions affect the other members.

SIGNATURE:_________________________________________DATE:____________________ How did you hear about the club?___________________________________________________ Annual dues are $35 per family. Each 12 month membership includes a monthly newsletter. Send your check or money order to: Inland Empire Offroad Association P.O. Box 132411 Big Bear Lake, CA 92315