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♦ The next trip is coming up fast. We’ll be at Dumont from May 1-5th to round out the regular season before it gets too hot. This has been a great trip for years, and looks to have a good number of people planning on it this year.

♦ The spring break trip to the Gordon’s Well RV park went well. Read all about it in Jim’s article and hopefully in more articles next month. Let the group know what you thought.

♦ We’d like to extend get well wishes to Sharon Porter, who fractured her ankle in a recent car accident. Feel better soon Sharon.

♦ The off roaders finally won a court battle, as Judge Susan

Illston rejected the CBD lawsuit preventing the BLM’s plan to reopen much of the closed areas in Glamis. See more on page 5.

♦ Individual site reservations may still be made for this year’s Coral Pink trip so mark your calendars and plan on joining us for a fun trip from Friday July 11th through Sunday July 20th.

♦ Weddle Industries has announced that they will be the ex-clusive producer of Mendeola S4, S5, S4D, S5D and LQ6 transaxles. Read more on page 7.

A new way to do Gordon's Well, March 27-April 7 by Jim Kastle I arrived at Gordon's Well RV Park and found Bob Amador and LuAnne, the Fords, the Porters, and the Grossmanns already set up around what I would call a courtyard, with RV spaces on three sides, and a rest-room/shower/laundramat building on the fourth. Walt arrived shortly after I. I had intended to take the RZR back to the storage yard at Glamis, load the RZR on the trailer, and re-turn to Gordon's Well. Don said that they had planned on going to Famous Dave's in Yuma for dinner, and of-fered to take me back to Glamis. That was too good to turn down, so the Porters, the Fords, the Grossmanns, Bobby and LuAnne, Walt and I went to dinner. After we returned to camp, Don took me to

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May 1-5: Dumont weekend trip.

Come out for one last fast trip to

close out the season.

May 11: Mother’s Day

June 15: Father’s Day

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Glamis. Thanks again, Don. While we were gone, Chuck's friend Bill arrived with a new-to-him, Chuck-quality buggy. Friday morning we went for a buggy ride towards Patton Valley. Right after getting to the dunes, I heard a sound from the back of my buggy that I thought might be a trans issue. I stopped and looked at the car, and couldn't find anything. Bob took a look and immediately found my left rear lug nuts were loose, damaging the wheel. That was good news! I con-vinced the others I could get back to camp, and the others continued on a good ride in the dunes near Patton Valley. I had decided before this trip not to tow the yellow trailer to Gordon's. I had to decide whether to go get the trailer, or just a spare wheel. After much thought I borrowed a spare trailer tire from Walt (this because every year I have towed the trailer to Gordon's, I've had a flat tire ei-ther coming or going) hopped in the dually and went to Glamis to get the trailer. Back in camp I was able to swap the damaged wheel quickly and was ready the next ride. While I was working on I the buggy Bobby led a buggy ride to Buttercup. I hear I missed a great ride. The Tranthams, the Huggard's, and the the Hagens soon arrived. The day ended with a great campfire in the fire pit in the courtyard. Saturday morning several of us went for a RZR ride to Buttercup. I was leading and shortly after getting to the dunes, I heard Walt call on the radio that Janece had rolled. We immediately got to her, and found she had rolled 3 times! Fortunately, the only damage was a bent whip, a low tire, and a bruised finger. Good job keeping the hands in the RZR, Janece. While we were working on the tire, we saw Pete in his sandrail leading Jeremy and one of his friends on a quad ride. We later found out that Jeremy had crashed on his quad, and Pete and Linda took him to an ER in Yuma. He broke two facial bones, bruised his lungs and hip. We got the RZRs back to camp with no further incidents. Saturday afternoon Bob led a great buggy ride through Buttercup. The Porters, the Fords, Bob, LuAnne, and I went to Cracker Barrel in Yuma. After returning to camp several of us sat around the front of the Huggard's motorhome, away from a somewhat smoky campfire. Sunday morning it was VERY windy, but it let up some around 11:00 AM, and Bob led a really neat RZR putt through the desert west then north of Gordon's, to Patton Valley, to the Ogiliby tower, and back to camp. Bobby had never been to Patton Valley, let alone Ogiliby, but after asking a few questions, led us right to Patton Val-ley, and then to Ogiliby. He can clearly read the dunes as well as anyone. In what many of us would call out of character for him, he was very careful not to go too fast, and was especially concerned about Shirley's neck. When we got back to camp we found that Steve Sturm and grandson Easton had arrived. That afternoon Bob led a fast ride through virgin Buttercup sand that stopped when I turned my buggy into a three wheeler. Fortunately I had a spare spindle in camp, and Chuck gave me a ride back to camp. Steve Tharp led us back, and the quality of those two cars was VERY

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impressive. Back at the buggy, everyone, especially the Steves, helped reassemble the car. Thanks to everyone who gave up valu-able riding time to help. We had another campfire. Monday morning Bob led another great ride to Buttercup, and I led a RZR ride through Buttercup, and along the old canal almost to Algodones, then back to the I-8 bridge over the canal, and back to camp. Janece went on this ride, and I was happy to hear her say she enjoyed this ride, and rated it a 9 out of 10, in contrast to Saturday's negative 1! When we got back to camp, Kevin Fegan had arrived. That afternoon I led a buggy ride to Buttercup and enjoyed near perfect sand. The Fords, Tranthams, Grossmanns, Porters, Kevin, Walt, and I went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Tuesday morning I led a buggy ride that followed Bob Amador's route through the desert to 5 mile drop, then through the dunes to Patton Valley, Test Hill, back to Patton Valley and then camp. The sand was perfect, and our tracks would disappear in a few minutes due to the wind. Tuesday afternoon I led the RZRs and Steve Sturm led the buggies through Buttercup. The buggies were joined by a very high performance sandrail. Dwayne, who occupied the Hagen's spot after they left, just bought the buggy. We were interested in the Alaska plate on his fifth wheel. It turns out he and his wife own a five star fishing resort in Alaska during the summer, and a Northern California winery. He is just getting used to the new car, previously having had a turbo charged RZR. The sand was perfect for both groups. Back in camp I decided to leave that evening for home to drop off the white truck, and bring Nancy and the Subaru back to camp. Wednesday morning arrived cold and windy, prompting The Fords and the Tranthams to make shopping trips it Yuma and El Centro respectively. While at home I purchased a new tire for the yellow trailer, and had a CO2 bottle filled. Nancy and I arrived in camp in time for an afternoon buggy ride in perfect sand to Buttercup. Dwayne rode with us, and is gaining confidence in the new car. We ended the day with everyone in camp attending campfire, highlighted by Dwayne sharing wine from his vineyard. Thursday morning I began my John Cole watch, as P.J. earlier told me John would arrive Thursday morning. I led a RZR ride through the Gordon's Well dunes to Patton Valley, Test hill, and back to camp via the 5 Mile Drop and the open desert north of the RV park. Steve Sturm led the buggy ride to Buttercup. We heard some sketchy radio conversations from the buggy ride about a stuck car, but heard no real details. The Coles arrived while we were on the ride, and when we got back to camp John told us Steve Sturm had "lawn darted" his car into a dune and had bent some front end parts. Chuck and Kevin brought Steve back to camp to straighten bent parts. Kevin's car lost a throw out bearing on the rescue run, but was near camp when it broke. Steve got back to camp with a very bent tie rod, and a broken fiber glass hood. He was planning to go home Thursday anyway. He believes his body man will be able to repair the hood. John, Steve Porter, Dwayne, and I went for a long uneventful afternoon ride to Buttercup. The Fords, the Coles, and the Kastles went to dinner at Olive Garden. By the time we got back, the campfire was winding down.

Friday morning Jerry, John, Steve Porter, and I went for a buggy ride through the desert north of the RV park, across the bridge at 5 mile drop, and to Patton Valley, then through the dunes to Test Hill where we took a break. While on the break we decided to try to find the swing set in the dunes northeast of Test Hill. The dunes leading to it are notoriously rough. Within five minutes of resuming the ride, I found my car stuck nose first into a steep-sided valley. It looked like we might not be able to get it out in one piece. Jerry suggested we hook up a strap and he would try to pull me out. It worked perfectly, and we didn't even have to dig. We returned to camp without try-ing to make it to the swing set. We took an uneventful after-noon ride to Buttercup. P.J., Melissa, and Allie; and Barry, Terry, and Amanda arrived late Friday night. Saturday morning I was surprised to see Bob and LuAnne ar-

rive in camp with the RZR in tow. They then went on the RZR ride. The morning buggy ride was uneventful, We took an early af-

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ternoon buggy ride through the Gordon's Well dunes from Test Hill to Patton Valley, and ALL the dunes in between. We had the best shadows of the trip, and were able to run pretty fast. I heard a radio call from P.J., that something in the right rear of his car was making noise. He quickly determined that all three of the bolts that hold the micro stub bearing to the bearing carrier had sheared, causing the tire to tilt at a very ugly angle. Fortunately, he had extra bolts in camp, and John, Dwayne, and I went back for tools and parts, while Barry and P.J., stayed with the car and began removing parts. When we came back, the repair went pretty smoothly with everyone, even newcomer Dwayne, help-ing. The Fords, the Porters, Bob and LuAnne, and Nancy and I went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Sunday morning the buggy ride was led by John and took a break at Patton Valley. Someone suggested we go look for the elusive swing set. The dunes between Patton Valley and the swing set weren't very friendly and John ended up stuck much like I had Friday, this time with Barry being the hero and towing John out. John was able to drive back to camp, but had bent a left front A arm. Fortunately the yellow trailer was still in camp, so we took some time to heat it up and straighten it out, and it ended up better than it was before bending it. After fixing John's car we decided to test it with a four high school car ride to Buttercup. There was no one else at Buttercup, and there were no tracks. We had a long, fast ride with absolutely no problems. The ride was a tribute to John's foresight as none of the cars would exist if not for John. We had a ball. When we got back, everyone remaining in camp, fifteen of us, went to Texas Roadhouse. Back in camp we talked a lot about the afternoon ride, and Barry made a comment that I make more right turns than left ones. I never no-ticed it, but John agreed. In any case, we had enough fun, we decided to do it again Monday morning. Monday's ride left early, about 8:45, insuring us good shadows. We again headed for Buttercup, and of course, without saying any-thing, I made damn sure to make plenty of lefts. After what seemed like a hundred left turns Barry commented on them. FINALLY! John and P.J. chimed in that they had noticed, but were't going to say anything. The ride was again fast and smooth with the only tracks being ours. The ride ended with 5 counterclockwise circles on the flat sand near the border fence, just in case anyone was counting turns. We returned to camp without any incidents. Back in camp we celebrated the successful completion of the trip.

The RV park was a pleasant change, and the electrical hookups, restrooms, and showers were all great. But in my mind the best part was the assistant manager, James, who did everything he could to make our stay pleasant. As with any change, opinions varied. Some would like to have all future trips at the RV park, while others would rather not spend the extra money. One unforeseen problem for us was the gravel in the campground hurting Diesel's feet. It was so uncomfortable for him he didn't want to leave the trailer! That made walking him quite a task. The only other negatives I heard of were the tight quarters for those of us with toy hauler trailers; and the need to drive on pavement, or to drive quite a ways out of the way, to get to the dunes. I'm pretty sure that our family will continue to spend most of our dune trips at Glamis, but I'll look forward to some trips back to the luxury of the Gordon's Well RV Park. Thanks to the Porters for set-ting up this trip.

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In a ruling that was announced on April 4, 2014, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. Northern District Court of California issued a long-awaited decision on the 2013 ISDRA management plan, ruling almost entirely on the side of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and sand-rider organizations, and against the latest challenge led by the Center for Biological Diversity. This means that the BLM can begin to implement the Recreational Area Management Plan (RAMP) that it finalized in 2013. Part of that plan involves re-opening much of the area that was closed in the year 2000 when a lawsuit was first filed to protect the Peirson's milk-vetch. Below is a map published in the April 7th edition of The Press Enterprise that shows the current and revised closures:

Some notable features of the revised closures are that the “small” central closure which was located between Gecko and Oldsmobile will completely be eliminated, and much of the large closure in the middle of the dunes will be re-opened. There are some areas, however, which are currently open and will now be closed under the plan. These areas are mainly located South of Patton Valley just East of the sand highway, and there is another region just North of the Mexico border. Overall though, we gain access to a lot more open area. The ASA has announced a planned event for May 3rd “to start the process of removing the closure stakes in the Impe-rial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. More specifically, in the small central closure near Gecko and the 160 acres in Butter-cup.” This should help get the closure markers relocated for next dune season. Sources: http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20140407-glamis-judge-rejects-lawsuit-opening-new-areas-to-vehicles.ece http://americansandassociation.org/

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Since we tried something new and very different this past trip, and I have a page of newsletter to fill, I thought I would share my personal opinion regarding the benefits and drawbacks of camping at the Gordon’s Well RV Park. These are just my personal views, and I know that others may feel differently or place a differ-ent value on the benefits of camping in an RV park environment. First off, here is a summary of the key pros and cons:

So, that’s our summary. In general I think logistical issues like needing reservations at busy times will pre-vent this from being our default camping location, but it was fun to try something different. For the cost I pre-fer dry camping, but that’s because we are well set up for it. Overall I enjoy everyone’s company since hang-ing out with the group is the best part. What did you think? Share your opinions in the next newsletter.–P.J.

Cons

Cost: $35 a night adds up quickly

Crowd: We were fortunate to be there at a low crowd time, but it could feel tight if the park were full.

Dune Access: There was more driving on pavement in general than camping else-where. You can pretty much stay on dirt and cross the canal by Patton Valley, but we only did this some of the time. Gravel: This seemed nice at first, and kept dust down, but after a couple of days our wussy dog Diesel wouldn’t walk on it. Configuration: We prefer a circular park-ing setup where it is easier to see what’s go-ing on in camp from your RV.

Pros

Electrical Hookups: It was nice to be able to plug in and have power 24/7. Friendly Staff: James, the assistant man-ager was always around and was friendly. Shade: The courtyard area has shade from some large trees. Restrooms and Showers: The restrooms were clean and centrally located, and free showers were available too. Dump Station: We were able to dump our tanks before leaving the park, which saved a stop on the way home. Meeting People: Like Coral Pink, camping with others gives the opportunity to meet people, like we did with Dwayne this trip.

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This is how you know that your friends and family members are enjoying be-ing in Arizona. I received this picture from Jim, Don, and Shirley from their recent weekend trip from Golden Valley down into Bullhead City. Sure beats sitting in CA traffic to get to work... I think all that’s missing is openly carrying some fire-arms. Seriously though, it is neat to see them taking advan-tage of the versatility of the RZRs to go off road-ing from home.

This month we’d like to thank Jim Kastle for submitting an article. Our first trip to the Gordon’s Well camp-ground was a success, and the dune season isn’t over just yet since there’s still Dumont to come. As things slow down for the off season we need articles more than ever to fill the newsletter, so please feel free to send in your articles. The next newsletter will cover the Dumont trip, so look forward to it in late May as we begin the Summer stretch leading up to Coral Pink. -PJ, Melissa and of course Allison

Announcement regarding Mendeola S4/5, S4D/5D and LQ6 Transaxles

Dear Customers, Over the past decades, Weddle Industries has worked closely with Mendeola on their popular transaxles. Recently, we were very happy to announce that Weddle Industries secured the rights to become the exclusive producer of Mendeola MD transaxles.

We are now excited to announce that Weddle Industries will be the exclusive producer of Mendeola S4, S5, S4D, S5D and LQ6 transaxles. Weddle Industries has acquired all tooling, drawings and designs necessary to produce these transaxles. All kits and com-ponents will ship directly from Weddle's facility in Goleta, California.

We are currently evaluating inventory levels to asses the task of getting these programs back into full production. We anticipate sev-eral months before the S4/5, S4D/5D and LQ6 programs are up to full speed. We realize the importance of these programs and have dedicated a large amount of our resources to make sure essential parts are available as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience. If you have any questions, please call us at 805 562 8600 or email us at info@weddleindustries.com.

Sincerely, The crew at Weddle Industries