1

We are right in the middle of thedune season and lots of good tripsare still coming up, starting withPresidents week in February.

Once again we are planning on aweek for Spring Break at Gordon’sWell in Late March and EarlyApril. This is still a few weeksbefore Easter, but is when membershad the time off. Even if you don’thave much extra time off, you can

still plan on back to back weekendsat the dunes and know that therewill be people to watch your stuffin between their trips into Yuma.

We need club flags. Our supply ofthe Red white and blue pennantclub flags has finally been sold out,so now we are looking for a sourcefor the flags. If you know someonewho could produce 25-50 of theseflags, let the board know.

Chuck and Janece arrived on Thursday with David in towWe parked in a circle with our rigs in a row.We joined the Tranthams and the Porters in a circle they startedAnd would all share and have fun until we departed.

This would be home for the Inland Empire Offroad AssociationFor a clean up and ride filled three day celebration.

Friday more people started to arriveSoon Jerry would be taking his new buggy for a test driveJerry and Linda’s new buggy was a site to be seenOh, what an awesome sand machine!

Our circle grew bigger and we were ready to goCause the dunes were awaiting for us ever so

(Continued on page 2)

Glamis Trash Pickup Weekend by Janece

2

The Rooster

February 11th:

Club meeting at Denny’s

on Alabama in Redlands.

February 12th-23rd:

Presidents Week at

Glamis. The Fords, Tranthams,

and Porters plan on spending

the week, and many people

have the first Monday off. Oth-

ers will back to back weekends.

March 6-9th:

Quick two day weekend

trip to Glamis, Wash 6.

March 11th:

Club meeting

March 27th-April 5th:

Spring Break week at

Gordon’s Well.

S M T W Th F Sa

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

S M T W Th F Sa

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

The sand was all flying until a buggy went drySomehow all the gas dried up in the blink of an eye!

A camp fire was started with wood from pine treesTo keep us warm and cozy from the chilly night breezeWe all enjoyed conversation and friendship with easeKnowing everyone was pretty easy to please.

We passed around cookies for everyone to shareAs we sat around relaxing in our folding lawn chairsWe got wonderful news that P.J. and Melissa are parents to be

With a little one on the way for all of us to see!

Saturday was the Glamis pick-up trash dayWe all got our bags and went our separate waysBags and bags of trash was our goalThe dream of more tickets made us out of control!

Janece found a pair of socks, a shovel and a head bandWho knows what other treasures were there in the sand?Then we loaded up our full bags into the vanWe turned in our trash for the great cause at hand.

We gathered our tickets and then had lunchThen we laid them out and all had a hunch…Our hopes were high, our numbers notThe only high spot was our own hot shotShirley won lots of amazing thingsShe left with loads-it was astonishing!

I found out I’m not to good at remembering namesThis weekend was no different… it was about the sameThe harder I tried the better I gotHopefully I will remember more often than not!

(Continued from page 1)

3

The Rooster

What could this mean???

Some dedicated board members will doanything for new membership, as P.J. andMelissa are expecting their first child inSeptember. This lucky child will be athird generation Inland Empire Offroadmember, and will have the benefit of in-heriting sand addiction from both sides.

Rumor has it the September due date wascoordinated to make the minimum impacton the dune schedule, but those reportshave yet to be confirmed. We are plan-ning on Coral Pink, and then possibly aThanksgiving dune debut…

We thank all of the club members fortheir congratulations and can’t wait toraise another duner. Can kids be bornwith sand in their ears?

Our annual election meeting was held WednesdayJanuary 14th and I am happy to report that all of the

club’s officers and board members have agreed to stay for another year. Any other memberfamily that would like to be on the board is welcome to join and help plan trips and events, justcome to future meetings.

Another notable part of the January meeting was that Todd and Mary Beth Cochran cameand met the club for the first time. They joined the club after finding us through a Googlesearch on the internet. They have a VW Funco car and a Polaris RZR. Todd is a dentist fromUpland. Todd made his first trip with the group over MLK weekend, and we hope to see themin the dunes again soon.

4

The Rooster

The Fallbrook Four and Two More at New YearsAfter spending a great Christmas at home, and suffering from cabin fever, we were excited to pack up and head to Glamis forNew Years. The weather was a concern as we noticed it was pretty cold over Christmas, but as we arrived on Tuesday afternoonthe sun was warm and the air was still. A prefect combination. Several had left camp to go home and so we circled around to plugup a big hole behind Justin Grossman's rig. After unloading and dinner we enjoyed a roaring bonfire with the survivors of theChristmas week and a few new arrivals as well. The next day was bright and sunny and the club ride was fun, but a bit rough.When there is no wind, the dunes get pretty cut up and really bumpy. Walt noticed a loose steering bracket because a weld hadbroken. We used a ratchet tie down as a band aide and limped over to Road Runner Rd and cruised home via Sand Highway. Thegood news was we stopped at Sweet Marie's for Ice Cream. Back at camp Walt was repaired and back in business. That eveningstarted off with a big crowd at the fire. Some celebrated New York time and retired, some Chicago time, we lost a few more atDenver time and slowly dwindled down to less than a dozen Die Hards trying to make it to Midnight to ring in the New Year. Weburned a few Christmas trees which are always amazing to see. The fireworks were impressive, with a burst each hour starting at9pm. At midnight the sky lit up, Champagne was toasted and the last remaining holdouts cheered “Happy New Year”. One ofthe good things about 2008 was that it was over!!! Lets hope 2009 brings each of us some good luck. Time for bed. The followingmorning Linda decided to stay at the RV and relax. Karissa and I rode in the buggy (her first time in the front seat) and Jeremywith riding his quad, ventured out with a small group for the first ride of the year. Jim was leading us on a great ride and we werenot doing anything crazy (really!!!!!) when we heard a loud Ka-Boom. I felt the buggy drop in the rear and come to a halt.Karissa had bug eyes and asked, "What was that noise"? I went to investigate and discovered a heim joint had broken off.

The stress caused a major twisting of my lower trailing arm andpunched a hole in my brand new paddle tire. After a few expletives, thegroup gathered around to help figure out how to start the repair proc-ess. The everybody Jack came in handy again, others helped lift my carenough to allow Jim and PJ to disassemble the arm. A variety of toolswere used (some not the way they were intended) and after an hour orso we had the parts off the car. Justin and Katlyn volunteered to staywith the car and Jeremy. (Thank you very much) while the rest of thegang took a GPS reading and headed for camp. I caught a ride with PJand it was my first time being a passenger. Back at camp, I gathered upa spare lower trailing arm that I had stashed in my trailer (lucky forme), a half inch Allen wrench, lug wrench, PJ donated a tire and rim.As we were about to leave camp, Jim noticed PJ's bearing carrier wascracking and he had to leave the car in camp. I caught a ride out withWalt this time. Several others came back out to assist. It took awhile toalign the new trailing arm and a bit longer to get the shock tower back

in its mount. After a lot of grunting and bending of tools, we had it back in place and back in camp. Wow, I cannot thank every-one who joined us enough for your time and efforts to get us home. I can't remember all the people out there and for fear of for-getting someone, THANKS. You know who you are. I really appreciate the Club commitment to leave no one behind. You savedour weekend. As we arrive back in camp 4 hours later, Pete's parents had just arrived. They had not been out in the dunes since1995. In addition to Rudy, our dunning "Wiener Dog" my folks have two, 7 month old "Wiener dogs". They enjoyed digging inthe sand. I wanted to be able to give mom and dad a fun buggy ride and the kids wanted to show them their quad riding skills.The earlier repairs saved the day. We enjoyed a great meal of Holiday left over’s and enjoyed another great campfire. We torcheda few more Christmas trees and called it a day around 9pm. The next morning wedid not join the Club ride but ventured out on our own. After getting my parentsstrapped in, and the twins riding along side on their quads we headed for OldsmobileHill. Mom was nervous at first but settled down after I promised not to get us air-borne. Dad was impressed with the suspension and how the new cars ride so smooth.The last time they were out (14 yrs ago) we had our VW 4 seater with minimaltravel. We blasted up Olds, mom screaming all the way up and watched the kidscome up after us. It was Karissa's first time up Olds on her quad, she's pretty conser-vative, and had no problem. From there we went down and to the left, back up inthe dunes towards Osborne and the big bowls. After a couple 360's on a 70-degreebank, we headed for Sweet Marie's for some more ice cream. We need to do thatmore often!!! The ride home was fast along sand highway. 4th gear and 4000rpms. Ihad the "need for speed". My mom was starting to enjoy it more. The twins wereflying too, 5th gear all the way. Past Competition, around the Fun Zone and back tocamp. It was a great trip. The RV was full of Wiener dogs and they were happy tosee us. The weather could not have been better. We threw some horseshoes and BBQ'd some burgers for dinner. The last night weditched the campfire and played board games inside the RV. The weekend was over for us on Saturday. My folks headed backhome to Arizona and we turned towards Fallbrook. Overall it was a great weekend and we are looking forward to MLK. We hopeto see those we missed over Christmas and hope everyone has a great 2009.

5

The Rooster

This month we would like to thank Pete Hagen for his New Years article and Janece Grossmann for put-ting so much work into her first newsletter article. Despite the impressive precedent that this sets, they reallydon’t all have to rhyme. Thanks for the very cool poem though and the insight into the trip for those of us whocouldn’t make it. We are looking forward to Presidents day, and next Thanksgiving in particular after somedown time in September... -P.J. and Melissa Kastle

Todd Cochran 2/2Young Stump 2/2

Andrew Fuquay 2/6

Jeff Oliver 2/7Jeff Berger 2/8

Jeananne Becker 2/9Doug Schellinger 2/12

Rebecca Downsworth 2/26

The Hagens have two child’shelmets for sale:Both were purchased atChaparral, 3 years ago. Bothare full face with visors. Exte-rior is in good shape, minorscratches. Inside is in perfectshape, foam intact, no tears.Black one is a child Small andthe Yellow one is a child Me-dium. $50 each. ContactPete/Linda at 760-451-0845

Dean Schellinger has a BuickV-8 Mid Engine Buggy ForSale:Bought from Acacia RV. I'vehad it for two years and havenot touched it and I feel it is ashame for it to just sit there.Includes two extra solid rimsand bearings for front wheels.Great buggy I just don't havethe time anymore.$5500Contact Dean Schellinger:(909) 987-1880 work(909) 887-8945 home

Jeff Oliver has a set offour Ford F-250 Wheels:One piece aluminumwheels. Tires have beensold but wheels areavailable.$100 for the set of 4.Contact Jeff Oliver:(760) 774-1991jeffoliver74@yahoo.com

P.J. and Melissa have aYamaha Golf Cart ForSale:Late 1990’s G14 Gasgolf cart with lift. Floorsits 24 inches above theground. Stock motor,runs well.$2100 oboContact P.J. Kastle:(951) 285-8459pkastle@msn.com

6

7

Inland Empire Offroad AssociationP.O. Box 132411

Big Bear Lake, CA 92315

Membership Application

Please Print Birthday

Name: _____________________________________ ____________________

Spouse: _____________________________________ ____________________

Child: _____________________________________ ____________________

Child: _____________________________________ ____________________

Child: _____________________________________ ____________________

Child: _____________________________________ ____________________

Address:____________________________________________

City: _______________________________ State:______ Zip Code:____________

Home Phone: ___________________________ Cell Phone: _________________________

Email Address: _________________________________________________________________

Would you like your name and address put into our club directory? (The directory is given to club members only)

YES NO

If you would like your business included in the directory please include the information below:Business Name: __________________________ Address: __________________________

City: ________________________________ State: _______ Zip Code: ___________

Business Phone: __________________________

As with any organization there are guidelines we operate within. Please read and abide by the following:1. NO FIREWORKS ALLOWED WITHIN CAMP BOUNDRIES2. DOGS MUST BE KEPT UNDER CONTROL AT ALL TIMES (BLM law)3. ON A RIDE, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VEHICLE AHEAD OF YOU AND THE VEHICLE BEHIND

YOU. If they stop, you stop and wait for the group to return to you. This prevents separation and in this manner wenever leave a member in the dunes. Remember, it’s easier to find you if you stay still: “a moving target is harder to hit”

4. PLEASE OBSERVE THE “RIDE RATINGS” ON THE CLUB BOARD AND SELECT THOSE RIDES YOU WISHTO PARTICIPATE IN. If you wish to lead a ride, put the time and type of ride you want to lead on the board and thenstick to that time. No passing on rides (except #6 rides). You can always change your place in line at a break or if youare waved on by the driver ahead of you.

5. REMEMBER, WE ARE A GROUP OF FRIENDS who share a common interest in riding in the desert. Always keep inmind how your actions affect the other members.

SIGNATURE:_________________________________________DATE:____________________

How did you hear about the club?___________________________________________________

Annual dues are $35 per family. Each 12 month membership includes a monthly newsletter. Send your check ormoney order to:

Inland Empire Offroad AssociationP.O. Box 132411

Big Bear Lake, CA 92315

8