DOM Desert Riders

So this will be the final post of pictures for my series "The 2006 D.O.M. Annual". The only other post I will have about this year's Annual will be to list the winners of each class and the names of people who received special trophies. As soon as I get my newsletter, I will post those names.

I hope I've given readers of this blog a good idea of what the club does during it's Annual. I've posted pictures of people, scenery, races, and activities. The most important thing to me is that it's a fun thing to do with my family and friends. So with that I leave you with 4 pictures to illustrate this.

Here's the Queen and King (Casey & Kenny) at the end of the raffle:

Here's a picture of a trail marker nearby Camp "C" telling riders that this particular trail (R10) leads to Randsburg. I wanted to ride to Randsburg and take pictures along the way there (and back), but I didn't have time to go. This would have been the first in a set of pics of that trip. Well, maybe next time.

Here's a picture of a kite (I don't remember who was flying this one). Since I'm not that great of a photographer, I couldn't focus on the remote-control cars that were buzzing around camp and jumping over the fire pit. So I couldn't capture that activity, but I did capture the kite flying.

And finally, here's a picture of Nina sitting on Mom's quad. I mentioned earlier in this series that my wife Laura couldn't join us this year due to her job. We (me, Brady, & Nina) missed her and so did many of our friends in the club. Well, maybe next year.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

More scenery pics today. Here's that Joshua tree I like so much. I told you about this tree on this earlier post. Apparently I'm not the only one that likes this tree; there are trails from all directions leading to here:

As you approach the area where the D.O.M. camps - at the point the main road turns off onto a side street - the first club signs appear. Ours is the orange sign on the right. A club member made these a few years back. They're made of plywood mounted to a steel rod. It's the responsibility of the D.O.M. club King and Queen (or their designees) to put our signs out for the arriving members and other attendees to the rides. Unfortunately, other groups of people use paper plates with family names written on them and tape them to the bushes. These don't hold up very well and often tear off and blow into the desert. That's called pollution. The sign on the left belongs to another group and is secure enough (heavy stock paper stapled to a wood stake). We use this method too.

Here's another D.O.M. sign where this particular dirt road ends. As you can see, other groups of people leave direction signs out. You can barely make out another area landmark in the background. It's called the ant hill. You can see the ant hill from all sides and it looks the same - like an ant hill in a field.

Here's a close up of the ant hill. It's actually a steep mound of dirt that a lot of people ride up and down. Mororcycle and quad trails have carved paths in the hillside.

Here's a view of Camp "C" from the dirt road leading down to camp taken from the crest of the hill. Unless you've been here, it's hard to appreciate how large the riding and camping area is. At the very center of the pic, you can barely make out small white dots in a large clearing in the middle of the sage bush. That's a group of trailers and motorhomes that will more than triple in number within 24 hours of when this pic was taken on Fri. morning of Memorial Day Weekend. This picture is taken from the opposite direction than the sunrise pic was taken that opens my series of posts about the 2006 D.O.M. Annual. Click here to see that pic.

A daytime pic of the same ridge from my position in the above pic can also seen by clicking here then scrolling down to the pic of my daughter Nina. The ridge is behind her in the distance.

One more day of pictures, and I will be ALMOST done with the 2006 D.O.M. Annual. I need to wait until I receive my club newsletter in the mail before I post the results of the awards and trophies from the races.

My people pictures are running out so I thought I would post some scenery pics. The area around Camp "C" where we stayed is several miles away from the closest town - California City. Many years ago, developers planned to expand California City further into the desert. Streets were graded, utilities were provided and some construction began. I don't know exactly what happened or why, but no one moved in. I can imagine why; it's MILES away from civilization, and it gets the extreme weather the desert provides: freezing cold winters, burning hot summers, and constant wind - not just a breeze, a blast. So, what now remains are empty lots separated by steets (mostly unpaved, but some paved) with street signs at every intersection. Also what remains is evidence of other utilities (water pipes, electrical junction boxes, etc.).

Now don't misunderstand. There are a few houses in the area. Just a couple of years ago I saw one under construction, which is now complete and occupied. I think the residents in this area are modern-day hermits, but they might be perfectly content with living this way - far away from others. So check these out.

You're driving along a paved street, and suddenly the pavement ends:

Here's one of the many street signs left up. This one is located at the corner of Rutgers and Santa Clara, and has bullet holes in it.

I can't figure out what this was used for. It appears to be a concrete structure, but with no roof and obviously open ended. It's now an art canvas for graffiti. You can barely see the water tank in the background (left of center).

Here's the biggest landmark around, the water tank. The D.O.M. club has camped here before, but not for the Annual. I assume the tank has water in it, and supplies the homes in the area.

And finally for this post, here's the sign pointing people back to Cal City "proper":

Today I thought I would post some pics that I took around camp of people doing various things while waiting for the evening events to start. For example, the potluck, or the awards ceremony. Some people went on rides, and actually I did too. I took my daughter Nina on a long ride on Sat. afternoon, but I didn't take my camera with me. (What do I look like, an octopus?)

So here are some pics of what I like to call "spending quality time doing nothing". Some people call this killing time, but I don't like that term.

Here is one of the little kids playing catch with a football with his dad:

Here is a group of teenagers playing with someone's Go-Cart. They didn't even need to have the go cart running to have fun; they were just taking turns pushing each other around.

Here's Steve giving some people a ride in his new sand rail:

Here's Nina on top of Steve and Lynn's cargo trailer. This huge trailer has a deck on top, which is covered by a tarp. It's a perfect place to just hang out, and what a view! Wait until you see how you get down. . .

That's right, by the slide. It took a lot of encouragement to get Nina to slide down.

Today I will continue posting pics of the Annual, but back to the people. This time the theme will be "other activities" (as opposed to racing). As I've written in previous posts this is a family-orientated club. Most of us share the same passion for riding our desert toys. Several friendships have developed within the club, and it was the club that brought us together. At night in the center of the camp we have a big campfire. We get together and talk, laugh, drink, tell stories, sing, etc.

Here is a great example of that. Terry and Robin joined the D.O.M. when my wife and I were Queen and King of the club, and we have become good friends. About a year ago, they were blessed with this beautiful baby girl - Elyssa. Here they are:

This year on Sat. night of the Annual we had a raffle. We hold raffles throughout the riding season. The raffles are one way the club generates operating income to offset club expenses. People donate whatever they want and tickets are sold. Then one item at a time, the King and Queen call out tickets drawn at random from the lot, and the winner comes up and claims their "prize". Pictured here is Queen Casey and King Kenny blinded by the setting sun holding the raffle.

On Sun. night of every Annual the awards ceremony is held. If you want a complete description of the events, classes and awards, please read this previous post by clicking here. But if you just want to see todays pics, please continue. Here is a pic of Fred - a longtime member cheering on one of the winners. This is the 1st year since I've been a member that Fred was not directly involved in starting/timing the races. Last Annual he announced his retirement, but he still wanted to help out by passing out the ribbons and trophies.

One of the many traditions of the awards ceremony is as follows: The winners come up and receive their ribbon or trophy, and get a hug from the trophy girl or trophy boy. Now most of the time this is very cute, but sometimes a person's shyness gets in the way and there is no hug. This seems to be more evident with middle school-aged kids, which is why I don't have a picture of my son Brady hugging the trophy girl (Princess Nicole). Instead, here is a younger girl hugging the trophy boy as she receives her trophy:

One of the highlights of the awards ceremony is when the new King and Queen is announced. This year King Kenny and Queen Casey handed over the throne to King Dan (not me - I've already been King) and Queen Leslie. The new King (Dan) is the brother of the former Queen (Casey). Here is King Dan sitting on his throne wearing his crown. Former Princess Lisa brings him a beer as former Queen Casey drinks to Dan's reign.

Oh yes, I still have more pics to show. Stay tuned!

Since this is the Lord's Day I thought it would be appropriate to post pics of some of the Lord's work, and how mankind has altered it. These are just a few samples of the pics I took on Fri. morning. I previously mentioned the weather over the Memorial Day weekend and how it differed from day to day. On the day these pics were taken I rode my quad around wearing shorts and a T-shirt because it was warm. Within 24 hours, the temperature dropped about 25 degrees.

This is a pole at the intersection of two large dirt roads. You can see the water tank (a local landmark) in the background. It's hard to see it, but the pole has the initials D.O.M. painted on it in the club colors - blue and gold. Many years ago, some club members painted this. It's way overdue for a re-paint. I wonder if I know anyone in the paint industry?

Here is Galileo peak (another local landmark):

Here is an old barn by the road we take to access this off highway riding area. I've passed it many times over the years, but have never been this close. It's a lot bigger (and run down) than it appears from the road.

This Joshua tree is closer to our camp (Camp "C"). It's actually not the best looking Joshua tree in the area - I have another pic that I will post at a later time that I like much better. This particular tree below has some significance to the family of Elmer Keyes.

Here's why. There's a memorial marker for Mr. Keyes at the base of the tree. I don't know Mr. Keyes, nor do I know how he passed. My guess is that there might have been a fatal riding accident on Thanksgiving weekend in 1997, but I don't really know.

More scenic and people pictures in the week to follow.

This is "sub-post B" of pics of various people with a racing theme in mind. If you want a complete description of the Blind Man and Go Cart races (pictured below), click here. But if you just want to see todays pics, please continue. Here's Steve and Ross before the start of their Blind Man race. Is that a beer in King Kenny's hand?

Here's one of the younger kids on the Scrambles course for Pee-Wees and Brats classes:

This is me as the driver and Matt as the navigator in the Blind Man's race:

Here's Brady as the driver and Josh as the navigator in the Blind Man's race:

Here's Brady in the Go Cart race. This year we changed the format from the Barrel race course to the Slalom course.

The next post will continue pics, but I'm going to weave some scenery shots in.

Today I've posted pics of various people involved in racing events. If you want a complete description of the races held at the Annual, please read this earlier post by clicking here. But if you just want to look at pics, please continue. Here's the crowd of spectators (family and friends of the people racing) from their viewing position on Sat. morning. This crowd grew bigger as the morning progressed:

Here's the Pee-Wee Class (smallest class of kids) lining up to start their 1st race:

Here's the club Queen, Casey, clearing the stop watch after writing down a score of someone who just completed their race. This is the 1st year Casey has done the scorekeeping job, and she did a very good job at that.

Here's Ray, who has helped out at the annual races for years in various ways. This pic taken on Sun. morning is at the start of the "A" Class Scrambles races.

Here are Cole and Rene getting ready to start the Blind Man's Race on Sun. afternoon. You can also see the club King, Kenny, tying the blindfold around Rene's helmet.

For some reason, I can't seem to post more than 5 pics per post. (I don't know if this is a Blogger rule, or my own blogging incompetence). So I'll break up today's post into sub-parts "A" and "B".

Today I have pics of my son Brady racing in various Annual events. If you want a complete description of the races held at the Annual, please read this earlier post by clicking here. But if you just want to look at pics, please continue. Here is Brady on Saturday morning finishing his first race, the Slalom:

I missed the next event Brady raced in because my daughter Nina heard the call of nature, and we had to return to our trailer for a few minutes. So instead, here is a pic of a young lady about Brady's age racing in her class in the Barrell race. It's a lot harder to do this event on a motorcycle than compared to a quad.

Here's Brady on the start line of the Blow and Go. With only four racers in his class, he has a pretty good chance of coming in either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. I'll spare him the embarrassment and won't tell you how he did.

Here's Brady on Sunday morning on the start line of the Scrambles race. These are the same 4 racers as in the Blow and Go above. This time the outcome was better.

Here's Brady at the finish line with 1 lap left to go. He had just passed that quad behind him to take (and stay in) 1st place.

Nina did not race. The only thing she has to "race" in is her Barbie Jeep. Last year she got to go through the Slalom course. I'll have to find that pic and post it later. More race pics tomorrow.

I wanted these pics on part 1. I had difficulties posting pics on my blog yesterday. Anyway, here's Brady on Mom's quad:

Here's Nina flying a kite for the very first time! The wind was blowing so hard it was actually easy to get the kite to ascend when we started. Keeping Nina from flying away with it was the hard part.

And just in case you think someone is holding the string off camera in the above pic, below is proof that she's really flying the kite:

Finally, here's me and Nina in our trailer after the races ended Sat. Please note - my face looks like that because of the wind and the cold (I was standing outside for over 4 hours helping with the races). And yes Laura, I drank plenty of water - see that bottle behind me? That's not that Rocky Mountain brew I like so much.