Glamis, Baptism By Fire (Sunday, March 12th, 2017)

We headed down to Glamis, CA with our friends Tony and Joyce. They packed up their toy hauler, and we packed up our motor home and trailer and off we went.  As we drove along, we were amazed at how beautiful the desert is this spring.  The hills are so green, and the spring flowers are starting to bloom.  

Tony and Joyce knew a shortcut that we weren't aware of, taking Mohave Road south out of Parker, through Poston, AZ.  We fueled up at the Flying J east of Blythe, and then headed into California on I-10.  We were amazed at how backed up the interstate was going into California because of the inspection station.  When we enter California on I-40, the traffic is never that bad.

We made it to Glamis in no time at all.  Tony and Joyce usually camp in an area called the Roadrunner campground on Gecko road, but today, as we drove by the Osbourne Overlook, there was no one there, so we pulled in and set up camp.  Osbourne Overlook is a large paved parking lot with a white rectangle drawn out for RV's with passes, where we could camp up to 14 days.  It had two primitive style bathrooms that were very clean.  The wind blows the sand into the parking lot, so in some places it is deep enough to get stuck, but a little house cleaning near the front door takes care of that.  This would be our home away from home for the next few days.

 The view out our front door.

Years ago we rode quads in the North Sand Hills of Colorado, but we have never ridden anything in the Imperial Sand Dunes, and we have never driven our UTV (Utility Terrain Vehicle) in the sand, so this would be a new experience for us.

Once we were all set up, Tony took us out for our first ride.  I rode with Tony, and Steve followed in our UTV.  The dunes are big and take some getting used to.  There is a definite technique to driving in the sand.  Steve did some practicing driving up and across some of the dunes, just trying to get the feel of it, and understand how the UTV responds in the sand.

The dunes are beautiful, and seem to be endless.  They go on  for miles.  Tony and Joyce have been here a lot, and know the dunes well.  Although no one really knows them well because, thanks to the wind they are ever changing.

Every once in awhile Steve and Tony would stop for a consultation so that Steve could ask some questions, or Tony could give him advice on how to handle different situations.  It was so great having an expert teacher so willing to share techniques!

Unfortunately, some of the advice didn't come quite soon enough. Our UTV is a four passenger, and Tony's is a two passenger, so it is much easier for ours to high center than his.  And when it does, this is what it looks like.  Oops!

  

He was definitely stuck!  Tony and I made another pass, and came over the top right beside him, and then parked just below him.  That way, Tony could hook onto him and slowly pull him down.  
As Tony crawled out of his UTV, he told me "this will take about an hour".  

But what Tony didn't know is that we were equipped with a winch. We hooked our winch on to his UTV, and within a couple of minutes Steve was free and back playing on the dunes.

I guess everyone has to learn somehow, and that was certainly a learning experience for us.  Thanks Tony for your patience teaching us how to navigate the dunes!  They are fun!

Once we got back to camp, Steve and Tony went out several more times, while Joyce and I stayed back at camp and relaxed.  It was really fun to watch them play from afar.

It was a gorgeous evening, and cooled off nicely.  We were treated to a beautiful moon-rise over the dunes, and a great sunset as well.

We finally called it a night, and enjoyed the cool night breeze as we slept in our tranquil home away from home.

When we awoke on Monday morning, we enjoyed some coffee and breakfast, and then went out for another ride.  Unfortunately, Tony and Joyce's air conditioner was acting up, so they were afraid to leave their sweet dog behind.  So we just loaded her up and took her with us.  She is a great UTV rider!  We went on some easier terrain today with their dog riding along, but I was quite surprised at some of the steep climbs and turns Tony still did anyway.

Along the way, we found some wild flowers out in the dunes.

While we stopped and admired the wild flowers, Chloe had a little fun of her own.

This is the Roadrunner campground where Tony and Joyce usually stay.

Tony took us to this cute little shade structure out in the dunes, complete with a mail box.

Then back to the dunes we headed.

We rested up and enjoyed some lunch when we got back to camp. The shade was a very welcome treat!

Then we took a quick trip to "town".  Most of the businesses were closed since it was a weekday, but the convenience store was open.

This little convenience store has a little of everything.

Auto parts

Kitchen Supplies

Ice Cream

Cold Drinks and Milk

Clothing of all Sizes

Hats and T-Shirts

 Then we made our way back to camp.  You can see our RV's on the top of the hill.

We ended up packing up and leaving earlier than we had planned.  Tony and Joyce were having AC problems, and it was a really hot day, but before we left, we saw these people sand surfing.  What fun!

Then we headed down the road, back toward Lake Havasu City.

We had such a good time with Tony and Joyce, and can't wait to hit the sand dunes with them again!