The Rooster
February 2015
THE ROOSTER A monthly update from the Inland Empire Offroad Association
Whats New
Glamis, Christmas/New Year's 2014/15 by Jim Kastle!
We had a nice long trip over Christmas / New Years. With Christmas and New Years Day falling on Thursdays, the trip was spread out over almost two weeks. It was great to see lots of people in camp over the duration of the trip.
Spaghetti Dinner We had over 40 people turn out for the New Year’s Eve spaghetti dinner, despite a gloomy forecast and chilly temperatures. We set up fire pits outside the Hagen’s rig and many people ate right outside.
RZR Update Most of the vehicles in the group had a successful New Years trip, with few buggies breaking and no RZR rollovers!
I arrived around 7:00 P.M. On Friday the 26th, after I had to turn around when I was half way to Glamis because I left a clothes bag at home. That made the four hour drive an eight hour drive. When I finally arrived I found Jerry and Linda, Steve Sturm, Dale and Rebecca, Brandy and John, Bob Amador, Mike and Ashley Bacon, and Don and Shirley already set up. There was a campfire. I quickly unloaded the trailer and joined the campfire. I had time for a quick dinner before P.J. Melissa, and Allie soon arrived. Saturday P.J. and I spent most of the day working on his sandrail installing new paddles and an LED lightbar. I don't think there was
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February 2015 a RZR ride. There was a buggy ride, but I don't have any details. Barry and Terry Baker arrived for the first time this season. Frank and Denise arrived. Several of us went to Mama Jeannie's for the traditional Saturday night pizza. We were pleased that Jeannie had time to visit with us for a while. We had a campfire.
Upcoming Events • January 16-19th: MLK Dune Cleanup, Glamis Wash 6 • February 6-16th: Presidents Week at Glamis Many people get Monday the 16th off, so add some days to make it an extra long trip. • Mid March: Perhaps there will be a weekend trip? • March 27-April 6: Easter Week, possibly at Buttercup?
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Sunday morning I was met by Ray who told me they had been in Denver Saturday morning, flew home, attended a birthday party in Riverside, and drove to the dunes, arriving at midnight. That's a long day! I set up a "freezer bag omelette" breakfast. I had heard about them while I was still working, and thought they'd be a fun thing for the club to try, but was discouraged when I
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February 2015
brought it up at a meeting, so we never did one. I recently saw something on the internet and decided to set one up. While preparing my spaghetti sauce, I realized most of the sauce ingredients are good omelette ingredients as well, so I cooked additional sausage and bacon, diced more bell pepper and onions, diced some ham, and bought a pound of grated cheddar cheese and five dozen eggs. I used the turkey fryer to boil some water, and provided ziplock freezer bags. Each of us cracked two eggs into a freezer bag, added our choice of ingredients, wrote our names on the bags and put them in the boiling water for about thirteen minutes. The result was a surprisingly good omelette. Everyone agreed it was a fun activity and a pretty good breakfast. I think we could easily do it again if everyone who wants to participate brought two eggs per omelette, a quart sized Ziplock brand Freezer Bag (the brand and freezer quality are important according to the internet) per omelette, and enough of your favorite omelette ingredients for about a dozen omelettes. We can fire up the turkey fryer to boil water, and set out our ingredients, and have an easy breakfast potluck. After breakfast we had a RZR ride and a buggy ride. The buggy ride started well enough, but Brandy's buggy had an electrical issue, and P.J. Lost his power steering. Brandy was able to fix his buggy but P.J., Bob Amador, who decided four people were too many in his car, and I went back to camp. In camp P.J. and I diagnosed the problem as a defective power steering pump. A quick internet search found one in El Centro, so we went for a ride and bought it. Back in camp we quickly installed it, and it works great. John, Anna, and Brianna soon arrived with John's newly rebuilt buggy transmission. We were pleased to hear that John's dad, who had been briefly hospitalized, was doing better and was back at home. We had a big campfire. I was so tired, I went to bed by 8:00. It's now 4:00 A.M. Sunday and I'm wide awake. Monday morning Nancy's nephew, Mike was scheduled to arrive at the dunes with his new-to-him Raptor quad, so I didn't go on the morning ride, but there were both RZR and buggy rides. Mike soon arrived with his daughter, Serenity, and her new pink 90cc Polaris quad. She was very excited to ride her new bike, so I followed her as she followed her dad. On the first ride she was very timid, but by the end of the day she was enjoying it very much. Mike had a good time and plans to return with a rental toy box in tow in preparation for an eventual purchase. I don't remember hearing anything about the RZR or buggy rides. The Hagens and the Huggards arrived. Tuesday and Wednesday there were buggy and RZR rides. I went on buggy rides to maximize time with P.J. On one of the rides Brandy's car lost a fuel regulator. He went to Yuma to try and buy a replacement, but no one in Yuma had one. Brandy and John packed up and headed for the river. Steve and Janice Tharp, and Jeff and Lavon Oliver arrived Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon we had our annual spaghetti potluck, with over 40 people attending. There was plenty of great food, served in the
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February 2015
Hagen's trailer as it has been for years. Thanks again for all the work to empty it and then clean up. We had a big campfire, or 3 small ones in washing machine tubs, that just about everyone in camp attended. Some of us went to the hill to fill time until midnight. There was very little activity at Olds. We returned to camp to welcome in 2015 at the campfire. The Hagens, P.J., and I made it to midnight. With New Years being on a Thursday, there were not as many fireworks as usual. Thursday morning we had another omelette boil, thanks to Ray and Janice. We made over 25 omelettes and enjoyed everyone's company. Many of us want to do another one at the cleanup. Mike Bacon discovered his RZR front end was making some ugly noises, so he decided to pack up and head home to make the needed repairs. Again there were buggy and RZR rides, both had delayed starts due to the breakfast. The buggy ride ended up in the recently reopened area southwest of the flag. The sand was nearly virgin after years of being closed and we had a very smooth ride. After lunch we took another buggy ride to the same general area. I believe Ray led the RZR ride. The two rides could hear each other on the radios. We again had a campfire and Ray, Janice, John, Barry, P.J., and I went to to the hill. Janice brought some JiffyPop popcorn, and John showed his cooking skills as he expertly popped the popcorn. It was the first time I've ever had JiffyPop that was great, nearly all the kernels popped, and none of it was burned. The ride back to camp was EXTREMELY cold, miserable in my opinion. Friday we again had RZR and buggy rides, and could hear each other on the radios. The buggy ride consisted of John, Barry, Steve Tharp, Bobby in the RZR, P.J., and me. About a mile and a half from camp, Barry radioed that Bobby lost his ice chest. We backtracked and found it had been picked up by the occupants of a RZR that had tagged on to the end of the line. They wanted to return it to Bobby. We stopped while Bobby loaded the ice chest, and laughed as he had a very difficult time with his helmet, having first leaving it the bed, and having to unbuckle to get out and get it, then placing it on the hood where it rolled off after getting buckled in again. Barry has it all on what should be a very funny video. As we restarted the ride, John yelled for Steve to stop. It turns out his rear axle had broken. Steve had lubed the axles just before this trip, and was surprised when it broke. No problem, John had a spare in camp so we made a quick trip back to camp for the axle, then back to Steve, where Steve and John quickly installed the spare. But not until John took several photos of Steve and the GREEN axle being installed on the RED factory car. We all saw irony in the fact that on a ride with four high school cars, a RZR, and one of the nicest cars in the club, it was the nicest car that broke! Back in camp, we finalized the axle repair, and the five buggies (Bobby had to head home) went for a ride that ended up six miles from camp in the recently reopened, and very soft, area west of hills 4 and 5. Dean Carver arrived for 4
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February 2015
the first time in three years with his sandrail that the Tuesday night crew recently finished. We had a campfire, and we decided over P.J's objection not to go to the, hill as it had been so cold Thursday night. Saturday the buggy ride stopped at Olds to give Dean a chance to check over the sandrail. While at Olds we saw a buggy that had a Porsche Cayene drivetrain. Barry and I had seen it on our walk that morning, and wanted the other buggy drivers to see it. It was well engineered, but was a little rough in spots. For example the U-joint on the transmission was located between the seats, protected by a coffee can! The Porsche sandrail was parked near a totaled RZR sitting at the bottom of Olds. As we were examining it, friends of the owner arrived and explained the owner had been jumping off Olds at 3:00 A.M. and rolled it 9 times. I don't think there was a salvageable part on it. It was interesting that the stock roll cage held up well. It was bent, but clearly intact. So much for the rumor about stock cages being weak. That rumor was probably started by a custom cage manufacturer. The driver's friends were on the phone with the driver, who was about to be released from the hospital. We resumed the buggy ride and visited the flag and the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial at hiil 3. The only problem we experienced was a slipping clutch on Dean's car. It was quickly fixed by adjusting the free play. Saturday afternoon the Coles, the Kastles, and Dean took Allie to ice cream on the flats. While we went for ice cream, Janice and Ray demonstrated that they are among the most caring people I've ever met. Janice found a post on a social media site, I don't know which one, that a husband and wife were stuck in the sand at Wash 27. Janice had never met these people, but read their request for help getting unstuck. Ray borrowed a jack and he and Janice headed off to Wash 27. They spent about three hours jacking and towing the trailer, and finally asked a neighboring camp for help. They freed up the truck and trailer which had been stuck for 3 days. Apparently they usually camp with a group, but none of their group made this trip. I don't know why they went all the way to Wash 27 by themselves, but I guess old habits are hard to break. Ray and Janice are much more caring than I. I'll help a stranger in a neighboring camp, but only if it's convenient for me. Several of went to Mama Jeannie's for dinner where we met Ray and Janice after their rescue. We enjoyed a brief visit with Jeannie before leaving for camp. Several of us went to the hill to watch the festivities, but there were very few cars at the hill. The most entertainment was provided by Ray as he cooked more Jiffy Pop. Janice had brought a brand new Weber bar-b-que glove to protect the popper's hand. Well, you really had to be there, but in short, Ray got the glove too hot and it caught fire. He quickly stuck his hand in the sand, and resumed popping the Jiffy Pop. Ray must have compromised the integrity of the glove as it quickly became totally engulfed in flame. The funniest thing was when he refused to drop the nearly popped Jiffy Pop, instead frantically telling John to 5
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February 2015
take the Jiffy Pop from his burning hand. In classic Ray style, he later commented, "Who would of thought they'd use flammable insulation in a bar-b-que glove?" Sunday we went for the last rides of the trip. The buggies and RZR's could hear each other, but no mention of where we were took place. The buggy drivers were awed by Dean hitting a witches eye and launching his car. In the not too distant past that would have torn off at least one wheel, but there was no damage, and we have two pretty good videos thanks to Barry and P.J. The buggies took a break west of hills 4 and 5, and we weren't stopped for 5 minutes when the RZR's drove up, totally by chance, led by Ray. Ray has a new RZR accessory, a cooker that attaches to an exhaust pipe. He opened it up, and offered everyone some hot barb-qued little smokies, complete with hors d'oeuvre toothpicks. They were great and lots of us are looking for exhaust pipe warmers. We returned to camp and most packed up and headed for home. The Fords, Tranthams, Darrel, and I extended the trip by going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Back in camp I did a lot of packing, including loading the RZR before going to bed. I didn't want a repeat of last trip when the Fords and Tranthams waited at least an hour for me to get ready to leave Monday morning. Monday we were on the road by 9:00. We caravaned as far as Blythe where I headed north and the Fords and Tranthams met Terry and Leslie to deliver them Shirley's paddles from her 800. For me this was one of the best Glamis trips ever. The camaraderie; lack of breakdowns; length of the trip; the large number of club members in attendance, including the return of the Bakers, Walt, Dean and Darrel; and the smaller than expected crowds all combined to make it a very special trip. My thanks to everyone. My only complaint was that the days were too short for me to go on all the buggy rides and the RZR rides. Given the chance to spend time with P.J., I opted to miss the RZR rides, but only because I love my kid and time spent with him more than I love the RZR. I'm looking forward to the clean up, despite P.J. not making the trip (well, I'll get more RZR time) and especially President's day for which P.J. will extend a weekend.
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The Rooster
February 2015
New Years Sights By Paul Kastle As my Dad mentioned in his article, we had one of the best trips we can recall to the dunes over New Years. He covered the basics, but I thought I’d elaborate a bit more on a few interesting sights from 10 days at Glamis. Wrecks and Rolls (Insanity on the Hill) There was quite a bit of activity on the hill, and it resulted in at least three significant incidents. In the first one, a four seat sandrail was doing a wheelie across the hill and made contact with a four seat RZR headed down the hill. Both vehicles rolled, but everybody escaped unharmed. The right rear suspension was ripped off of the sandrail, and the front of the rented RZR was flattened. There is video of the wreck posted online, and Janice got pictures of the vehicles shortly after. We also saw another wreck at the hill between two RZRs one night when one was jumping down and another was crossing the hill and got T-boned by the jumping RZR. The one that was crossing the hill rolled, and it ripped the right front and left rear axles out of the housings. Perhaps the most spectacular wreck from the hill was a RZR that rolled early Saturday morning, apparently at 3 AM. He had been jumping down the hill and lost control, resulting in a lot of wreckage and a totaled RZR. The driver went to the hospital, but was released later that morning. The RZR did a good job of protecting him with the stock cage, but there wasn’t much left of it that was undamaged, as the pictures below from Saturday morning show.
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February 2015
An Innovative Sandrail (or a really big side by side‌) Jim mentioned this car in his article as well, but I wanted to share some pictures of it because it is really something different. The guy that built is used a Porshe Cayenne drivetrain, but mounted it in the car backwards so that it would be rear engined. It uses the stock transmission and differentials, but to get it to go the right way the differentials are mounted in the car upside down. The result is a full sized sandrail with full time all wheel drive. While this is a familiar concept for the RZR people in the group, it is really innovative for a sandrail. It is just neat to see a very different approach to building a car for the dunes.
Another RZR fire While returning from beyond Hill 4 one day we could see a plume of smoke coming from the washes. Over the radio we wondered if another RZR had caught fire, and it turned out that’s what had happened. Jerry Trantham was on his way back from the dumpsters when he saw the smoke, and he arrived and got video of it burning with his phone. The occupants had gotten out fine, but a gas can in the back had ignited and the RZR was fully engulfed. Lots more people arrived to see what was going on, but there was nothing to do but wait for it to burn out. In the end there wasn’t much left. The next day Barry saw the RZR in a nearby camp and talked to the owner about what had happened. It turns out it was a brand new 1000, and they were returning from their very first ride with a gas can in the back. It does serve as a good warning to avoid hauling gas in the back or risk totaling your nice side by side. 8
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February 2015
Dean Cole (1939-2015) On a personal note, we couldn’t finish publishing this newsletter this week without mentioning Grandpa Dean’s passing on Monday, January 12th. For those of you who weren’t fortunate enough to get to know Dean, John and Scott’s Dad was one of the friendliest guys you could ever meet. He made friends instantly, and anyone was always welcome to stop by the house and hang out for a drink in his bar. They even hosted club Christmas parties there in the mid 1990s, so many club members got a chance to meet Dean.! Something that Dean made obvious to anyone who knew him was his profound love for and closeness with his granddaughter Melissa. He would tell anyone who would listen that she was his granddaughter, and he was so proud of her. In 1984 when she was just an infant he would often take care of her during the day while her grandma Sue and John were at work. Dean had been laid off by an elevator company and needed work, so they started their own company. In the early days when there wasn’t a lot of work Dean would spend days with Melissa. As she and the company grew, they still remained very close. This posed a bit of a challenge once Melissa was older and I wanted to date her. We both were concerned about what he would think of me, and what he might put me through. On our first real date she met me out front while he had friends with him in the bar. That soon changed though, and I couldn’t come pick her up without sitting down and spending some time with Dean. In what was the greatest compliment he could have ever given me, he excitedly welcomed me to the family and enthusiastically supported me marrying Melissa. I am very fortunate that in the years since I got to spend so much time with him and his wonderful family. Most of all, I am so glad that Allie got to have a great relationship with him. Very few kids get to have such a great relationship with their great grandparents, and I can’t imagine any better great grandparents to have. ! Dean is survived by his wife Sue, his three children, five grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren. Services will be held at Riverside National Cemetery in a few weeks.! -Paul Kastle
This month we’d like to thank Jim Kastle for writing about New Years, and Janice Peterson, Jerry Trantham, and Walt Fisher for sending in pictures. Please send in your articles and other content, as the newsletter is what you make it. The next newsletter will cover the MLK trip, and will be out in late February, likely shortly after the Presidents week trip. We look forward to seeing many of you out there as we move into 2015!
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