2013 Ditch the B@tch Weekend in Glamis (Videos up!)

[motoman]

Well it sure came around quick this year. Seems like I was just post'n up the 2012 trip. This year the toyhauler that we stay in was wide open so I asked Steve (70_Steve) and buddy Tim to come along. I was going to pull my Bronco out with the Superduty, with Steve and Tim following in their rigs. A week out from the trip my 7.3 PS lost the front main seal. We got it fixed the day before we left so all was good. We staged at my house at 4pm on Thursday.

All loaded up and ready to go

The rest of the crew showed up

For the most part it was an uneventful trip to Blythe CA for refuel, then a roley poley trip to the dunes

This would be Steve and Tim's first time to the dunes. As with previous years as we arrived to camp everyone else had a head start on all the fun. Once unloaded we were asked to accompany the razors, rails, quads to Oldsmobile Hill for some evening festivities.

Being Steve and Tim's first time I asked if they wanted to ride with me. Tim hopped in but Steve wanted to feel the sand beneath his Bronco. So off we went.

This is us sitting on top of Oldsmobile Hill. Steve really enjoyed the power of his 351W and enjoyed the light duning on the way over.

Some people were having quite a bit of fun! ;D

You could tell by the sky and fair evening the weather was about to change...

We took a slightly different route back to camp. Steve was having a difficult time of it and ended up sliding off the path

Barely phased at this point

Here comes the rescue!

Trying to get a good tug on him without letting him rollover

Mission accomplished

 

[motoman]

Of course any rescue mission in the dunes starts an impromptu gathering

We took off and made it a few more bowls and Steve found himself on the wrong side of the dune again.... begin extraction

Having a discussion with Steve and crew about getting Steve to level ground

Successful tug over the dune

Now at this point we talked with Steve and he assured us he was doing ok. We told him to try and follow my tracks to help him pick the right line. Off we went again. I had lost Steve in my rearview. As I turned around to check on him I saw this........

The other Tim was helping Steve out and making sure there was no fire hazard. When Steve rolled on his side he couldn't reach the key to turn off the motor. It ran till it stalled.

This just never looks right!

First I tried to strap him to tip him back over.

I just did not have leverage in the deep sand to get him tipped back over

I decided to use the winch with a snatch block to double the pulling power.

Over she came...lost a bit of fuel and alot of synthetic transmission oil all over the inside....

The front fender and door was the only damage we could see.

Next we had to get the truck turned downhill and on level ground to try and start the motor

The tire had come off the bead so we had to chain up his long arms, use the cooler lid to keep the jack from sinking in the sand.

Of course when you don't use your highlift for awhile it was giving us fits....

One of the Razors had ran back to camp to get his spare. We would have just seated the bead on his original tire but it was full of sand. Once that was done we pulled all the plugs to clear the motor of fuel and oil.

Again rescue mission at 2am drew a big crowd....

We managed to get the motor to start but it had a horrible tap going on. One of the experience duners drove Steve's Bronco back to camp so we didn't have to try an impossible tow.

END DAY ONE

 

[JefeAZ]

Holy crap! What a first day

 

[thepunisher]

Looks like Steve's bronco was where the party was at!!! I miss those days.. I sure would have liked to have been apart of that convoy.

 

[Bronco Junkie]

Man, that looks like a ton o fun!!!

 

[motoman]

So ah.....day two started with a bang! About 4 am as I was sleeping on the top bunk I had to go pee...... in the pitch dark I guess I thought I was in my bed at home and just stepped off. I landed on my left foot like a bag of rocks! OMG the pain. I could not step on it at all. I went back to bed for a few hours and tried to walk on it again and could not.

Steve and Tim drove me to the ER in Brawley, CA where we spent the next 4 1/2 hours getting poked, proded and xrayed. No breaks but I had tore ligaments in my foot. They sent me on my way with an air splint and 6 pain pills. While in the hospital it had begun to rain. This was the start to a 24 hr deluge in the dunes.

We got back and everyone had gone to the Glamis Store/Bar. Found a nice little flexy spot on the way over

I had wrapped my foot in an ace bandage and had it stuffed in an oversized boot to keep it as isolated as I could. Even with the pain meds I was moving slow.

Tim, Billy and I at the bar

About time to cut this puppy off and have some fun! ;D

As with any gathering of men and no women the testosterone was building! Arm wrestling was the game!

Some taunting and distraction from the bystanders

As we partied in the bar it just rained and rained outside

We left the bar and found a dune to sit on and watch the rain. I think Tim was praying to the rain gods

Tim enjoyed the added traction in his 2wd from the wet dunes

The other Tim stuck Billy's 2wd so another rescue mission...

Tim is a lineman and showed us some really cool knots of the trade

Back at camp the fire was roaring and it was time for some shenanigans

Just wrong....

The rain got so bad someone brought out a shade to huddle under

This guy wasn't far-from-puking!

That night trucks, quads, razor and mini bikes jumped the fire. I have video but no pictures. We stayed by the fire till about 3 am. I slept in the lower bunk

End of DAY TWO

 

[motoman]

Day Three

Every year on Saturday morning I cook a breakfast feast for everyone in the toy hauler. Breakfast burritos with all the goodies!

Decided to see what was going on with my foot

The bruising was starting to set in

After breakfast we took off into the dunes. Tim followed in his 2wd Prerunner. The dunes were awesomely wet! We had sprinkles on and off all day.

We had the GoPro running most of the day (Windshield)

Taking it all in...........

Our main group went to China Wall area to spread the ashes of one of the founding members who passed last year. We were trying to catch up. Tim was getting freaked out so we parked his truck at Olds and he hopped in with me and Steve.

Looking for our group

Endless playland!!!!

Motoman elevating his foot!

The sky was so cool all day with low clouds moving fast.

Playing around in 2wd and stuck it on the hillside....

 

[motoman]

We never found our group. The next communication with them they were back at camp. We hurried back, restocked the cooler and headed to the drags at Gecko

Tim Tim and Billy

Popo all over the place

The sunset was amazing!

Tim enjoying his observation deck

Steve chillin

This bada$$ Ch@vy was in our camp

Nice wind down from an adrenaline filled day

On our way back through the dunes we saw that Ch@vy broke down on the side of the highway. We stopped to help out. He had pulled the half shaft apart in the front end

He was glad I showed up with air tools

It was getting dark fast

We took the dunes back to camp at Wash 2.....enjoyed another night wheeling on the other side of the tracks in the mud. The fog was incredible and was hard to navigate. I think we wheeled almost all the way to Yuma. Back to camp by 4:30am....

End of Day Three

 

[motoman]

Day Four

We woke early to massive hangovers and got loaded up. We put Steve's Bronco on my trailer and he drove my SuperDuty home. Tim and I followed and it was a long beautiful drive home.....

We stopped at Denny's in Blythe CA and then set our sights on Phoenix

All bundled in the Bronco

All in all was a great trip with great people. I wish things would have turned out differently with Steve, but we are working out the issues to get it back on the road.

Thank you Tim, Tim, Steve and Billy for a great weekend.

Lots of pictures not shown here can be found on my website. CLICKY

End of Day Four

 

[Hank_]

You remind remind me of the country song "you can never have to much fun". I really appreciate the stories you share with all of us. I spend my time working on my bronco and you are out having fun with yours. Thanks for all the great pics. Hope your foot is doing well and the other bronco will be back on the trails soon.

Henry

 

[motoman]

You remind remind me of the country song "you can never have to much fun". I really appreciate the stories you share with all of us. I spend my time working on my bronco and you are out having fun with yours. Thanks for all the great pics. Hope your foot is doing well and the other bronco will be back on the trails soon.

Henry

Thanks Henry.... the way I look at it, no trip is too big or small when you are in the Bronco!

 

[xcntrk]

Looks like a great time. Awesome story and killer pics..!

 

[Jdgephar]

Jealous! Looks like a great time! Maybe someday I can get out west with mine

 

[ScanmanSteven]

Great story and pics. It's been years since we've been to Glamis, thanks for reminding me of all the fun.

 

[70_Steve]

I had a blast! Thanks to Motoman, Tim, Tim, Billy and the rest of the group!

I rode most of the day Saturday with Motoman and learned a bunch (I hope) about driving in the sand so I can avoid the mistakes I made Thursday night. We'll see... It's amazing the difference between driving in wet sand Saturday morning vs the dry sand Saturday evening.

And the dunes are beautiful! I can't wait to go back!;D

 

[ryoungbronco]

Awesome! So jealous.

 

[Justafordguy]

looks like you guy had fun, kinda.;D


As usual the pictures are awesome, what a cool place.

 

[quikdrummer]

That's good stuff. When I had the bronco in the sand for the first time a few months back, I kept envisioning myself ending up like those pics from the first night lol. Thankfully I was able to keep the rubber down.

 

[weasel]

Thanks for sharing the great pics!

 

[toddz69]

Love reading your stories as always, Motoman! And Steve - I hope you can get your truck back on the road soon!

Todd Z.