Gelcoater
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2009
- Messages
- 21,680
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Took a break from the dune scene during the economic melt down. Gave the toy hauler back to the bank, mothballed the quads in the tool shed and that was that.
It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.
The vibe of the place had changed.
Two years ago in March the fire was rekindled when friends from out of town (Denver area) made a family trip to the dunes. I had to go! Life long friends don't come along often, so after 6-7 years of a break I was back in my favorite place...and with some of my favorite people. We had a great trip. A few mechanical glitches (for them) but all in all a great trip.
The summer past and winter fell.
Cruising the pages of RDP a few days before New Years into 16 I see pics in a thread of Uncle Dave and the Lavey Craft crew parked out at RoadRunner.
On a whim and with full wife approval I'm packing a quad and a cooler for a day trip. That turned into an overnight stay, truck broke. Fixed with the help of LaveyJr and his bud on leave for the weekend.
A couple months later hit the dunes again with a couple of old friends who I have shared more camp fires than any of us can recall. We had a great trip, again some mechanical issues for someone (banshee blues) but no drama.
This March I again hit the sand with the Denver crew. Was probably among the most epic manicure of the dunes ever.
Smooth transitions, sharp edges to give definition for the point rider (me) tailored the whoops to barely there, just perfect sand when the light is right.
Some things I noticed.
And, granted these March visits are in off weekends, Ranger station closed, Sweet Marie's packing up and leaving, but it seems different. A bit more mellow vibe. Like it used to be, more or less.
Been hitting the big G since the mid to late 1980s. Quads were a newish concept and my ATC 250R with a 300 kit hauled balls!!
It seems time has weeded out some of the riff raff. I had guys stop and ask how many people were going to be with me and chose to go elsewhere rather than crowd us. Never seen that before. People usually just pull up and park.
Maybe it was the mention of the two Rottweilers that would be arriving? Or probably the mention of the Chihuaua that would be with them?
Or the kids that would be zinging around on LT50s? :rolleyes
When there have been Ranger interaction it has been pleasant. Our tags and stickers are current, camping passes displayed, many trash recepticals in camp and no glass.
Their attention has typically soon averted to one of the many Banshees in camp. For whatever reason these younger noob BLM guys dig Banshees? :headscratch: :thumbsup
They get a kick out of it when you tell them you've owned it and ridden it right here where they're standing...since they were 5 years old. :cool
The new destinations, holy cow. The swing set. The various flag poles. It's like a whole new set of destinations for me.
Last week we didn't hit Comp or Olds one time.
Why? Been there, done that. The closure areas reopened means a great deal to me, we head that way almost every time.
I'm digging watching the latest stage of the evolution of Glamis.
It finally feels fun again.
It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.
The vibe of the place had changed.
Two years ago in March the fire was rekindled when friends from out of town (Denver area) made a family trip to the dunes. I had to go! Life long friends don't come along often, so after 6-7 years of a break I was back in my favorite place...and with some of my favorite people. We had a great trip. A few mechanical glitches (for them) but all in all a great trip.
The summer past and winter fell.
Cruising the pages of RDP a few days before New Years into 16 I see pics in a thread of Uncle Dave and the Lavey Craft crew parked out at RoadRunner.
On a whim and with full wife approval I'm packing a quad and a cooler for a day trip. That turned into an overnight stay, truck broke. Fixed with the help of LaveyJr and his bud on leave for the weekend.
A couple months later hit the dunes again with a couple of old friends who I have shared more camp fires than any of us can recall. We had a great trip, again some mechanical issues for someone (banshee blues) but no drama.
This March I again hit the sand with the Denver crew. Was probably among the most epic manicure of the dunes ever.
Smooth transitions, sharp edges to give definition for the point rider (me) tailored the whoops to barely there, just perfect sand when the light is right.
Some things I noticed.
And, granted these March visits are in off weekends, Ranger station closed, Sweet Marie's packing up and leaving, but it seems different. A bit more mellow vibe. Like it used to be, more or less.
Been hitting the big G since the mid to late 1980s. Quads were a newish concept and my ATC 250R with a 300 kit hauled balls!!
It seems time has weeded out some of the riff raff. I had guys stop and ask how many people were going to be with me and chose to go elsewhere rather than crowd us. Never seen that before. People usually just pull up and park.
Maybe it was the mention of the two Rottweilers that would be arriving? Or probably the mention of the Chihuaua that would be with them?
Or the kids that would be zinging around on LT50s? :rolleyes
When there have been Ranger interaction it has been pleasant. Our tags and stickers are current, camping passes displayed, many trash recepticals in camp and no glass.
Their attention has typically soon averted to one of the many Banshees in camp. For whatever reason these younger noob BLM guys dig Banshees? :headscratch: :thumbsup
They get a kick out of it when you tell them you've owned it and ridden it right here where they're standing...since they were 5 years old. :cool
The new destinations, holy cow. The swing set. The various flag poles. It's like a whole new set of destinations for me.
Last week we didn't hit Comp or Olds one time.
Why? Been there, done that. The closure areas reopened means a great deal to me, we head that way almost every time.
I'm digging watching the latest stage of the evolution of Glamis.
It finally feels fun again.
