The Rooster May 2015

Easter week, 2015 by Jim Kastle.!Nancy and I arrived at wash six around 2 o'clock on Thursday. Bobby Amador and LuAnne, Steve Sturm, Mike Bacon, and Dave and Cindy Huggard were already set up. We spent the rest of the

afternoon setting up and getting the yellow trailer. I discovered I left the remote for our new satellite TV system at home so I decided to go to Brawley to buy a new remote. While I was gone Pete and Linda Hagen and Ed, Janelle, and Hayden Loer arrived. We had a campfire attended by everyone in camp. At the fire we decided there would be an 8 AM ride Friday morning.

Friday morning Steve and Dave Huggard left promptly at 8 o'clock for a ride. I spent some time unloading the sand rail and swapping the paddle tires on to the RZR. About 10 o'clock, after Dave and Steve returned, Steve and I in the buggies, and Mike and Bobby and LuAnne in RZRs, left for a ride to Gordon's Well and Duners Diner. We only made it as far as Hill three when I launched off a dune and landed on my right front tire, breaking an A arm. We tied it back in place but it only held for 100 yards. We decided to take off the A arm and take it to camp to weld it. Steve give me a ride

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Whats New

While the Glamis season has come to an end, there’s still time for one more dune trip before we call it a season. We’ll be at Dumont the weekend of April 30 through May 4th.

Coral Pink

Individual site reservations are now available for the Coral Pink trip. We will be at the park from July 8th through the 17th. You can reserve your space online at: stateparks.utah.gov

It Must Be Spring

…since there are no new RZRs or other dune toys to announce this month. I think people are focusing on toys for the water or other activities as the weather warms up.

THE ROOSTER A monthly update from the Inland Empire Offroad Association

The Rooster May 2015

while Bobby followed and Mike stayed with my car. We quickly repaired the A arm and went back out to my car, we installed the A arm and then returned to camp. It was pretty warm so we

retired to the air conditioning until later in the afternoon. Around 3 o'clock Bobby came by and asked if I was ready to try for Gordons Well again. Bobby and Luanne in the RZR, and Steve and I in our sandrails decided to go through the dunes to the flag and to the sand highway. We made it to within 2 miles of the diner when Bobby reported on the radio that he was broke. We figured out that he had broken a belt. Steve towed him the

rest of the way to diner. When we drove up the manager was shooting hoops in the courtyard. He came over to us and said that he did have a belt for the RZR and that they were open for dinner. Bobby bought the somewhat overpriced belt, and we all enjoyed very reasonably priced dinners served by a very attentive staff. It was interesting to those of us who spent time there in the past that I ordered a chili size, which is no longer on the menu, and they had no problem at all modifying a regular hamburger to what became a really good chili size. They refilled my Coke at least five times without me ever asking. While we ate dinner the RZR cooled off and we were able to relatively quickly replace the belt. It was near sunset so we decided to take the sand highway all the way to the ranger station and then the sand highway along Highway 78 back to the wash road and camp. We got there shortly before dark. Ray and Janice soon arrived. We enjoyed another campfire.

Saturday morning I led a combined buggy, RZR, and quad ride out near the flag. I made no special accomodations for the RZRs and we had a great ride. Back in camp we again retreated to the air conditioning. Jerry and Linda arrived. Several of us went to the former Mama Jeannie's for dinner. The new manager runs a restaurant in Holtville, and catered Camp RZR two years ago. They have removed some tables, and are trying to be friendly. The food and service were OK, but I didn't think there was an

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Upcoming Events

• April 30-May 4th: Weekend at Dumont. This has been a great trip to round out the season for the last many years.

• May 22-25: Memorial Day Weekend. Some of us will be at Cottonwood Cove.

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The Rooster May 2015

improvement. I felt the pizza crust was too doughy, and the sauce was not to my liking. I'll try them again, and as I write this am planning to go again this Saturday.

Sunday began with a well-attended omelette boil. Mike led a long six RZR ride all the way to Hill 7. We had no problems and traveled more than 40 miles. I think the Hagens, Loers, and Dave went for a ride while we were gone. By the time we got back it was hot. We spent more time in the AC. Nancy and I made a quick trip to Brawley and when we got back we had dinner outside in the nice weather. While we were gone, Mike, Ray and Janice went for a ride and stopped by the bar at the store and learned a lot about the new owners in a long conversation with the bartender. Rick and Melanie Alonso arrived. The day ended with another campfire.

Monday morning the Huggards, the Hagans and the Loers headed for home. Mike led a five RZR and one buggy (Rick and Melanie Alonso) ride around Hills three and four. After the ride we spent more time in the AC. That afternoon Nancy and I visited the store and were surprised to find the LeBlancs, Jeannie's mom and dad, were still working at the store. We overheard some conversation that indicated the change of ownership was not going as smoothly as it could. It was clear that Mr. LeBlanc does not like the lady who is buying the store. Hearing of this, Mike checked Glamis Dunes.com and read that the transition was so troubled that over the weekend the Sheriffs had to get involved. Later the Alonso's and Nancy and I went to Yuma for a Texas Roadhouse dinner and to buy some $2.15 gas.

Tuesday we went for another RZR/buggy ride down as far as Hill 4. The sand was quite smooth, but as we got a somewhat late start, it was very hard to see due to a lack of shadows. Mike did a great job of leading an incident-free ride. Back in camp we spent more time in the AC. Mike and Jerry and Linda went to town for some shopping. Rick, Melanie, and I shot you a video of his sand rail in the whoops to aide in setting up the rear suspension. Shortly before sunset, Walt arrived with his recently reassembled sand rail. It soon became so windy that we didn't even have a campfire.

Wednesday morning Walt had some final touches to put on his car, so the RZRs and Rick went for another ride. We must have gotten a later than usual start, as there were no shadows, and the wind had removed most tracks. Mike did a great job leading us over the very difficult to read sand. We went down as far as Hill 4. We returned to camp without incident. Nancy and I went to Yuma for some shopping and an In and Out lunch. We had a campfire.

Thursday morning Rick and Melanie headed for home. P.J., Melissa, and Allie arrived around 10:00 AM. It took a while for them to unpack, but we waited for a ride. Jerry and Linda went to Yuma for some shopping and Texas Roadhouse. Around 4:00 P.M., P.J., Walt, Mike ,and I went for a ride. We toured the dunes from Olds to Osborne and were heading back towards goals with PJ reported he had a problem with his rear wheel. We stopped and found a micro stub bearing was broken. Mike stayed with P.J. and Walt and I went to camp for parts. While we were in camp, Brandy and John arrived, and Ray and Janice returned. We hoped

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The Rooster May 2015

there was a bearing in the yellow trailer, but there was not, as confirmed by a phone call to John Cole. We pulled the bearing carrier off my car, figuring I could use the RZR for the trip back out to P.J. and Mike. Brandy and John joined Walt and me for the ride back. While we were working on the car Ray and Janice arrived. We finished up the repair and got back to camp around 8:00. Brandy and John decided to go to Yuma and Texas Roadhouse. The rest of us had a campfire.

Friday morning P.J. and I decided we would go to Yuma if Joe Fab didn't have the needed bearing. Walt checked with Joe Fab, and found he didn't have the part, but he did have parts to repair Walt's noisy CVs. P.J. and I went to Yuma where ORBS had the bearing for just 30% more than we have been paying for them on line. We also stopped at Walmart, Rally's, and Harbor Freight. Walt stayed in camp and took his CVs to Joe Fab who found a defective cage in one CV. It was interesting that he took all the CVs apart, and put them all in a bucket, with no attempt to keep the parts of the same CV together. All the rest of us are fanatical about not mixing up parts from different CVs. He must know what he is doing, as Walt reports his "mystery noise" is almost completely gone. This is a huge relief, as there was concern the noise was coming from the Mendeola transmission. Back in camp we had quite a bit of help reassembling both cars. We didn't finish until after dinner, so we didn't go for a ride. Brandy, John, Bobby and LuAnne went toTexas Roadhouse again! We all attended the campfire where Janice and Ray made some Dutch oven peach cobbler. As always, it was great! We stayed at the campfire until almost 11:30.

Saturday morning I awoke to the very distinctive sound of Shawn Martin's beautiful, and fast, Alumacraft sand rail. He and his friend, Evan, had arrived overnight. Shawn and Brandy had been chasing an engine problem since he bought the car three or four or maybe more years ago. It has baffled everyone of us who think we are mechanically minded. Shawn found the problem, almost by accident. It turns out the fuel pressure regulator had a defective diaphragm, allowing raw fuel into the intake. Shawn was a little gun shy, and asked that we not go too far into the dunes so it would be easier to tow it out if anything happened. We went for a long ride in the big bowls between Olds and Comp. Shawn's car ran great. The RZRs went for a ride, but I have no details.

Back in camp we sat around and talked, and Mike decided he had been away from Paula too long and headed home. Shawn, Brandy, Walt, Bobby, P.J., and I went for another ride through the big bowls. Ray led Janice and Lunne on a ride through the bowls as well. I hear they had a great ride. The buggies were also having fun, until I was suddenly being showered with sand. For the second time this trip, I had an A-arm failure. We tried to fix it with the stuff we had on the ride, but couldn't. P.J. and Bobby made the run from near Osborne to camp and back in record time, just

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The Rooster May 2015

over half an hour. While we were waiting for them, the RZRs stopped by. We made a temporary repair and got my car back to camp. As it WAS Saturday night, Bobby and Luanne, Ray and Janice, P.J., Melissa, and Allie, Nancy and I went to the former Mama Jeannie's for dinner. Brandy, John, Shawn, and Evan went to Yuma. Jerry and Linda ate in camp, not wanting to try the restaurant again. The restaurant was inconsistent.

Ray had their 14 ounce rib eye steak special which he said was pretty good. Janice had a salad that she said was improved over last week. The Kastles and Walt had different hamburgers and fries or onion rings and that were all pretty good, but not as hot as I would prefer. However, Bobby and LuAnne had a pizza that was barely warm, the cheese, or maybe imitation cheese food, was not even melted. I hoped they get their act fully together for next season, or a long standing Saturday night tradition will come to an end.

At the opposite end of the culinary scale was the cherry/apple cobbler that Ray and Janice baked at the campfire. I think everyone agreed it was their best effort, and all have been

great. I just had an idea, that maybe Saturday night Dutch oven cobbler could become our new tradition! A Dutch oven is on my garage sale list.

Sunday morning we had another omelette boil, with everyone in camp participating. We then had the traditional adult Easter egg hunt. It is always fun, even with this year's smaller than usual Easter camp. There were much fewer than average camps, with probably only five or six camps in wash 6, with ours being one of

the largest. After the Easter egg hunt Brandy and Shawn headed home and Ray led a combined RZR and

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The Rooster May 2015

buggy ride. Jerry, Janice, and I in our RZRs, and Walt and P.J. in their buggies followed Ray and had a great ride on really nice sand. Walt's GPS recorded a maximum speed of 61 miles per hour! Back in camp P.J., Melissa, and Allie headed home, and most of the rest of us started packing. Ray and Janice went on a long last RZR ride down as far a wash 40. They took a slow cruise along the edge of

the dunes and found lots of grassy areas, and even what appears to be some sort of exhaust pipe from a helicopter. The wind began to blow the hardest it had all trip, and prevented us from having one last campfire. Ray and Janice headed home after sunset, but Walt, the Tranthams, and Nancy and I spent Sunday night at the dunes.

Monday morning it was still breezy, but nothing like Sunday night. We finished packing up and headed for home. I'm looking forward to Dumont and of course Coral Pink.

Sale of the Glamis Beach Store up in the Air?

As I mentioned in my Easter trip report, there appears to be some friction involved in the sale of the store. There was a thread on GlamisDunes.com regarding the sale that has been taken down after multiple rumors regarding the sale had been posted. Before the thread was removed, the purported new owner said they were going to make lots of changes, including bringing in electricity, and building an RV park. She even claimed the store "was theirs." Last night I was on GlamisDunes.com and found a new thread regarding the change in operating hours (the new owner had claimed they would expand the hours, and indeed the hours at Easter were extended.) Tim, who claims to be the unofficial "Mayor of Glamis" posted that the store continues to be run by Eugene LeBlanc, Jeannie's dad, and that no money was ever placed in escrow. Who knows who'll be running the store next season. Only time will tell. -Jim

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This month we’d like to thank Jim Kastle for writing an article about the Easter trip. We’d also like to announce that the group is growing, as Allie is going to be a big sister. Yep, Melissa is pregnant and shortly before Christmas there should be another Kastle baby, which might adversely affect our New Year’s trip, or might set some sort of record if we make it out. We’re super excited, and can’t wait for you all to meet him or her. Well, that’s about it for this month, and next month we’ll cover the Dumont trip and whatever other news there is to report. -Paul, Melissa, and Allie.