The Rooster
November 2017
THE ROOSTER A monthly update from the Inland Empire Offroad Association
What’s New We’ve been in the dunes this season! With the Dumont trip behind us, the season is here, and we’re ready for more.
Fall Return to Dumont Dumont, October 5-9, 2017 by Jim Kastle I arrived at Dumont around 2:00 P.M., after a nice easy 55+ MPH drive, in stark contrast to the May trip, when I was slowed to 25 MPH on the Baker Grade. Thanks again UDS and Justin! Steve
Anza Spook Run Mike Bacon will once again be hosting the Mona Bacon Memorial Spook Run and Weenie Roast on Saturday, October 21st. See more on page 5.
Thanksgiving (and earlier) at Glamis Mike Bacon, Jim Kastle, and others are going to start the Thanksgiving trip two weeks early, over Veterans day weekend! If you want to do back to back weekends they will be watching camp the whole time. We will have a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday November 23rd.
Sturm and Dave Huggard were already set up. I took my time setting up camp, and by 5:00 PM Steve and I were ready for a ride. We made it just over a mile to the (formerly) Big Bowl, now a shadow of its former self, when my car went into limp mode. It
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November 2017
had overheated; a very unusual event. I have noticed a small radiator leak for some time and before this trip added some stop leak to the cooling system. Apparently the cooling system didn’t like that. We limped back to camp and the three of us were puzzled by the symptoms. We ended up removing the thermostat and radiator lines, and flushing the engine and radiator. We notice what could best be described as a clot in the outlet from the engine to the radiator, and reconnected the lines and hoped for the best. We had an “ambience only” campfire and went to bed hoping John and Barry would soon be there.
Upcoming Events • October 5-9th: Weekend at Dumont. • October 27-29: Halloween at Glamis • November 10-27: Veterans Day through Thanksgiving at Glamis, Wash 6.
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Friday morning we awoke to find John and Barry, and a friend of Barry’s, Steve, who has ridden in a prerunner but never a buggy, had arrived. I looked over my car in the light, and things seemed fine, but I noticed some Goldfish crackers on the ground under my car. I thought it was weird I hadn’t noticed them the night before. Soon Barry came over and noticed the Goldfish. Next John noticed them, and made some comment about them being attracted to my new GPS, which is a Lowrance, a company known for its fish finders, a fact that
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originally dissuaded me from buying it. But based on input from John and P.J., I bought it. They were right, as this one is perfect for me, much simpler than the one I was going to buy. We went for a ride and on the first break, I noticed Goldfish under my car! John insisted they must be attracted to the fish
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November 2017
finder/GPS. The Goldfish continued to mysteriously appear at every break all weekend. The back story is that I no longer fish, and have no desire to do so, a fact that troubles John greatly. He loves to rib me about my dislike of fishing, and he was having a ball. We had three leaders on this fast ride, Steve, Barry and me, and had a great time on the smooth sand. The GPS screens were almost filled with our tracks. We returned for lunch after burning about 5 gallons of gas each. That’s a lot for an area the size of Dumont. We took a break during the heat of the afternoon and then went for an afternoon turned evening ride. We again had multiple leaders. I don’t think there were any problems on this ride, and it was also fast. We returned to camp and a small campfire to wait for P.J., Melissa, and the kids, who arrived shortly after 9:00. Saturday we again went for two fast rides, with pretty much every buggy leading part of the ride. Barry led part of the afternoon ride and was hauling ass! My car’s impacted cooling system was not up to the task, and my car overheated. I found out later that Dave’s car was also running somewhat warmer than usual. I needed to be towed back to camp, and John immediately volunteered. His buggy towed me back seemingly effortlessly. Thanks, John! We had the now traditional carne asada potluck, loosely coordinated by Barry, after John refused to do so again due to a barrage of questions/ criticisms he received in regards to prior carne potlucks. We had plenty of food, and everyone had a good time. We ended the day with a campfire highlighted by Steve’s ice cream for dessert. Sunday morning Dave headed for home, concerned about the higher than normal engine temperatures he has noticed lately. We again flushed and refilled my car’s cooling system. I noticed Marshall was walking around camp carrying a bag of Goldfish crackers, in what I’m sure was a shameful attempt by his other grandpa to try and pass the blame. It was funnier than hell! Then we went for another ride. I don’t recall any problems, and the ride continued until after noon. P.J. had to pack up and head for home. The rest of us
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November 2017
went for an afternoon/evening ride that was interrupted when John broke his left front spindle, turning his car into a three wheeler. Not to worry, John had spare spindles in camp. Steve stayed with John and they removed the rest of the spindle while Barry, his friend Steve, and I returned to camp for the spindle. I was excited to use the new GPS to drive back to John, but was soon puzzled when the steer arrow was obviously pointing in the wrong direction. We reverted to old school ways (well not that old, as we used the radios to communicate our problem) and Steve drove to the top of a dune and we found him in just a few minutes. We gave John the spindle, and he looked at it in a funny way and said “You brought the wrong one!” Yep, despite both of us checking, we blew it. John figured out my GPS error, and we remarked the spot and headed back to camp in search of the correct spindle. John had to be a little concerned about my GPS ability as it was now dark, and the full moon had not yet risen. We found camp and the correct spindle, and then were able to use the GPS to drive directly to John. We quickly installed the spindle and headed back to camp and a dinner of last night’s leftovers. We ate in Barry’s new-to-him fifth wheel, as the wind came up very strong, almost immediately after we returned to camp. As we were finishing dinner, a Sheriff ’s deputy drove up to the trailer. We were puzzled. We invited him in, and he told us they had received a report of a broken down buggy, and another report of two missing people. We made sure the broken down buggy was not John’s, and he asked us to call if we saw anything. He was going to stop looking because of the poor visibility in the strong wind. We never heard or saw anything else that night or Monday morning. Monday morning we decided not to ride, as John still had some final repairs to make, and Barry was not feeling all that well, so we packed up, and as usually happens, we were all ready to go within 10 minutes of each other. Steve says he really enjoyed the buggy and I expect to see him again. He’s a nice guy and will be welcomed. It was a great first trip of the season and I’m looking forward to lots of good dunin’ and RZRin’.
We really have started to ride fast at Dumont. Barry’s GPS showed 1054 MPH! 4
The Rooster
November 2017
Campfire Permits? There has been renewed conversation online recently regarding campfire permits being required at Glamis. The Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area is federally managed land under stage 1 fire restrictions, and therefore permits are required to have an open fire or use a BBQ. Fortunately there is no charge for these permits, and you can even obtain one online by watching a short video and printing out a certificate. While it remains to be seen how much this will be enforced, it does give the Rangers probable cause to approach any fire, whether in camp or out at the hill. For a few minutes time it is worth printing one off and carrying it with you. It is also worth noting that the permits expire on December 31 of the year they are issued, so you will need to get a new one for 2018. The website to get one is:
http://www.preventwildfireca.org/Campfire-Permit/
Mona Bacon Memorial Spook Run and Weenie Roast set for October 21, 2017 We will be celebrating the 6th Annual Mona Bacon Memorial Spook Poker Run And Hot Dog Weenie Roast on Saturday, October 21st, 2017! We have come up with some new areas we haven't been in before this year so it will be fun and exciting as always!
Poker Run starts at 9am Saturday morning. Friday : Night ride through the canyons Closest To The Pin Golf Contest starts at 5pm. Saturday: Poker Run, Closest To The Hot Dog Weenie RoastHot PotDog Luck starts after Golf! Bring Pin Contest, Roast your favorite dishes to share. Hot Dogs and Buns will be provided! Come on out and have a good time! Salton City Golf Course is located approximately 1 mile west of Hwy 86 off and tourHwy the wonders of Ocotillo Wells! It will be fun and challenging! theCome Borregoout Salton Seaway/ S-22. From 86 turn west to Borrego Friday : Night rideHwy through theon canyons Salton Seaway/S-22 at the AM-PM Truck Stop. Go ap- proximately 1 mile to Get your swings ready! Closest To the Pin Contest on Saturday afternoon! Sunrise Drive and turnSaturday: Left. Follow Sunrise mile to the PokerDrive Run,1/2Closest Toend Theand turn right on Saundra St. Follow Saundra St. 1/4 mile to Desiree St and Right. hands, as well as many others! Prizes will be awarded to the best, and worstturn poker Go 100 yards on Desiree St to LauraPin St and turn Left.Hot Follow Laura St down Contest, Dog Roast We have many unique, interesting prizes! We are going back to awarded prizes, the hill about 1/4 mile to the end. At the turn continue going straight up on however very welcome! to the dirt. Campprize will bedonations straight aheadare about 50 yards, next to the trees. For you GPS freaks, the coordinates are: 33 15.942’ N—115 59.371’ W. People Saturday night will be a pot-luck Hot Dog Wheenie Roast. Hot Dogs and Buns will will start arriving on Friday morning. Hope to see you there! Any questions be call supplied. Please bring your favorite side dishes to share! please Mike Bacon at 951-315-7351.
Come out and tour the wonders of Ocotillo Wells! It will be fun and challenging! 5
Get your swings ready! Closest To the Pin Contest on Saturday afternoon! Salton City Golf Course is located approximately 1 mile west of Hwy 86 off the Borrego Salton Seaway/
Prizes will be awarded to the best, and worst poker hands, as well as many others!
The Rooster
November 2017
Goodbye Diesel This month we have some sad news to share, but we wanted everyone to know. On September 21, we got home from dance class and found that Diesel had passed away in the living room. He was such a BIG part of everything, especially our dune trips, that we wanted to let all of his dune friends know, and to take a minute and there some pictures of our crazy big boy. Diesel had over ten great years, and despite eating multiple cameras and even a couch, and being kicked out of puppy obedience class, he was for the most part, a good dog. If we had a dollar for every tome someone commented about that giant dog, we’d be able to buy his food for at least a few weeks… Seriously though, we got him just a few weeks after we got home from our honeymoon, so adjusting to life without him has been interesting. While we still have two dogs, they just don’t make their presence as known as Diesel did. Goodbye Diesel, you will be missed.
This month we’d like to thank Jim Kastle for writing about the Dumont trip and Mike Bacon for sending information about the upcoming spook run and campfire permits. We always need newsletter content, so please share what you can. We will publish what content we have and a calendar of upcoming events in every month’s newsletter, and we look forward to your contributions to expand it beyond that. -Paul, Melissa, Allie, and Marshall.
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