Your basic vw sand rail
1-22-05 Sand City
VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE AT END OF PAGE please read before sending anything to me.
On the way south out of Niland I made it to Brawley where I gassed up at a service station. While I was there I saw a really cool sand rail on a trailer. I tried to talk with the guys that owned it who were trying to stuff way too much beer and ice into coolers. They were just SO cool dudes, that they wouldn’t talk to me. about all I could get out of them was that they didn’t build it after all and had just bought it. it is kind of like the guys that go to Sturgis and buy a bike to ride around and be way cool dudes. Assholes I say, way cool assholes!!!
Well, that rail brought back fond memories from forty years ago when a friend of mine who was from the LA area took me out to the Dunes in his little high hood Jeep ( 1952 maybe?) that had a 283 Chevy with 327 heads and headers. It was a screaming little jeep with somewhat large tires. We got out there at night and there was a group of his friends out there called the Orange County Four wheelers. I don’t remember how many, but maybe fifty or less. What a fantastic night is was. It was warm and we went screaming up and over dunes and had a great time. I remember wakening up in the morning covered in sand. Sand was everywhere and my teeth were gritty. Oh, but it was so much fun.
I just had to go out to the dunes and see them again. They are still there but now they are BIG business. I got out there at dark so I couldn’t see much of what was going on other than there was a string of cars, trucks, trailers, and motor homes towing trailers of sand rigs. I pulled off at an intersection were there were a bunch of tents lighted up selling clothes, caps and little cool stuff all related to the sand dunes. The dunes are called the Imperial sand dunes and it is all some sort of National? Recreation area or something. I chatted with a really nice gal that owns the ‘store’ with her husband. I told her I was going to go to Mex and I wondered if she knew anything about it. it turns out she and her husband are going tomorrow for a three month tour. They have been down several times and she was just so up beat about it and said that I would have a great time down there. I talked with her husband and he said it was very safe to travel down there and not to worry. I told them that all I had heard so far were scare stories. They said don’t be stupid and I will get along just fine. That gave me lifted spirits after all the negative stuff I have heard. They said most people understand some English and it is easy to get by with some Spanish. Great…
I spent probably the worst night in many years out behind a bar in Glimas which is at a junction to a road that goes out to the dunes. There are signs everywhere that there is no camping and since it was night I just hid myself as best I could back behind this bar. The ground was covered in tracks and it was hard to find a somewhat level spot that was out of the way. I knew it wasn’t the best but would have to do. It was terrible. All night there was traffic and there must have been thirty trains that came by less than a hundred yards from camp. That wasn’t so bad, the little four wheelers, sand rails, bikes, trucks and I don’t know what all came roaring by. Oh, I didn’t mention the 18 wheelers stopping and starting at the railroad crossing. I just gotta make camp before night fall. Ops, maybe tomorrow night as it is reall dark here now.
Your basic vw sand rail
A Pinto engine rail, seats four.
A sand bike. Notice the paddles on the rear wheel.
I talked to a guy about this one. It has a Corvette engine
and was used as a pre-runner for races. They run the course with this one and
then run the race with the real one. They guy said it was about a $100,000
outfit. It cost around ten thousand a year for up keep. This one has a top speed
of around 130 MPH.
The engine and tranny. The trans cost twenty grand alone.
It has a support trailer full of tools and other toys.
This one has a Buick six engine. This guy bought it too and
didn’t know much about it.
Buick detail
Those little lights are supposed to be able to burn the
paint off a car at fifty feet. Nice detail of front end geometry. He says that
it takes four foot humps, like washboards at high speed and you cant even feel
them.
boy and girl toys.
This is a family sport and I just caught this little guy buzzing by.
There are lots of little kids zooming around on very
expensive four wheelers and bikes.
Most are also outfitted with all the correct gear in matching colors and
logo’s.
Talk about not fitting in at a party!!! Gee Bob, it seems like you could have at
least waxed it before you sold it to me.
On the way out I stopped and took some photos of the difference between the south side of the highway where motorized traffic is allowed and the north side where it is preserved as a wilderness area. The difference is stunning. It is hard to believe how different it can be, but after forty years of tearing up the desert sand, not much is left.
The flowers were spectacular and there weren’t any on the other side of the road, nothing but tracks and a few greasewood bushes.
Carla wanted a photo of flelds of flowers, so here ya go Carla….
I finally found a Verizon cell phone store and found out that my cell phone will not work in Mexico. They use a different system. I could get some service but it would be sixty five cents a minute. So it looks like I will be without a cell phone connection and will probably not be able to post road logs unless I find a internet café that will let me hook up or maybe pop in a cd with my road logs on it. I will have my cell phone put on stand-by and will not be able to receive calls or messages. Gee, just like old times!!!
THIS
IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!
Please do NOT send me any email that has attachments, is something that you forward to me because it is funny or any other stuff that is not important. I love to get personal email, but I just cant take bull shit email for a while. So, take me off any mass emailing list you may have me on. I will be in Mexico for at least two months and will try to keep you up to date on my travels but I have no idea how often I will be able to communicate.
I got six months of insurance for Mexico at a cost of $90 which is cheaper than three months. Go figure.
I’m not sure when I will cross over but probably on Monday morning, so email me quick if you want to say anything or have a question.
Cheers, RX