December 2011 Rooster

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1 Like we mentioned last month, there was lots of activity in late October, and thanks to Mike Bacon we have lots of cov- erage of it in the newsletter. The Spook Run weekend poker run is on the cover, and the Glamis Halloween weekend story starts on page 5. During the Thanksgiving trip we will once again be having a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, November 24th. We will have Turkey, Ham, and all the fixins that people bring to share. This dinner is a great group tradition, and thanks to member contributions it will continue to be a great event. Another newsletter so soon? Since we had the October con- tent ready, and we didn’t want to rush out the Newsletters after Thanksgiving and New Years, we figured we’d get it out early. We’ll cover the Thanksgiving trip in a newsletter that we get out before Christmas, then we’ll cover New Year’s in the February edition of The Rooster. With the season in full swing there is lots of fun to come. IEOA Spook Poker Run at Anza We had twelve people show up for the first annual IEOA Spook Poker Run at Anza. The Bacons, including AJ and his girlfriend Alex, the Fords, their friends Larry and Barbara, Doug Schellinger with his daughter Dana and grandson Dylan, and Walt all par- ticipated. Larry and Barbara weren’t able to go on the ride with us as they had to go to Indio to replace a trailer tire that they blew on the trip out, but they were with us in spirit so we drew cards for them. We started off by visiting the 4x4 Training Area where the first cards were drawn, and bonus cards were available for anyone completing a Black Diamond obstacle. Some valiant at- tempts were made but no bonus cards were awarded. OK, there was only a couple of what you would consider “attempts”, and they were pretty lame, but we had a good time laughing about it. (Continued on page 2)

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In this edition of The Rooster we cover the fun from The IEOA Anza Poker Run and Halloween at Glamis. We're also looking forward to Thanksgiving and have some information on the California Campfire Permit.

Transcript of December 2011 Rooster

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♦ Like we mentioned last month, there was lots of activity in late October, and thanks to Mike Bacon we have lots of cov-erage of it in the newsletter. The Spook Run weekend poker run is on the cover, and the Glamis Halloween weekend story starts on page 5.

♦ During the Thanksgiving trip we will once again be having a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, November 24th. We will have Turkey, Ham, and all the fixins that people bring to share. This dinner is a great group tradition, and thanks to member contributions it will continue to be a great event.

♦ Another newsletter so soon? Since we had the October con-tent ready, and we didn’t want to rush out the Newsletters after Thanksgiving and New Years, we figured we’d get it out early. We’ll cover the Thanksgiving trip in a newsletter that we get out before Christmas, then we’ll cover New Year’s in the February edition of The Rooster. With the season in full swing there is lots of fun to come.

IEOA Spook Poker Run at Anza

We had twelve people show up for the first annual IEOA Spook Poker Run at Anza. The Bacons, including AJ and his girlfriend Alex, the Fords, their friends Larry and Barbara, Doug Schellinger with his daughter Dana and grandson Dylan, and Walt all par-ticipated. Larry and Barbara weren’t able to go on the ride with us as they had to go to Indio to replace a trailer tire that they blew on the trip out, but they were with us in spirit so we drew cards for them. We started off by visiting the 4x4 Training Area where the first cards were drawn, and bonus cards were available for anyone completing a Black Diamond obstacle. Some valiant at-tempts were made but no bonus cards were awarded. OK, there was only a couple of what you would consider “attempts”, and they were pretty lame, but we had a good time laughing about it.

(Continued on page 2)

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November 18th - 28th: Thanksgiving at Glamis,

Wash 6. Many members will be

extending the trip to nine days!

December 24th—January 2nd: Christmas / New Years

trip to Glamis. Members will be

arriving before Christmas, on

the 24th or even earlier and

staying into 2012.

January 13th—January 16 th: MLK Dune cleanup week-

end at Glamis, Wash 6.

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We proceeded in to and through Techtonic Gorge making a couple of stops when we could find shade against the walls of the canyon, and draw a second card. On to the west end of the OHV park and although hot, we had a nice breeze up on the plateau. We dropped down in another canyon and stopped again when we found some shade for a drawing of the third card. Once out of the canyons we made our way back to the 4x4 Training Area to have lunch in the shade of a cabaña, and draw our next card. Again, bonus cards were available for the Black Diamond obstacles, but no one was ambitious enough to try, although AJ took his 4Runner up a couple of the hills to show off.

We then worked our way back to camp and took the afternoon off to take naps, and just relax. Doug, Dana , and Dylan had to leave as they could only come for the day. We then started getting things ready for the Hot Dog Wheenie Roast, and Awards Ceremony, but WAIT! We forgot to draw our fifth and final card. Cards were hastily drawn and while food was being prepared the judges sorted out the poker hands and prizes. The hot dogs and side dishes were great, we all ate way too much, and then it was time for prizes.

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It would appear the secret to winning was to not go on the ride as it turned out the overall winner was Barbara, with three kings! Walt beat me out by one card for the worst hand. For this Barbara and Walt received Turkey Hats. Doug placed second and received a Cooked Turkey Hat. Other prizes included Jack-O-Lantern Sunglasses, Halloween Kitchen Towels, and other fun things. In the end everyone won a prize! We all decided the first annual IEOA Spook Poker Run was a success, and you should have been there! Mike Bacon

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Halloween Prep Trip To Anza We had a great time during the IEOA Spook Poker Run at Anza (see article on page 1) but that wasn’t all the fun. On Sunday Don & Shirley wanted to take their friends Larry and Barbara to the Gas Domes and the Gas Dome Canyon Trail, so off we went with Mona and I, Don & Shirley, Larry & Barbara, Walt, and AJ and his girlfriend Alex bringing up the rear in his 4Runner. I was feeling bad about AJ and Alex having to be at the back of the line in all the dust, until I realized they were riding in air conditioned comfort! Darn kids! What I didn’t know at the time was that air conditioning would come in very handy later.

We made it to the Gas Domes and took a break. While there we met some nice people from Orange County who frequent the area, but didn’t know about Gas Dome Canyon. We explained it was a very tight canyon that they would enjoy, but we didn’t think their Jeep would make it through because the canyon is so small. They indicated they would have to give it a try some other time. We also knew AJ’s 4Runner probably wouldn’t fit through the canyon so we sent him on to the Artesian Well to wait for us, as the Gas Dome Canyon Trail comes back out at the well. Off we went.

We got about half way in to the canyon when I stopped to take some pictures. Mona and I, and Don & Shirley were waiting for the other two cars to catch up when we saw Barbara walking up the trail. When she saw us she said we needed to come back as they had had a little incident. Don and I walked back through the canyon about a quarter mile to find their Ranger sitting on its side in the middle of the trail, with Larry stuck inside! Don crawled inside to help Larry stand up, we were then able to feed him out through the back of the roll cage to get him out. He was OK, a little shaken up, and complaining that Barbara had stepped on his head trying to climb out! Barbara said he deserved it!

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We stood there looking at this Ranger sitting on its side trying to figure out how Walt, Don and I were going to get this thing back on its wheels in a very confined area when the Off Road Angels took pity on us and sent us help. The Orange County people we had been talking with at the gas domes had decided to try the trail anyway and came upon our motley group at exactly the right time! With their help we were able to get the Ranger back on its wheels and going again. THANK YOU OC People, whoever you are! We put Larry in with Walt, and Don took Barbara and I back up to where are Rangers were. We then proceeded out of the canyon and met up with a worried AJ and Alex at the Artesian Well. After we had something to eat and drink we decided the better part of valor was to head back to camp. Larry and Barbara seemed OK, but just to make sure AJ volunteered to take them in the air condi-tioned 4Runner, and Don drove Larry’s Ranger back to camp. We made it back without further incident. AJ, Alex and Mona had to leave Sunday afternoon (somebody in our family has to have a real job!) and I broke out some carna asada. Everyone else brought other fixin’s, so we had a great dinner.

Monday, we decided to go do a little rock hunting. I took the group to a unique little rock garden close to camp where we all picked a few favorites, then we headed off to the former Bin Laden’s Cave, now the Ford’s Winter Home. Walt was checking it out with the idea of leasing it from the Fords. I don’t know if they came to a decision or not, but I did hear some intense negotiations going on. Walt was a little concerned that too many people would come by and bother him. I mentioned, with him sitting out front with his bare feet and shaved head I doubted many would actually stop! While there I came across a pretty unique rock I thought Shirley might like. Unfortu-nately, I think I’m now going to suffer the Wrath Of Don because Shirley insisted on taking it, and it weighs about as much as a small car! I know! I had to put it in the back of MY Ranger as it wouldn’t fit in her RZR! Sorry Don.

We then headed off to the Pumpkin Patch to explore a while, then headed back over to the 4x4 Training Area where we took advan-tage of one of the cabanas again and had some lunch. We eventually worked our way back to camp, making a brief detour by the rock garden to pick up Shirley’s treasures she didn’t want to carry around all day. This was our last day at Anza, as on Tuesday we would all move on to Glamis for Halloween. Mike Bacon

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Halloween At Glamis When we awoke on Tuesday morning in Anza it was getting a little breezy, and by the time we all packed up and ready to leave the wind was in full Gale Force Mode. Larry & Barbara left for home as they wouldn’t be going to Glamis with us, and the Fords, Walt, and I all headed off to Glamis. When we arrived it was still pretty breezy, and we found Jim & Nancy, and Steve & Tatyana had al-ready set up camp. Later in the afternoon Ashley joined me to stay a few days. We went for a short ride to check out the dunes and they were baby-butt smooth! Wednesday morning Ashley and I had to go in to El Centro as I had to see a few customers, and we had to pick up a few things from the grocery store. The wind continued to blow but that just made the sand smoother. When we got back we went for another ride to enjoy the virgin sand. Thursday saw more people start to arrive and we noticed a big increase in the Ranger presence (Rangers, as in Law Enforcement-type, not Polaris-type). They were definitely out in force.

By Friday night we had a pretty full camp. We went on a number of rides visiting Olds Hill, Hill 3, the vendors, the small dunes by the washes and The Flats, and had a great time. As I was sitting in camp on Saturday it occurred to me that we had a lot of Side x Sides in camp. I ended up counting 11, all Polaris RZR’s, except my old, beat-up Ranger. WOW! That’s a big change since only a couple of years ago when Doug and I were the Lone Rangers (Oh! That was BAD!, Sorry) The buggies still have us though, there were 12 buggies in camp this weekend.

Saturday afternoon Ashley & I, and Janice Tharp were on our way back to camp from Olds Hill when we came across the IEOA buggies down in a hole working on one of the cars. It would appear I have an uncanny knack of finding the buggies during break-downs that is now bordering on legendary. Unfortunately, I don’t think the buggy guys are finding it too amusing! Honest guys! It just happens! We offered help, but they had the situation well in hand so we continued on to camp.

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Ashley and I decorated the Ranger up a bit and toured the washes and flats Friday and Saturday nights too see what was going on. Lots of lights, and decorations, and LOTS of dust! Sometimes we couldn’t see past the hood on the Ranger, so we kept the rides short. All in all a great week, and we can’t wait to hit it again at Thanksgiving. Maybe we’ll try an all Side x Side ride to Olds on Friday morning! Who’s up for it? -Mike Bacon

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Hello my adoring fans, its me Allison. I wanted to write this month about getting dressed. Most days I don’t like to get dressed, and some days I don’t want to wear my paja-mas, if Mommy and Daddy would let me I'd just run around naked most of the time. Do you ever have days like that? Anyway, I am very excited because I love picking out my own clothes, and I just got the neatest hat to go with my duning outfits. It is a real helmet, just like Mommy and Daddy wear, and it has a pair of goggles to cover up my eyes and keep the sand out! It should be

just perfect, and oh yeah, I forgot to mention, it is PINK! The night we got it I ran around the house wearing it with my pink piggy jam-mies and of course my Frog boots, and I just had a great time. When Daddy said it was too cold to go outside, I explained that it was ok, because my hat would keep my head warm. He agreed and we got to go play in the driveway for a little bit. I won-der what the neighbors thought? They probably could see that this girl is ready for the dunes! Now all we need is a campfire and some sand in our shoes and we'll be good to go! Well, Daddy says it is almost time to get ready to go to Thanks-giving, and don’t want to forget to pack any of my toys, so I guess I should go get to it. I hope to see lots of you out there, and since I’ve grown so much you can all look for the big girl in the pink hel-met. Until next time, keep your favorite jammies close by, your boots on when it gets deep, and your favorite helmet to keep your head warm. -Allison

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Alright, there’s less than two weeks until Thanksgiving, and I think we’re ready to go! Since there’s an open page to fill though, I figured I’d wrap up the story on the summer project of stretching our sandrail. Over the last couple of weeks I unmasked everything (which takes a long time…) and then chased down a odd noise that the new engine had picked up. No, it wasn’t the metallic clunk the other one had, but it did have a periodic noise to it after the paint work. I

ignored it for a week or so, until one time after shutting it down I saw a piece of masking tape stuck cleanly to the back side of the serpentine belt. Every time it went over a pulley, it made a noise, and that was the new mystery sound. I like how easy that was to fix. I also worked on adding small parts and pieces back on to the car. I put the light bar back on, which I guess is a pretty big thing, but it was something that could have waited if time got tight. I did have to space it up to clear the new aluminum roof, but John cut me some nice stainless steel spacers. It just seems appropriate to have some stainless on a high school car, particu-larly in the light bar tubes. Another issue that I ran into is that I could no longer reach the switches for the light bar, which used to be mounted right underneath it. It seemed to have gotten about

a foot further away… So, I re-located the control box to between the front seats and ran wires up to the light bar from there. The last major reassembly stuff was on the front end, where I re-attached the a-arms after installing the side panels. If I ever build panels from scratch again I will have them split for the a-arms, but since they work I didn’t change them this time. It just means I have to pull the a-arms off to remove the side panels, but in the three years they’ve been on I’ve never removed them before, so it shouldn’t be too big of a deal. While the suspension was off I replaced a rod end that had a quarter inch of side to side slop, and installed front shocks that were the same length (which should be an improvement).

After that, all that was left was literally tying up the loose ends. I bet I used 30 zip ties making sure wires, hydraulic lines, radio wiring, etc. stayed where they were supposed to. I can’t be-lieve that when I painted my old car blue we actu-ally reassembled it without using any zip ties. Melissa pointed out that the cars are a little more complex now though, because we didn't used to have to think about power steering, GPS, and ra-dio headsets. I also made sure to throw in some spare zip ties, both green and white, just in case I have to help someone out. (Actually it is to avoid having John attach a John Deere green one at the first possible opportunity, but we’ll see if that works.) Now that the oil is changed and the car is loaded in the trailer, all that’s left is heading for the dunes and trying it out. We’ll see you all there! -P.J.

The lights are on, is anybody home?

Allie is ready to go!

Let’s load it in the trailer and go duning.

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Two child’s helmets for sale: Both were purchased at Chapar-ral, 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 Me-dium. $50 each Contact Pete Hagen at: (760) 451-0845

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This month we’d like to thank Mike Bacon for thoroughly documenting the Anza trip and Halloween at Glamis. Just when I was wondering if we’d have any content, he e-mailed us a newsletter pretty much ready to go! There’s always room for more, so please feel free to send in your stories. If you have any plans for up-coming trips that we don’t have listed let us know so we can put them on the calendar and on the website. -PJ, Melissa and of course Allison

Mike Bacon recently passed along an e-mail that brought the California Campfire Permits to the club’s atten-tion. Like many bureaucratic messes, this process is not explicitly clear and has some conflicting information. The e-mail contained a link to a Sequoia National Forrest web page that had online printable California Camp-fire permits good for Forrest Service and BLM land in California, but it said they are only re-quired outside of established recreation areas. After some more research, we did find fire pro-tection order CA-060-2011-01 from May 15, 2011 for the California Desert District of the BLM that refers to the need for a permit for any campfire or use of a charcoal or gas stove on BLM land during the fire season. The season starts in May and “generally extends into Octo-ber”, but no definitive end date is given. The order includes a map of the California Desert District, and Glamis and Dumont are both within Stage 1 areas, meaning that open fires and gas stoves may be used only with a permit during the fire season. Outside of the fire season, campfires and barbecues are allowed on all pub-lic lands of the California Desert District without a permit subject to proper clearance of flammable fuels to a minimum of five feet and having shovel or extin-guishing tools handy. The orders state that permits are available from any BLM office or from Patrol person-nel, but I assume that means before you are having a camp fire and the Rangers show up. The permit forms are available online at: www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/passespermits/campfire_permit/calcampfirepermit2010.pdf The form is also included as an extra page in this newsletter. It would probably be worth having a copy of this filled out in your RV, just in case you’re at the dunes in what is considered the fire season. -PJ

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