Newsletter0116 by Paul Kastle

The Rooster

January 2016

THE ROOSTER A monthly update from the Inland Empire Offroad Association

Whats New Thanksgiving was a good long trip, and it is followed up with another long one for Christmas / New Years.

Thanksgiving at Glamis By Jim Kastle I spent Thursday night, Nov. 19th at Don and Shirley’s after we attended a Havasu Side by Side Trail Association meeting. Don, Shirley, Jerry, Linda, and I left Lake Havasu about 8:00 AM and caravanned to Glamis. We arrived near Glamis around noon and

Another Duner The group is getting bigger! Paul and Melissa Kastle’s son Marshall was born on Friday December 11th. Everyone is doing great. See more on page 12.

John in a RZR! The RZR news of the month is that Don Ford convinced John Cole to drive his RZR1000 on a ride at Thanksgiving. Read all about it on page 4.

heard Janice on the radio. She welcomed us to Glamis. We arrived at Wash 6 to find the “Steves” (Porter, Tharp, Sturm), Chuck Grossman, Dave Huggard, Bob Amador, Mike Bacon, and of course, Ray and Janice. Don helped me get the yellow trailer and

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January 2016 our buggy box from storage. I spent the rest of the day setting up our fifth wheel and the buggy box as Nephew Mike was going to join us later. We ended the day with a well attended campfire.

Upcoming Events • December 25-January 4th: Christmas / New Years at Glamis, Wash 6. We’ll have a New Year’s Eve Spaghetti pot luck. • January 15-18th: MLK Dune Cleanup weekend at Glamis, Wash 6. • Presidents Week: February 12-15th, plus the week before or after, so let us know which you prefer.

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Saturday morning we boiled omelets in some rather strong wind. I love watching the reaction of those new to the omelet boiling idea. They always seem hesitant, then join in and usually become fans. Ray and Janice’s friend Rich was the newbie today. His wife didn’t like the idea and didn’t come to the boil. Rich made her an omelet any way, and he told me later she loved it. I was becoming somewhat tired of omelets by the end of last season, but I really enjoyed them this time. After breakfast Bobby led a 7 buggy ride, my first Glamis buggy ride of the season. The “Steves”, Chuck, Dave, and I followed Bobby on a nice ride that ended up at Osborne. There was a RZR ride, but I don’t have any details. After the ride Steve Tharp headed for home. Luanne and 10 year old grandson Kaiden arrived. We had a campfire that featured Ray and Janice’s apple-cherry cobbler. It was outstanding as always. Sunday A.J. Bacon and girlfriend Lameah arrived with A.J.’s newto-him (Mike’s old) RZR 1000. I led a 6 buggy ride. At one time we ended up in the same bowl as the RZR’s but I didn’t realize it till later, and kept on going. We took a fast route through the

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former closure north of the flagpole. At one point I suffered a “temporary loss of forward momentum” and had to have Steve Sturm tow me out. While I was sitting there Kaiden came up to me and said something about me being stuck. I quickly responded that I wasn’t really stuck, that I just wanted to take a short break for a photo, and to test Steve’s tow strap. I was going on and on and Kaiden interrupted me saying “You got stuck!” It reminded me of my classroom. I like Kaiden! Back in camp Steve Sturm and I were watching the last NASCAR race of the year when Dave called me and invited us to Chuck’s motor home 2

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January 2016

to watch the race on the big screen. Although the race wasn’t that exciting, the company made for a good time. Steve Porter headed home. The night’s campfire featured peach cobbler, yummy! Monday Steve Sturm led a fast buggy ride near Gecko Road. I’m not sure whether Mike or Ray led the RZR ride, but on the radio it sounded like they had a good time. But we heard that Luanne’s RZR was acting up. It would miss at any speed above idle, just like it did at Halloween, prompting a trip back to the dealer. She called Bobby who contacted the dealer that did the work and arranged for Luanne to take it to the shop in El Centro where she would be put at the front of the line. She took it in and they found that the original dealer hadn’t even reset the code, and it still needed a wire harness. Fortunately they had one in stock and were able to repair it in about an hour. Back in camp, for a long time, 5 years at least, the yellow trailer side door has needed repair. I brought out some materials to fix it, and Don and I removed it from the trailer. Dave Huggard and I figured out how to get it apart, then Jerry, Don, and I straightened, strengthened, and reinstalled it. It’s the best it’s been in years, and like most things related to the yellow trailer, it was a group effort. Monday evening Don, Shirley, Jerry, Linda, Luanne, Kaiden, and I went to Yuma for Texas Roadhouse, fuel, and shopping. While we were at Texas Roadhouse I got a call from Mark Rhoades asking for directions to camp. For the first time in 5 years they were back at Glamis. Tuesday Dave, Chuck, and Steve Sturm left, but Barry and Terry, Nancy, and Nephew Mike and daughter Serenity arrived. Barry, Mark, and I went for a buggy ride, cut short when Mark called us and said he had a power steering leak. We found a fitting on a power steering line had broken, spewing power steering fluid everywhere in the front of the car including daughter Breauna’s shoes. Barry and I took the offending hose back to the yellow trailer and attached a new fitting and took it and some power steering fluid back to the buggy to allow it to drive back to camp. We were somewhat concerned that the fitting and the hose might not be an exact match, but it held up the rest of the trip. Mark and Tanya went to Joe Fab, the builder of the car, and bought two replacement fittings. Joe told them they had been having trouble with that type of fittings, but still charged $45.00 each for the replacements. Nephew Mike’s and Serenity’s quads weren’t running quite right and we diagnosed the problem as bad gas. We emptied the tanks and refilled them with fresh gas, and they were soon running fine. Mike Bacon led at least two RZR rides, but I have no details. Tuesday’s Dutch oven delight was pineapple upside down cake. It was great! Thank You Ray and Janice! It was an early night as by 8:30 everyone had retired to their rigs for the night. Wednesday morning it was very windy. John and Anna had arrived around midnight. We worked a little on John’s paddles, sliming them and airing them up. We left for the buggy ride around noon. It was still pretty windy but John, 3

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January 2016

Barry, Mark with Breauna and Hannah, and I decided to brave the wind. By the time we got to the big bowls the wind had lessened considerably, leaving behind some beautiful sand in the big bowls near Osborne. We took a break at Osborne where we talked to a Border Patrol agent who explained they were there to provide additional EMS services for the weekend. He also said the wind was forecast to die down for the weekend. We continued our ride through the old closure down past the flagpole and hill 4 and back towards Olds, which I missed and drove over a mile past it before stopping and checking the GPS. Kind of scary that I couldn’t find Olds! I WAS able to find camp. The wind had died to a strong breeze. In camp we found that Nephew Mike and Serenity had gone to Yuma to get a battery and a whip for Mike’s quad. They were already back. So while we were on our ride they went to Yuma and back! A.J. and Lameah left while we were on our ride. Shortly before sunset Amber Leeper, Dave Medlin’s daughter, walked into camp and asked to borrow a tow strap. Their group was setting up camp next to ours and had buried a truck towing a toy hauler, and stuck a motor home. Neither John nor I could find a place to attach to the front of the truck, so we unhitched it, and hooked up John’s dually, figuring a REAL truck would just tow it out. We were wrong, and the truck wouldn’t free the trailer. As we had planned, just in case, we hooked my dually to John’s and together we couldn’t move the trailer. I aired down all 6 tires, and together we were able to free the trailer. I hooked up to the motor home and was able to free it, only to have him stick it three more times before getting parked. It was now dark, but we still wanted another ride. Mark and the girls, John with Nephew Mike, Ray, and Serenity and I headed off to Olds. We were the only ones there! Unbelievable for Thanksgiving Eve! Back in camp there was no campfire as the wind had begun to pick up. Everyone retired to their rigs before 9:00 P.M. Thanksgiving had been forecast to be windy and cold. When we awoke it was cool with just a breeze. The buggy and RZR rides agreed to meet at the flagpole. This is an easy thing to do with the radios, especially with the 50 watt mobile that John and Janice, among others, have installed. The buggies left about 10 minutes after the RZRs and had a pretty fast ride by Hill 3 and to the flagpole. We arrived just about 3 minutes before the RZRs and had a nice combined break with lots of snacks. On the break I found that Steve and Kimmie had arrived and were on the ride. Before the ride we had decided that with the weather forecast, a slightly earlier than usual time for dinner would be a good idea. We settled on 3:00 P.M. As everyone wanted plenty of time to prepare for dinner, we decided to head towards camp. The buggies were moving along at a pretty good clip when I hit a rise and became airborne. I landed on my left rear tire and immediately popped the outer bead. I have been carrying a high lift jack for some time now, but it is old and notoriously cranky (the jack, NOT me!) Bobby remembers when it refused to lift his car a year and a half ago at Gordon’s Well. It was being typically cranky when John taught me to pinch two pieces together, and it began to work nearly perfectly. John modified a water bottle to squirt water to clean the bead, Bobby gave me a rag, and in no time we had the bead reseated. We arrived back in camp just a little later than planned and had plenty of time to prepare for dinner. As the Hagens were not on this trip, we needed a trailer to set up in. Bobby volunteered his. P.J., Melissa, and Allie, weren’t able to make this trip, as Melissa is due to deliver our grandson, Marshall, on December 11th, and even though they considered driving down for the day, they wisely decided not to do so. John, Anna, Nancy, and I greatly missed them. Even though the group was smaller than usual, 34 people by Jerry’s count, we had a great feast. There was plenty of everything, and it was all 4

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great! My sincere thanks to all the chefs. The weather certainly cooperated, with it being about 65 degrees with just a slight breeze. After dinner we had a campfire, and we decided to make a trip to the hill. Ray, Janice, Barry, Terry, Bobby, Luanne, Kaiden, John, Matthew, Courtney, Mark, Breauna, Hannah, Trevor, C.J., Dave, Serenity, I, and even Mike Bacon all went to the hill. I think the big draw for our group was the chance for another Jiffy Pop performance by Ray and John. Ray popped two pans of Jiffy Pop without incident, disappointing us all! The crowd was light for Thanksgiving, with few traffic stops even for taillights. Some of us were cold and decided to head back to camp before the rest. I led the first group and half way to camp my GPS died. I ended up at Wash 10, so Mike took us the rest of the way back to camp. The other group made it without incident about a half hour later. Friday morning it was sprinkling, and rain was reported 15 minutes away. We covered the cars and RZRs in anticipation of the coming rain. It never really developed. Around noon both the buggies and the RZRs went for rides. I went on the RZR ride for the first time this trip. Mike led us through near virgin sand through the former closure west of hills 3 and 4, down hill 5, and on to hills 6 and 7. We were in the dunes after leaving hill 7 when Jerry asked how we were doing on fuel. Jerry was down to two bars, about ¼ tank. Mike headed towards camp and we all made it without incident. While we were on the RZR ride the buggies found a burning RZR at Olds, and spent another hour watching the action at Olds. Just before sunset Barry with a full car with Terry, friends Greg and Trina, John with Brianna, Mark with a full car, Steve in his RZR, and I with Matthew went on a pretty fast ride over near Gecko. As we loaded up after a break, Barry radioed that his shifter had broken. We decided to head back to camp via Olds. En route, Barry radioed that Mark’s taillights weren’t working. We decided to avoid Olds and the taillight police, and to tell Mark when we go back to camp. It turns out we forgot to tell Mark, and sometime later in the trip he was stopped and received a ticket for no taillights and for not having his registration in the car. Welcome back, Mark. I doubt Glamis is safer as a result of this deputy’s actions. I always assumed the taillight issue was just an excuse to stop someone to check on their sobriety and to check for warrants, and the officer would only warn the driver about the taillights. I was wrong. I sure wish we would have remembered to tell Mark about his taillights. We had an early campfire and discussed whether to go to the hill. It was cold, but as this was probably the busiest night of the year at Olds, Ray, Janice, John, Brianna, and I decided to go. The taillight police were busy, and there were a lot of people, but nothing really spectacular happened. We got back from the hill just before midnight.

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Saturday morning we boiled omelets and introduced the Rhoades to them. We enjoyed the company. The buggy ride was delayed because we had to repair an A arm on John’s car that was damaged on the ride back from the hill last night. Before we could weld, we had to fix a problem with the generator I just put in the yellow trailer. I replaced the one that was in there because it had become stubborn and often wouldn’t run right. The one I brought has been flawless for a number of years. Maybe they object to life in the yellow trailer. We were able to find the problem with the generator (a plastic bracket on the automatic choke had broken) and weld up John’s A arm. The RZR ride left before we did, and we never crossed paths with them. The buggies took a fast ride to the flag pole where Barry told us his trans was making ugly noises. We took an easy ride back to camp. Most of us did some preliminary packing. It became cold and windy. We realized that with only two running buggies, tomorrow we’d do a combined buggy/RZR ride. We then started thinking of putting John in one of the Ford’s RZRs and doing a RZR only ride. This must have gotten to John, as he woke up Sunday thinking about it. Sunday morning I offered to lend John a RZR shirt, but he declined. He said he had thought about it and was going to decline Don’s offer, as he was worried he might hurt the RZR, and didn’t want to take the risk. I figured at least he had thought about it, and respected his decision. I was really surprised when Don came over and logically explained that John could drive his 1000, as it has adjustable seating, a larger driver’s compartment, was under warranty, and is fully insured, refuting all of John’s reservations. Don said it was the perfect time, and as it was going to happen sometime, it might as well be today. Don was so logical, there was no way out! John agreed. In no time he was in the RZR adjusting the seat, belt, and steering wheel. Obviously there were lots of photos. Mike led a great ride, and John was sliding like he does in his buggy. I was following John and I heard the belt break, and saw John stop. Yep, the RZR belt curse had struck John on his first RZR ride. We all carry spares and Don went to take his out of the box on the RZR and it turns out someone must have stolen the brand new belt. We installed the one they carry in Shirley’s RZR, and determined the clutch rollers had failed, just like mine did a year ago. Clearly the belt failure was not John’s fault, and we should have noticed the flat rollers when we changed the belt at the Cinders when Bill was driving it and the belt broke. I suggested that maybe we should cut the ride short but Don quickly said “It has taken us this long to get him in one, let’s not stop now!” We continued for quite a while and it seemed to me John had a great time. Back in camp he said it was fun, but was quick to add he’s not about to sell his buggy for one. The Fords, the Tranthams, and the Kastles went to Texas Roadhouse as Nancy had missed out on our earlier trip. While we were gone, John took the buggy, and joined Ray and Janice in their RZRs and duned over towards Sweet Marie’s. As they approached Sweet Marie’s, John’s buggy blew a huge cloud of smoke. Jealous of the RZR, I’m sure. John limped it back to camp and on the way it seemed to stop smoking. We got back from dinner and at the campfire we discussed what the problem might be. We had a campfire featuring Dutch oven apple cherry cobbler. It was outstanding as always, and a great way to end the last campfire of the trip. Monday we were still thinking of what could have gone wrong with John’s buggy and he fired it up. It was smoking, and liquid was dripping out of the left exhaust pipe. We smelled it, and found it was gasoline. John used a temperature gun and found one cylinder was not firing. Our best guess is that an injector stuck open. John already knew he wouldn’t be able to come for New Year’s, so he has some time to fix it before his next trip, whenever that will be. We all loaded up and were soon on the road. I had a great time and can’t wait for the Christmas/New Years trip. Many thanks to all the people who made this a great trip for me. -Jim

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January 2016

John Drives a RZR! The pictures tell the story here, but on the Tuesday night after Thanksgiving we asked John about his RZR driving experience. Here’s how the conversation went.

P.J.: How did this happen? ! John: We were down to just two buggies on Sunday morning, and Don made me a great oﬀer. (Sounding like a NASCAR driver) It was just too great of an opportunity to pass up. It was a chance for a great ride in a nice car.! P.J.: How was it?! John: It was fun. They have come a long way, like three years evolution in under a year. They ride a lot faster now. ! P.J.: Did the smaller car make it feel faster?! John: Not really, it felt like a trail ride, and it didn’t accelerate like the sand rails do. I really noticed the short wheelbase, and I thought about it while going down some of the bigger hills out by Hill 4 and 5.! Scott: So your back end was gonna pass your front?! John: Yeah, something like that.! P.J.: How was that great RZR reliability?! John: Well, I broke a Belt…! Dean: Really? ! John: Yep, it happens every time I drive one…! P.J.: So, is the buggy for sale?! John: They’re neat, but I still won’t trade my buggy for one.! P.J: So it’s still worth working on the sandrail?! John: Yes, you should come out there sometime. I told Matthew that he needs to bring his car too next time so we’ll have more cars to ride with.!

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January 2016

Polaris Announces Parts Availability Initiative ! Replacement belts to be available in remote desert locations through vending machines MINNEAPOLIS, MN (December 3, 2015) – Today Polaris has announced an innovative plan to make replacement belts available through vending machines to be placed in popular areas for off highway vehicle use. In keeping with the company’s green energy initiatives, the machines will be made from recycled plastic collected from the dunes and use solar energy. “This truly is a win-win.” states Polaris Marketing Director Rolland Flippet. “By making parts available to our customers when and where they need them, we will help keep the aging fleet of RZRs up and running while maintaining a steady stream of parts revenue for the company.” He adds, “We are transitioning from a product replacement model to a replacement consumables marketing model, similar to that used with ink jet printers. Making parts available near the point of failure will provide a non-engineering solution to turn what some might consider a defect into a revenue opportunity.” Of course those customers wishing to replace their units with newer models will still be encouraged to do so, but they will still have to visit their local dealership.

About Polaris Polaris is a recognized leader in the powersports industry with annual 2013 sales of $3.8 billion. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER® and RZR® side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid powered vehicles. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PII”, and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock price index.

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Marshall’s Birthday Ride To celebrate Marshall Kastle’s birthday the Schellingers, Paula and I decided the best way to do that was to go to Anza for the weekend. We headed out Friday morning only to find the wind blowing like crazy. Paula was coming from Las Vegas and she encountered just about every type of weather we could imagine! She went through wind, rain, snow, and then got held up in Palm Desert by the discovery of a dead body! (She didn’t discover it, she just got held up by the traﬃc. Whew!) She finally arrived after a seven hour trip. We all went over to The Alamo for a great Mexican dinner, then had a nice fire as the wind had died down. A couple pictures from Paula’s trip!!

! Saturday morning was nice and clear, sunny but not hot. We formulated a plan to go visit Superstition Mountain, a place I had camped over 20 years ago. It was a long trip down the pole line road, to another pole line road, then across some very flat desert. Out in the middle of nowhere we came across this area where people had stacked rocks over the years. Paula just had to add her touch to them.!

We did some exploring in the area. There was a lot more sand than I had remembered and we had a good time just driving up and down through the dunes and hills. We then came across an old radar station on one of the peaks. Interesting place, and the views from the top were great!!

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The inside of the station was a little worse for wear though! !

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! We then worked our way back to camp. It ended up to be a 75 mile ride that took us about six hours, but very interesting. We are anxious to go back. Once back at camp we waited for Dana, Dillon, and Daniel to arrive, then went back to The Alamo for dinner, and enjoyed a nice fire to round out the evening. Sunday morning Paula had to leave early to see her grandson before going back to Vegas, so she pulled out at 5am. It was 43 degrees when she left. By 9 it was sunny and warm. Kris volunteered to watch Daniel so Dana and Dillon could go for a ride. Doug rode with me and Dana and Dillon rode in Dougâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s RZR. We visited the fire hydrant and the Honda Memorial and worked our way back to camp as everyone had to go home. I was a little disappointed to arrive back home to find cold, wind, and drizzle. I guess my penance for what Paula had to go through to see me this weekend.!

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This Just In! Melissa and I weren’t at the dunes over Thanksgiving for the first time either of us could remember, but we had a great reason. We’d like to introduce you all to the latest addition to our family:! Marshall Paul Kastle was born on December 11th at 5:35 PM at Kaiser Riverside. He weighed 9 lbs, 15 ounces and was 21.75 inches long. Despite being a scheduled C-section at only 39 weeks, 2 days, he is a big guy and is ready to come out and play. ! Now that he’s here, the real question is what will his first dune toy be. Perhaps an Odyssey like his Dad, or a quad like his Mommy. Or perhaps even a RZR (since the kids ones are so cute!) Time will tell, but it will be a lot of fun getting there. In the mean time, it is nice to have a sandrail with a car seat, and we really can’t wait to introduce him to the sand. He even went to the shop on his first ever Tuesday.! Melissa and Marshall came home from the hospital on Sunday December 13th, less than 48 yours after he was born. They are both doing great, and Allie is an incredible big sister. She can’t wait to show her little brother to all of you.

This month we’d like to thank Jim Kastle and Mike Bacon for writing articles and Steve Tharp and Janice Petersen for taking and sending pictures of Thanksgiving. With our new arrival we will need help covering the Christmas / New Years trip as well, so please send your pictures and trip reports. This is the 120th newsletter we have produced, marking 10 years of The Rooster. Thank you all for your contributions and for being part of a great group of friends. -Paul, Melissa, Allie, and Marshall.